HR 9: Recognizing the rights of parents, teachers, and students in educational settings.
00 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 9 01 Recognizing the rights of parents, teachers, and students in educational settings. 02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 03 WHEREAS the United States Supreme Court ruled in the 1925 case Pierce v. Society 04 of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, that compulsory attendance at a public school violated the 05 Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, protecting the right to school 06 choice, at parental expense, for almost a century; and 07 WHEREAS the United States Supreme Court ruled in the 1972 case Wisconsin v. 08 Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, that parents have a First Amendment right to freedom of religion with 09 regard to educating their children and, therefore, have the right to choose, in a manner 10 consistent with their religious beliefs, how to educate their children, including whether or not 11 to enroll their children in a traditional public school or a private school and whether to enroll 12 their children at all after the eighth grade; and 13 WHEREAS the United States Supreme Court ruled in the 2002 case Zelman v. 14 Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639, that a state program, very likely unconstitutional in this state, 15 that provides school vouchers to students to attend either public or private schools, including 16 religious institutions, does not violate the First Amendment if the program is religiously
01 neutral; and 02 WHEREAS the United States Supreme Court ruled in the 2020 case Espinoza v. 03 Montana Department of Revenue, 140 S.Ct. 2246, that, if a state can distribute public benefits 04 to a private school, the state may not exclude a private religious school based solely on its 05 religious affiliation, resulting in equal protection for religious and nonreligious private 06 schools; and 07 WHEREAS, under 20 U.S.C. 1232g, enacted by the Family Educational Rights and 08 Privacy Act of 1974, parents are allowed to review and inspect their child's education records, 09 and a parent has the right to request correction of any inaccurate or misleading information in 10 their child's records; and 11 WHEREAS, under 20 U.S.C. 1400 - 1482, reauthorized in 1990 by the Individuals 12 with Disabilities Education Act, parents have a right to be fully involved in the special 13 education of their child, to seek and review their child's educational records, to give informed 14 consent to evaluate their child, and to be a part of the process that decides which special 15 education services their child will receive; and 16 WHEREAS, under 15 U.S.C. 6501 - 6506, enacted by the Children's Online Privacy 17 Protection Act of 1998, operators of websites that collect data from children under 13 years of 18 age must obtain "verifiable parental consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal 19 information from children"; and 20 WHEREAS, under 20 U.S.C. 6318, amended by the 2015 Every Student Succeeds 21 Act, school districts receiving federal Title I funds must use a minimum amount of their 22 funding to involve parents and family members in the development of local educational 23 agency plans; and 24 WHEREAS art. VII, sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska, requires the 25 legislature to provide to children of the state a free public education, free from any sectarian 26 control; and 27 WHEREAS, in 1975, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in Hootch v. Alaska State- 28 Operated School System, 536 P.2d 793, that the state is required to fund local schools in 29 small, isolated communities of the state instead of requiring students to leave their 30 communities to attend boarding schools; and 31 WHEREAS, in 1999, an Alaska Superior Court ruled in Kasayulie v. State, No. 3AN-
01 97-3782 CIV, 1999 WL 34793390 (Alaska Sup. Ct. Sept. 1, 1999), that a debt retirement 02 program that reimburses cities and boroughs that pass bond packages to pay for school 03 maintenance and construction of facilities was discriminatory to rural communities that had 04 insufficient tax bases; and 05 WHEREAS, under AS 14.30.191, enacted in 1970, parental consent is required 06 before a student is evaluated for special education placement; and 07 WHEREAS, under AS 14.03.110, enacted in 1979, a school district, principal, or 08 other person in charge of a public school may not administer a questionnaire or survey to 09 students unless written permission is given by the parents; and 10 WHEREAS, under AS 14.03.115, enacted in 1999, a school district must release 11 school records to parents upon request; and 12 WHEREAS, under AS 14.30.191, as amended in 2001, a school district must provide 13 a parent with an opportunity to participate in the determination of placement of their child in a 14 special education program; and 15 WHEREAS, under AS 14.33.200, enacted in 2006, school districts are required to 16 adopt and share with parents a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying of 17 students; and 18 WHEREAS, under AS 14.30.745, enacted in 2010, school districts are, under certain 19 circumstances, required to provide a student's information to the Alaska Military Youth 20 Academy; if the district provides information about a student to the academy, the district is 21 also required to notify the student's parent of the disclosure and provide an opportunity to 22 object; and 23 WHEREAS, under AS 14.30.142, enacted in 2011, before a student athlete may 24 participate in a sport, a school district is required to provide the student's parent with written 25 information about the nature and risk of concussions and receive from the parent a 26 verification acknowledging receipt of that information; and 27 WHEREAS, under AS 14.03.310, enacted in 2014, a parent of a student enrolled in a 28 correspondence study program may receive an annual student allotment for the cost of 29 instructional expenses, including the purchase of certain nonsectarian services and materials 30 from a public, private, or religious organization; and 31 WHEREAS, under AS 14.33.120, enacted in 2000, and AS 14.33.125, enacted in
01 2014, a school district is required to make available to parents a written school disciplinary 02 and safety program, and any incident involving disruptive or violent behavior by a student 03 that results in restraint or seclusion of that student must be reported to the student's parent on 04 the day of the incident; and 05 WHEREAS, under AS 14.30.355 and 14.30.356, enacted in 2015, school districts are 06 required to have a procedure allowing a student to be excused, upon request of the student's 07 parent, from participating in, and receiving notices about, awareness and prevention programs 08 on sexual abuse, sexual assault, and teen dating violence and abuse; and 09 WHEREAS, under AS 14.03.016, enacted in 2016, school districts must adopt 10 policies, in consultation with parents, to promote involvement of parents in the school 11 district's education program, including allowing a parent to withdraw their child from a 12 standards-based assessment or test required by the state for a religious holiday, allowing a 13 parent to withdraw their child from an activity, class, or program, and providing two weeks' 14 notice to a parent of any activity or program that includes content of human reproduction or 15 sexual matters; and 16 WHEREAS, under AS 14.30.765, enacted in 2022, school districts are required to 17 notify and consult parents of students in kindergarten through third grade with identified 18 reading deficiencies and provide at least 10 progress updates each year; and 19 WHEREAS, under Anchorage School District Board Policy 1312.2, complaints 20 concerning instructional material will have a proper procedure designated by the 21 superintendent, and, if the superintendent makes a determination that is unsatisfactory to the 22 complainant, the complainant can elevate the complaint to be placed on the agenda of a 23 regular school board meeting; and 24 WHEREAS, under Anchorage School District Board Policy 6144(a), a parent, 25 guardian, student, or employee of the Anchorage School District who finds any instructional 26 or library material to be controversial may challenge the selection and, if it is determined that 27 the material is outside the scope of the district's guidelines, can have the material removed 28 from the library or instructional materials; and 29 WHEREAS, under Anchorage School District Board Policy 6144(a), a parent or 30 guardian who finds any instructional or library material to be of concern to their child can 31 request that their child be assigned alternative material; and
01 WHEREAS the Anchorage School District has adopted administrative guidelines that 02 require the principal to hold a meeting with a student who desires a gender transition during 03 the school year and the student's parent; and 04 WHEREAS, according to the Chief Academic Officer of the Anchorage School 05 District, parental permission is required for more than 24 distinct situations, including 06 participating in off-site field trips, watching films rated over PG, receiving medication, 07 appearing in media releases, participating in fifth grade human growth and development, 08 participating in sports, receiving a parking permit, applying for internships, receiving science 09 lab safety instruction, using computers at school, receiving a flu shot, participating in youth 10 risk behavior surveys, accessing websites that fall under the Children's Online Privacy and 11 Protection Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 6501 - 6506), agreeing to the terms of Device User 12 Agreements and Library Card Partnerships, transitioning a child's pronoun usage and gender 13 identification, inclusion on the student directory, sharing certain information to receive 14 Medicaid reimbursement for services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities 15 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 - 1482) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 16 U.S.C. 1232g), being evaluated for special education, being re-evaluated for special 17 education, receiving disability services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 18 (29 U.S.C. 701), receiving a functional behavioral assessment, initial enrollment in special 19 education, and releasing student records; and 20 WHEREAS, according to the Chief Academic Officer of the Anchorage School 21 District, parental notification is given for more than 12 distinct situations, including before a 22 student receives material or instruction relating to AS 14.30.355 and 14.30.356 (Alaska Safe 23 Children's Act), is assessed using the Alaska System of Academic Readiness, participates in 24 health class topics for grades six and higher, takes the School Climate and Connectedness 25 survey, is subject to data collection for the National Association for Educational Procurement, 26 is subject to data collection for the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment 27 Consortium, takes the Standards-based Measurement of Proficiency assessment, takes the 28 Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment, takes the mCLASS early literacy screener, 29 takes the Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress Growth 30 assessment, receives and signs a student handbook, and receives information about annual 31 student health insurance and Medicaid; and
01 WHEREAS, historically, since statehood, there has been no identifiable legislative 02 record showing an attempt by the Alaska State Legislature to restrict a parent's involvement in 03 their child's education, but rather, there have been numerous legislative actions seeking to 04 clarify and expand parental involvement in a child's education; and 05 WHEREAS the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in the 1985 case Fisher v. Fairbanks 06 North Star Borough School District, 704 P.2d 213, that a school board has the authority to 07 determine instructional materials as long as it does not "attempt to exclude discussions of 'an 08 entire system of respected human thought'"; and 09 WHEREAS the Anchorage School District has negotiated an agreement with the 10 Anchorage Education Association that teachers and faculty enjoy academic freedom "to 11 present instructional materials that are pertinent to the subject and level taught, within the 12 outlines of the appropriate course content, the planned instructional program, and in 13 accordance with School Board policy"; and 14 WHEREAS the Southeast Island School District has signed a collective agreement 15 that includes an article granting academic freedom to teachers to discuss and respond to 16 questions on any material field that is pertinent to the instruction; and 17 WHEREAS the United States Supreme Court ruled in the 1969 case Tinker v. Des 18 Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503, that because "First 19 Amendment rights, applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment, 20 are available to teachers and students," it is unconstitutional to ban "a silent, passive 21 expression of opinion, unaccompanied by any disorder or disturbance" and that students do 22 not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse 23 gate"; and 24 WHEREAS the United States Supreme Court ruled in the 2007 case Morse v. 25 Frederick, 551 U.S. 393, on facts arising out of events in Juneau, Alaska, that "student 26 expression may not be suppressed unless school officials reasonably conclude" that the 27 conduct is substantially disruptive to the work and discipline of the school; and 28 WHEREAS the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in Breese v. Smith, 501 P.2d 159, that 29 students may "wear their hair in accordance with their personal tastes" because both the 30 Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Alaska protect a person's 31 right to liberty, which the court describes as having at its core "the notion of total personal
01 immunity from government control"; and 02 WHEREAS, under AS 14.30.171, enacted in 2006, a school district may not 03 recommend, as a condition for attending school, that a student take or continue to take a 04 psychotropic drug and may not conduct a psychiatric evaluation on a student unless 05 authorized by law or a specific policy adopted by a governing body of a school district; and 06 WHEREAS, under AS 14.03.135, enacted in 2022, a school district may not adopt a 07 dress code that prohibits a hairstyle associated with race, a natural hairstyle, or the wearing of 08 traditional regalia at a graduation ceremony; and 09 WHEREAS, under 4 AAC 07, school districts are required to create and publish 10 guidelines, procedures, and policies regarding student rights and responsibilities; and 11 WHEREAS legislative research services identified only one bill in the last 10 years, 12 House Bill No. 60, introduced by Governor Dunleavy in the Thirty-Third Alaska State 13 Legislature, that would allow minors 16 years of age or older to override their parents' wishes; 14 if passed, House Bill No. 60 would allow a minor to seek behavioral or mental health services 15 without parental consent; and 16 WHEREAS parental rights are protected in the following areas: the right to choose a 17 public secular school or private religious school; the right to inspect and request amendment 18 of their child's education records; the right to decide which special educational services their 19 child will receive; the right to provide input in the development of a local educational agency 20 plan; the right to access a free public education for their children; the right for their children to 21 have and attend a publicly funded school in their local community; the right to give or 22 withhold consent for school surveys; the right to receive information about concussion risk 23 before their child participates in sports; the right to withdraw their child from a standards- 24 based assessment; the right to be notified and involved in decisions relating to instructional 25 materials used on the topics of awareness and prevention of sexual abuse, awareness and 26 prevention of sexual assault, awareness and prevention of teen dating violence, and human 27 reproduction or sexual matters; the right to challenge instructional material in the classroom 28 or in the library; the right to request alternative instructional material for their child; the right 29 to be notified by, and discuss with, the school principal if their child desires a gender 30 transition; and many additional rights related to parental consent for or notification of a wide 31 range of school-related situations; and
01 WHEREAS school districts undoubtably spend uncompensated resources, time, 02 personnel, and related costs advising parents of their rights under current law; 03 BE IT RESOLVED that, regarding the sometimes competing interests when 04 considering the rights of parents, teachers, and students, parental rights are indisputably the 05 most vast and voluminous; and be it 06 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives recognizes a historical 07 record that reflects a long and thoughtful effort to protect, extend, and defend the rights of 08 parents, teachers, and students at local, state, and national levels; and be it 09 FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives finds that parental rights, 10 by and large, have only expanded since 1925 and that the legislature would almost certainly 11 consider further expansion of those rights but that the rights of parents, teachers, and students 12 are already comprehensive and robust, touching on almost every conceivable topic. 13 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the commissioner of education and early 14 development, each member of the state Board of Education and Early Development, each 15 school superintendent in the state, and the president of each school board in the state.