Legislature(2007 - 2008)CAPITOL 120
05/02/2007 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB207 | |
| HB65 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 65 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 232 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 207 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 207 - STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS 1:10:12 PM CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 207, "An Act relating to questionnaires and surveys administered in the public schools." [Before the committee was CSHB 207(HES).] REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 207, Version 25-LS0680\K, Mischel, 4/30/07, as the work draft. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG objected for the purpose of discussion. 1:10:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE PEGGY WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, offered that Version K addresses the concern that parents understand the content of the surveys, and clarifies that "written notice" must include: the date the survey is to be administered; a description of the content of the survey; the name of the sponsor of the survey; and the name of a person to contact at the school district regarding the survey. Version K also now stipulates that a written denial of permission to participate in a survey may be submitted to either a teacher or the principal. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, referring to the 2005 Alaska YRBS, noted that on the front page it says in part: "If you are not comfortable answering a question, just leave it blank." He opined that it is important for the students to know that they are not obligated to answer all, or even any, of the questions in the survey, and that this should be clarified in the law and be made clear to the parents. He indicated that he would be offering an amendment to ensure that the required written notice to parents also include the information that the student is not obligated to answer all or any of the questions in the survey. He also said he wants to ensure that students don't feel pressured to participate in the survey just because all their classmates are participating. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG then removed his objection. CHAIR RAMRAS announced that Version K was before the committee. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked how the legislature could ensure that students won't be put in an embarrassing position for not participating in the survey. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON offered her understanding that most schools simply allow students who are not participating in a survey to go to the library until the other students have completed the survey. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he doesn't want teachers to single out students who are not participating in the survey. REPRESENTATIVE WILSON surmised that that same problem will exist regardless of whether the bill passes. 1:16:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG made a motion to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1, which, along with handwritten corrections, read [original punctuation provided]: pg. 2, after line 18 add (8) notice of the opportunity for the student not to answer specific questions or the entire survey The committee took an at-ease from 1:17 p.m. to 1:19 p.m. CHAIR RAMRAS asked whether there were any objections. There being none, Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted. 1:20:39 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to report the proposed CS for HB 207, Version 25-LS0680\K, Mischel, 4/30/07, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. REPRESENTATIVES DAHLSTROM and LYNN objected. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN opined that HB 207 will be taking parents out of the loop, and characterized the 2005 Alaska YRBS in members' packets as an invasive questionnaire containing inappropriate questions. The questions such surveys ask, he suggested, will lead children to give consideration to the very behaviors they ought to avoid such as suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, and sexual intercourse; children will conclude from these questions and the way they are phrased that such behaviors are normal. After noting that the first question in the 2005 Alaska YRBS asks whether the participating student is 12 years old or younger, he said he is concerned about the invasion of privacy that such a survey constitutes regardless of any good that might come from the information gleaned from it. He relayed that he would be voting "No" on the bill. REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS relayed that he will be voting to move the bill from committee, though he is not sure how much he'd believe the statistics garnered from such surveys. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said that he has concerns that the surveys don't clearly inform the student that he/she doesn't have to answer all or any of the questions; thus, he would prefer that such surveys stipulated that point on each page of the survey. Something should also be done, he opined, to ensure that the surveys are administered in such a way that those students who are not participating in the survey aren't singled out in front of their classmates. For example, perhaps a parent should be given the opportunity to review the survey before it's administered and, then, if he/she objects to certain questions, they could be redacted from his/her child's survey. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN questioned whether legislators would be comfortable answering similar questions in a survey specifically designed for legislators. REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM maintained her objection to the motion. 1:28:37 PM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Gruenberg, Coghill, Samuels, Holmes, and Ramras voted in favor of reporting the proposed CS for HB 207, Version 25-LS0680\K, Mischel, 4/30/07, as amended, out of committee. Representatives Dahlstrom and Lynn voted against it. Therefore, CSHB 207(JUD) was reported out of the House Judiciary Standing Committee by a vote of 5-2.
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