SB 196: "An Act relating to transparency and compelled speech in public education."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 196 01 "An Act relating to transparency and compelled speech in public education." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 14.18.070 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 14.18.070. Affirmative action. The board shall establish procedures for 05 affirmative action programs covering both equal employment and equal educational 06 opportunity to be implemented by all school districts and regional educational 07 attendance areas determined by the board not to be in compliance with AS 14.18.010 - 08 14.18.110 [THIS CHAPTER]. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 14.18.080 is amended to read: 10 Sec. 14.18.080. Implementation. (a) The board shall adopt regulations under 11 AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) to implement AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 12 [THIS CHAPTER]. 13 (b) The Board of Regents shall adopt rules under AS 14.40.170(b)(1) to 14 implement AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 [THIS CHAPTER]. 15 * Sec. 3. AS 14.18.090(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) The board shall enforce compliance by school districts and regional 02 educational attendance areas with the provisions of AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 [THIS 03 CHAPTER] and the regulations and procedures adopted under AS 14.18.010 - 04 14.18.110 [IT] by appropriate order made in accordance with AS 44.62. After a 05 hearing conducted by the office of administrative hearings (AS 44.64.010) and a 06 finding by the board that a district or a regional educational attendance area is not in 07 compliance with AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 [THIS CHAPTER] and is not actively 08 working to come into compliance, the board shall institute appropriate proceedings to 09 abate the practices found by the board to be a violation of AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 10 [THIS CHAPTER]. 11 * Sec. 4. AS 14.18.100 is amended to read: 12 Sec. 14.18.100. Remedies. (a) A person aggrieved by a violation of 13 AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 [THIS CHAPTER] or of a regulation or procedure adopted 14 under AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 [THIS CHAPTER] as to primary or secondary 15 education may file a complaint with the board and has an independent right of action 16 in superior court for civil damages and for such equitable relief as the court may 17 determine. 18 (b) A person aggrieved by a violation of AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 [THIS 19 CHAPTER] or of a regulation or procedure adopted under AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 20 [THIS CHAPTER] as to postsecondary education has an independent right of action in 21 superior court for civil damages and for such equitable relief as the court may 22 determine. 23 * Sec. 5. AS 14.18.110 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 14.18.110. Effect [OF CHAPTER]. AS 14.18.010 - 14.18.110 [THIS 25 CHAPTER] is supplementary to and does not supersede existing laws relating to 26 unlawful discrimination based on sex or race. 27 * Sec. 6. AS 14.18 is amended by adding new sections to read: 28 Article 2. Transparency and Compelled Speech in Public Education. 29 Sec. 14.18.150. Transparency. (a) A public school, including a charter school 30 authorized under AS 14.03.250 - 14.03.290, shall display on the school's website in an 31 easily accessible location all
01 (1) training material used for teacher and other staff training on 02 nondiscrimination, diversity, equity, inclusion, race, ethnicity, sex, bias, or another 03 concept that includes one or more of those concepts; 04 (2) instructional or curricular material that primarily addresses 05 nondiscrimination, diversity, equity, inclusion, race, ethnicity, sex, bias, or another 06 concept that includes one or more of those concepts; and 07 (3) school procedures, including procedures used by the principal or 08 teachers, for documentation, review, or approval of training, instructional, or 09 curricular material used for teacher and other staff training or student instruction. 10 (b) A public school website display required by (a) of this section must 11 include, for all instructional material included in the display, 12 (1) the title and author of the material and any organization or website 13 associated with the material; 14 (2) a brief description of the material; 15 (3) a link to the material, if publicly available, or instructions for 16 requesting a copy of the material; and 17 (4) if a teacher created the material, the identity of the teacher. 18 (c) A public school shall regularly update the school's website display required 19 by (a) and (b) of this section and shall add new training, instructional, and curricular 20 material to the display before the first use of the material. The school shall retain 21 information about training, instructional, and curricular material for at least two years 22 after the material is used. 23 (d) This section does not require a school to digitally reproduce or post a copy 24 of instructional material if the reproduction or copying is prohibited by copyright. 25 Sec. 14.18.160. Prohibiting compelled speech. (a) Instruction in a public 26 school must be carried out in accordance with the following: a state agency, school 27 district's governing body, charter school, or public school may not 28 (1) allow a teacher, administrator, or other employee to require, 29 include in a course, or award course grading, credit, or extra credit for political 30 activism, lobbying or efforts to persuade members of the executive or legislative 31 branch at the local, state, or federal level to take specific action, or any practicum or
01 similar activity involving social or public policy advocacy; 02 (2) direct or otherwise compel a student or a teacher, administrator, or 03 other employee to affirm, adopt, or adhere to the belief or concept that 04 (A) the United States or the state is fundamentally or 05 irredeemably racist or sexist; 06 (B) an individual, by virtue of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, 07 color, or national origin, is, consciously or unconsciously, inherently racist, 08 sexist, or oppressive; 09 (C) an individual, by virtue of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, 10 color, or national origin, is blameworthy for actions committed in the past by 11 other members of the same sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national 12 origin; 13 (D) an individual's moral character is necessarily determined, 14 in whole or in part, by the individual's sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or 15 national origin; 16 (E) a sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is 17 inherently superior or inferior; or 18 (F) an individual should be adversely treated based on sex, 19 race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin; 20 (3) use public funds to contract with, hire, or otherwise engage a 21 speaker, consultant, diversity trainer, or other person to 22 (A) encourage, direct, or otherwise compel a student or a 23 teacher, administrator, or other employee in activism or advocacy as described 24 in (1) of this subsection; 25 (B) direct or otherwise compel a student or a teacher, 26 administrator, or other employee to affirm, adopt, or adhere to a belief or 27 concept described in (2) of this subsection; or 28 (C) advocate a concept described in (2) of this subsection 29 unless the state agency, school district's governing body, charter school, or 30 public school 31 (i) expressly clarifies that the state agency, school
01 district's governing body, charter school, or public school does not 02 sponsor, approve, or endorse the concept; and 03 (ii) provides students and teachers, administrators, and 04 other employees the opportunity to opt out of any speech, training, or 05 session; 06 (4) require a student or a teacher, administrator, or other employee to 07 attend or participate in a training, a seminar, continuing education, an orientation, or 08 therapy that promotes a concept described in (2) of this subsection. 09 (b) This section does not prohibit 10 (1) speech protected by the Constitution of the State of Alaska or the 11 Constitution of the United States; 12 (2) voluntary, uninduced, and uncoerced attendance or participation by 13 a student or a teacher, administrator, or other employee in a training, a seminar, 14 continuing education, an orientation, or therapy that promotes a concept described in 15 (a)(2) of this section; 16 (3) providing an individual, for research or independent study 17 purposes, access to sources that advocate a concept described in (a)(2) of this section; 18 or 19 (4) educational in-school discussion of, or assignment of material that 20 incorporates, the concepts described in (a)(2) of this section so long as the school 21 clarifies that the school does not sponsor, approve, or endorse the concepts or material. 22 Sec. 14.18.170. Enforcement. (a) The attorney general may commence a civil 23 action in the superior court to enjoin a state agency, school district's governing body, 24 charter school, or public school from violating AS 14.18.150 or 14.18.160. 25 (b) A state agency, school district's governing body, charter school, or public 26 school may request an advisory opinion from the attorney general indicating whether a 27 proposed act or omission violates AS 14.18.150 or 14.18.160. 28 (c) Within 60 days after receiving a complete written request under (b) of this 29 section, the attorney general shall issue an advisory opinion on the question. The 30 attorney general may reconsider, revoke, or modify an advisory opinion at any time, 31 including upon a showing that material facts were omitted or misstated in the request
01 for the opinion. A person may rely on, and the attorney general may not commence a 02 civil action under (a) of this section that is inconsistent with, an advisory opinion 03 issued under this section. 04 Sec. 14.18.190. Definitions. In AS 14.18.150 - 14.18.190, 05 (1) "public school" does not include the University of Alaska or 06 another postsecondary institution; 07 (2) "school district" means a borough school district, a city school 08 district, a regional educational attendance area, a state boarding school, and the state 09 centralized correspondence study program; 10 (3) "state agency" means a department, office, agency, state board, 11 commission, public corporation, or other organizational unit of or created under the 12 executive branch of state government.