Legislature(2023 - 2024)DAVIS 106
03/20/2024 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| University of Alaska Board of Regents|| Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development | |
| HB147 | |
| HB382 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 391 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 382 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | HB 147 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 382-EDUCATION; PARENT/TEACHER RIGHTS
9:49:41 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE announced that the final order of business
would be HB 382, "An act relating to education; relating to the
rights of parents of public school students; relating to the
rights of public school teachers; relating to the records of
public school students; and providing for an effective date."
9:50:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE BEN CARPENTER, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, introduced HB 382 and paraphrased the sponsor statement
[included in the committee packet], which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
House Bill 382 increases parental participation in
their children's education and allows parents access
to school curriculum, budgets, and school boards. HB
382 allows teachers to use their professional
judgement to establish and enforce rules for their
classrooms.
Parental involvement has been a top priority for
school leaders for decades, and research shows that it
can make a major difference in student outcomes.
Studies show more parental involvement leads to
improved academic outcomes. When parents are involved
in their children's schooling, students show higher
academic achievement, school engagement, and
motivation. School practices encouraging families to
support their child's math learning at home have led
to higher percentages of students scoring at or above
proficiency on standardized math tests. Research shows
that parent involvement with reading activities has a
positive impact on reading achievement, language
comprehension, and expressive language skills, as well
as students' interest in reading, attitudes toward
reading, and level of attention in the classroom.
HB 382 requires all public schools to be operated by
academic policy committees. Alaska's charter public
schools, which are operated by academic policy
committees comprised of parents, teachers, and school
employees, are the best in the nation. Academic policy
committees hire the school principal and employees,
supervise the employees, and supervise the academic
operation of the school.
HB 382 allows parents to review curriculum, books, and
all instructional materials, to meet with each teacher
of the child, to review the budget, to address the
school board, to withdraw children from activities or
programs, and to provide consent for medical
examinations. HB 382 has numerous parental
notification requirements including for a change in
curriculum, options for school choice, any plans to
eliminate gifted and talented programs, or if any
school professional acts to change a student's gender
markers.
HB 382 also protects a child's privacy by narrowly
specifying who, and under what circumstances, someone
who is not a parent or guardian can access the
student's records. It also protects them by requiring
that every school's written safety program include
procedures to address the physical safety and privacy
of students in locker rooms and bathrooms by requiring
a student to use only facilities designed for members
of the student's biological sex.
HB 382 adds a section of law that does not exist to
provide teachers with a bill of rights. Teachers will
establish their classroom rules and schools will
respect their professional judgement, provide
leadership training to teachers, and treat them with
civility and respect. Schools cannot require a teacher
to fill out excessive paperwork and cannot adopt
curricula and policies that conflict with the
curricula and policies of the school's academic policy
committee.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER shared that he would be frustrated as a
teacher if he had disruptive students who were able to keep
coming back to the classroom and continue to disrupt it. He
added that there must be a better policy or way to deal with the
situation than to drag down "the whole" because of bad behavior
of a few, and teachers need an administration that will support
them.
9:56:13 AM
KENDRA BROUSSARD, Staff, Representative Ben Carpenter, Alaska
State Legislature, gave the sectional analysis for HB 382
[included in the committee packet] on behalf of Representative
Carpenter, prime sponsor, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Section 1
Repeals and reenacts a parent's right to direct the
education of the parent's child, to add that a public
school shall:
Allow parents to review curriculum, books, and all
instructional materials, to meet with each teacher of
the child, to review the budget, to address the school
board, to withdraw children from activities or
programs, to provide consent for medical examinations,
to access information about any plans to eliminate
gifted and talented programs. Provide parents with
information about all schools in which the student has
the opportunity to enroll. Notify parents if the state
alters the state academic standards. Notify parents if
a school employee or contractor acts to change the
child's gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name or
allows the child to change the child's sex-based
accommodations including locker rooms or bathrooms, or
treats or advises regarding bullying, the child's
mental health and any instance of self-harm or
suicidal ideation, or specific threats to the safety
of the child, the possession or use of drugs or other
controlled substances by the child, or an eating
disorder.
Section 2
Adds a new section of law to include the rights of
teachers. Allows that a teacher may:
Establish and enforce classroom rules, remove a
student from a classroom in accordance with the
school's disciplinary and safety program, direct a
disruptive or violent student to appropriate school
personnel, assist in enforcing school rules while on
school property, use reasonable force, to protect the
teacher or other person from injury, communicate with
parents in making disciplinary decisions.
A school shall: Provide a teacher with information
regarding the disposition of a referral the teacher
has made regarding a violation of classroom or school
rules, provide immediate assistance to classroom
management during an emergency or when a student
becomes uncontrollable, respect the professional
judgement and discretion of a teacher, treat a teacher
with civility and respect, and provide leadership
training and support to teachers.
A school or school district may not: Establish a
policy that prevents a teacher from exercising their
rights, require a teacher to fill out excessively
burdensome paperwork, or adopt curricula and policies
that conflict with the curricula and policies of the
school's academic policy committee.
Section 3
Replaces school records law by narrowly specifying who
has the right to a child's education records: parents
or guardians, and in some circumstances law
enforcement, child welfare or tribal caseworkers with
access to a child's case plan, authorized US
government officials, an entity or person designated
under a grand jury subpoena or subpoena for law
enforcement purposes or judicial order.
Section 4
Adds a new section to public school's law to require
every public school to establish an academic policy
committee, similar to that of a charter school,
consisting of parents of students attending the
school, teachers, and school employees. The academic
policy committee shall select the principal of the
school and select, appoint, and otherwise supervise
the employees of the school. The academic policy
committee is designated to supervise the academic
operation of a public school.
Section 5
Removes from law the requirement that school boards
appoint and otherwise control all school employees and
administrative officers, consistent with adding an
academic policy committee with that authority.
Section 6
Adds to school district disciplinary and safety
programs that every school governing body must adapt
that the body shall include in its written program
procedures to address the physical safety and privacy
of students in locker rooms and restrooms by requiring
a student to use only facilities designed for members
of the student's biological sex.
Section 7
Adds to uncodified law that this Act applies to
contracts entered on or after the effective date of
this act.
Section 8
Adds immediate effect.
10:00:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY offered her belief that parental
involvement and family support are the biggest factors of how
students do in school. She pointed out that many policies in
Section 1 are in policy now, which she found reassuring, but she
inquired about the reasoning why they are being proposed under
HB 382.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER replied that he did not think all
districts were exactly alike and some parents may have had
different experiences as to what they have access to. He
offered an example of asking his local district if he could
review the budget and was told he could if he visited the office
and had staff "look over his shoulder."
REPRESENTATIVE STORY stated she did not doubt his experience and
questioned how it would work to have academic policy committees
take over the role of the elected school board members. In
reference to student privacy rights, she added that she would
contact Legislative Legal Services for an opinion.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER said there is no closer local control
than parents, and if it is working for charter schools, it
should work for all schools.
10:04:02 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD agreed with Representative Carpenter that that
is a good point. On "the particular boards" that were
referenced, she asked whether parents would be elected as well.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER responded that they currently are to
charter schools.
10:04:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK stated he would like more explanation
on what defines a disrupted student.
10:05:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER explained that the gist is that teacher
discretion is when disruption becomes a distraction to
education, and it should be respected by the administration,
parents, and legal establishment. He further explained that if
the teacher believes they cannot have the student in the
classroom, then there are rules and leadership in place, so the
disruption does not continue.
10:06:00 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE announced that HB 382 was held over.