Legislature(2023 - 2024)DAVIS 106
03/22/2024 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB382 | |
| HB230 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 391 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 236 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 382 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 147 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 230 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 382-EDUCATION; PARENT/TEACHER RIGHTS
8:01:43 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 382, "An Act relating to education;
relating to the rights of the 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."
8:02:16 AM
BEN CARPENTER, Alaska State Representative, as prime sponsor,
presented HB 382. He said that HB 382 is an attempt to improve
the outcomes of the education system that Alaska currently has.
He said that HB 382 would allow for increased parental
participation and consideration in the public education system.
He gave a broad overview of the statutes HB 382 would change and
create and how these changes and additions reflect the policy
goal of the proposed bill.
8:04:32 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE opened public testimony on HB 382.
8:05:32 AM
MORGAN LIM, Lobbyist, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates,
testified in opposition to HB 382, stating that Planned
Parenthood Alliance Advocates (PPAA) strongly opposes the bill.
He said HB 382 is a blatant attack on LGBTQ+ youth in Alaska, as
it would force educators to "out" students to their parents and
ban students from using bathrooms that align with their gender.
He said forcing school employees and educators to out LGBTQ+
youth to their parents could result in mental, emotional, and
physical abuse to these kids that otherwise would have not
occurred had they not been outed. He said HB 382 also targets
transgender youth by forcing them to use a bathroom or locker
room that doesn't match their gender identity, which would
create an unsafe and invasive environment for all students. He
said, "HB 382 is part of the movement that promotes extremist
rhetoric that empowers politicians and legislators to extend the
heavy hand of government into classrooms and hallways at the
expense of LGBTQ+ youth."
8:08:01 AM
STARLA MILLER, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She said that children should always feel safe at school
and emphasized that the government getting involved in this
issue is an overstep. She said that the proposed legislation
would create an environment of fear where a student wouldn't be
able to have a conversation with their teacher without fear of
being reported to their parents. She opined that HB 382 would
do a lot of harm and no good and is not necessary.
8:10:24 AM
CAROLE BOOKLESS, representing self, testified in opposition to
HB 382. She shared her experience as a kindergarten teacher
where she learned that gender dysphoria is real and has real
effects on children. She suggested that Alaska provided a non-
gendered bathroom and changing room in every school as a
solution to the issue of bathroom use controversies, and she
recommended statewide training on the use and understanding of
nongendered pronouns in public schools.
8:13:14 AM
SALIM HOUCK, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. He said this bill is blatantly discriminatory and would
make schools unsafe for LGBTQ+ youth. He shared his experiences
as a trans person in Alaska, particularly the shared fear of
violence when they began his transition. He explained how the
support of the staff at his high school allowed him to succeed
with his learning, extracurricular activities, and friends. He
said HB 382 would make it near impossible for schools and staff
to support their LGBTQ+ students and make schools unsafe for
those children.
8:15:09 AM
KIM HAYS, representing self, testified in opposition to HB 382.
She expressed her "unequivocal belief" that the job of adults is
to protect children, including LGBTQ+ children. She said that
forcibly outing LGBTQ+ children does nothing to protect the
child. She said that children might choose to confide in a
teacher that they identify as LGBTQ+, and forcing teachers to
report this will erode the relationship of trust and
understanding that so many students find in their teachers.
8:17:26 AM
JOSH SMITH, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. He shared his knowledge of transgender students in the
Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley whose only safe place is the
bathroom in the school nurse's office and asked why [the
legislature] would exacerbate the issue by creating a hostile
environment by law. He shared his experience as a queer youth
in Alaska and said it makes him happy to know that kids are
finding safety in schools today, because there was no safety or
support when he was growing up. He said creating a safe
environment at school by affirming who [LGBTQ+ youth] are and
supporting them is the only way to get them to talk to their
parents, and HB 382 does not aim to achieve that.
8:19:56 AM
MONICA WHITMAN, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She said this bill is being framed as a parental/teachers'
bill of rights legislation, but that was not her takeaway. She
said HB 382 attempts to address concerns of a small group of
parents that do not understand there is already a strong set of
parental rights in Alaska. She said HB 382 attempts to
intimidate teachers and codify the use of "reasonable force"
when disciplining students. She said that HB 382 does not solve
any real problems and emphasized her opposition.
8:21:36 AM
MARY SZATKOWSKI, representing self, testified in opposition to
HB 382. She said HB 382 would forcibly out LGBTQ+ students,
violate their basic right to privacy, and put them in danger.
She said LGBTQ+ youth often choose to confide to their teachers
about their identity because they can't in anyone else, and she
warned that taking that away could have grave consequences.
8:22:25 AM
LINDSEY BANNING, representing self, testified in opposition to
HB 382. She cited a statistic that found that less than one in
three transgender kids live in an affirming household and said
that the other two-thirds of students who could be outed by this
bill would be harmed by this reality. She said that forced
outings leads to increased rates of anxiety, depression, self-
harm, and suicide. She said often, the only supportive adult in
a transgender student's life is a teacher, who can have a
massive impact on their feeling of acceptance and wellbeing.
She opined that HB 382 aims to protect only the "egos of a small
group of unsupportive parents who think being trans is a mental
illness." She urged committee members to oppose HB 382.
8:24:27 AM
MEGHAN GERVAIS, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She expressed her appreciation to the prior testifiers and
said the main aspect of HB 382 that is troubling is the part of
the bill that forces transgender students to use a bathroom that
doesn't align with their gender. She said there is already too
much hate for transgender people in general, and HB 382 only
adds to that hate.
8:26:43 AM
KC CASORT, representing self, testified in opposition to HB 382.
She said all students deserve to feel welcome and safe in their
school and no student should be forced to come out before they
are ready. She said HB 382 threatens the privacy of all
students and sets a dangerous precedent for law in Alaska.
8:28:58 AM
BREANNE MEATH, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She said HB 382 would result in young people being
harassed to prove their identity to those who will not respect
or honor it. She echoed her gratitude for previous testifiers
and encouraged the committee's opposition to HB 382.
8:30:22 AM
OLIVIA LYNN, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She said requiring teachers to report to parents when
their child seeks mental health treatment would negatively
affect all children. She said Alaska's schools should be a safe
place for kids to seek help and HB 382 would take away that
chance for kids.
8:31:35 AM
MARIETTA HALL, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She shared her experiences as a parent of a transgender
child and said that the teachers and counselors involved are
professionals and do not need legislation. She shared her
child's struggles as a transgender youth and said they are
constantly in fear of violence and hate, and HB 382 would only
further that hate. She cautioned that HB 382 would cause more
harm than good.
8:34:28 AM
EMILY COHEN, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She said HB 382 is a reactionary piece of legislation that
is unimportant to education and doesn't address the real needs
and problems faced by school districts around the state today.
8:35:48 AM
XOCHITL MUNOZ, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She said, "It is scary enough to be a trans kid without
this legislation." She warned that the proposed legislation
would be detrimental to transgender children throughout the
state; it would further hatred and divide kids by their identity
and encouraged the committee's opposition to HB 382.
8:37:04 AM
DIDI PETERS, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She shared a recent story about a transgender child in
Oklahoma who was a victim of fatal violence because of who they
were as a transgender person. She said the legislature is
afraid that Alaskans might realize they are deliberately trying
to harm a group of people, so lawmakers are hiding the
intentions of the bill in the name of parental rights. She
spoke of previous invited testifiers on HB 382 and shared how
they are linked to hate groups and subsequently explained how
they delegitimize HB 382.
8:39:59 AM
MIKE COONS, representing self, testified in support of HB 382.
He spoke in support of the academic success committees proposed
under HB 382 and shared his belief that they would allow for
more say from parents in what their children are being taught.
He said the bill is not just about transgender students but also
about "keeping kids safe from Critical Race Theory, 'LGBDTQ,' et
cetera." He said HB 382 would allow supervision of academic
operation of schools from "outside influences."
8:42:08 AM
TAMI TODD, representing self, testified in opposition to HB 382.
She shared her experience as a school nurse in seeing the
fragile mental health state that Alaska's youth are currently
in. She said that in 2020, the Alaska Department of Health
found that Alaska has the second-highest rate of maltreatment to
youth struggling with mental health issues, and HB 382 would
further exacerbate that. She said it is unfair for legislators
who do not understand what it means to be transgender to take
out their uncertainty on that group of people through harmful
legislation. She added that the bill sponsor is
hypersexualizing young people through his statement on
preventing boys from using the girl's locker room and is making
it seem like girls are defenseless creatures who need the
nurturing and help of men to keep them safe.
8:45:02 AM
MIA CHEYDLEUR, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She cited the privacy clause of the Alaska State
Constitution and said that HB 382 would directly violate this
clause. She said there is no evidence to link transgender
bathroom use to increased rates of sexual assault or violence,
and this legislation is a reflection of a bias that only a
minority of Alaskans hold. She predicted that any benefits of
HB 382 would be completely outweighed by the negative impacts it
could have.
8:46:09 AM
KAY RILEY, representing self, testified in opposition to HB 382.
She spoke on the previously mentioned accused sexual assaults
occurring in the girl's bathroom by transgender women and said
these were false; the problem is clearly cisgender men. She
stated, "Voting yes for this bill is making yourself complicit
in the emotional, physical, or possibly sexual abuse of these
[transgender] children."
8:48:05 AM
AMANDA THOMPSON, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates,
testified in support of HB 382. She said she supports certain
aspects of HB 382 and expressed concern that there seemed to be
an organized opposition to a specific part of the proposed bill.
She claimed that there was "sexually explicit material" in the
middle school libraries of the Anchorage School District and
said HB 382 would allow those materials to be removed from said
libraries. She gave an example of a time that she experienced
administrative discipline for her teaching and said HB 382 would
make education fairer.
8:50:43 AM
MENEKA THIRU, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She opined that HB 382 clearly discriminates against
LGBTQ+ youth and makes school a less safe and welcoming place
for them. She said these youth should have a safe place to be
who they are, and she shared her experiences in high school
where she was not accepted fully and how that affected her.
8:52:19 AM
RACHEL LORD, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. She said, "Nearly every aspect of this bill is an excuse
of law," saying HB 382 would not achieve anything but further
division and animosity between Alaskans. She said she was
uncertain where Representative Carpenter came up with the
provisions of HB 382, saying many of them are already in place.
She said there are parents and community members at all levels
of school administration, boards, and councils and said that HB
382 is being written as a piece of fear-mongering legislation.
8:55:22 AM
ED MARTIN, representing self, testified during the hearing on HB
382. He said that HB 382 lacks clarity and definition in its
writing and said that the proposed legislation would not achieve
the goal of furthering and improving education in Alaska. He
expressed concern about drug use in schools by educators and
students alike and said that Alaska shouldn't limit the number
of charter schools to only 60 in the state.
8:58:41 AM
REBECCA BERNARD, representing self, testified in opposition to
HB 382. She said there is a crisis in public education that has
nothing to do with LGBTQ+ kids but rather the lack of financial
support for the entire system itself. She cautioned that
requiring teachers to tell parents if a student has confided in
them about their differing pronouns or gender identity could
have disastrous effects on the health and well-being of already
marginalized LGBTQ+ youth across Alaska.
9:01:31 AM
PHIL MOSER, representing self, testified in opposition to HB
382. He said that since the issue of transgender rights has
been politicized in the last ten years, states that have adopted
similar laws have seen a quadrupling of the rates of hate crimes
in their state. He added that bills like HB 382 cause harm and
are supported only through fear or willful ignorance.
9:03:57 AM
JESSICA VAUDREUIL, representing self, testified in support of HB
382. She shared a story of students in certain [student LGBTQ+]
school clubs "handing out stickers to kids trying to recruit
them" and recalled how much it scared a female student to put
that sticker on her lapel. She said people who have called in
opposition to HB 382 are victims and bullies that don't allow
anyone to retain their Judeo-Christian beliefs.
9:06:35 AM
LINDA BRANSON, representing self, testified in support of HB
382. She began by saying "there is discrimination on both
sides". She said children know what their genitalia is, and
"we" can't change how they think in regard to that. She said
"LBTQ" people deserve to have access to public schools but
should not be allowed to push their "agenda to those who don't
agree with it" as that is [purportedly] discrimination. She
said parents in Alaska need to be parents, not the schools, and
reiterated her support for HB 382.
9:08:35 AM
RANDY GRIFFIN, representing self, testified in support of HB
382. He spoke in support of the provision of HB 382 that would
makes it mandatory for teachers to report to parents when a
student confides in them about anything related to their pronoun
use or sexual orientation and said teachers should not be
required to report to parents if the student discusses gender
identity.
9:10:45 AM
DAVID BOYLE, representing self, testified in support of HB 382.
He said it is time for parents to be in the conversation of
their child's education and said the privacy for all students is
paramount. He suggested transgender youth use the staff
bathroom to "see if the staff wants to accommodate them" and
said there would be unintended consequences of absenteeism and
parents withdrawing their students from public schools if HB 382
were not to pass.
9:13:13 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE, after ascertaining that there was no one
else who wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 382.
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE announced that HB 382 was held over.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY said she had made a request to Legislative
Legal Services to review HB 382 to determine whether it would
raise privacy concerns with the Alaska Constitution and
Legislative Legal Services has already preliminarily found that
it would raise privacy concerns.
CO-CHAIR ALLARD indicated that she has also put in a request to
Legislative Legal Services, and she opined there has been
partisan legal advice from that agency.