03/30/1999 03:41 PM House HES

SB 27 - ACCESS TO DRIVING/SCHOOL RECORDS OF CHILD                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the next order of business as CS For                                                                
Senate Bill No. 27(FIN), "An Act relating to school records and                                                                 
driver license records of certain children."                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Number 0036                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LOREN LEMAN, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor, presented                                                               
SB 27.  He said SB 27 deals with parents getting their children's                                                               
driving records.  Presently, parents cannot get their children's                                                                
driving records because they are confidential; he thinks that                                                                   
probably was an inadvertent vision in statute.  Section 3 of the                                                                
bill now provides parents with access to their minor child's                                                                    
driving record.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN noted they also included school records in SB 27.                                                                 
The federal law says school records must be made available to                                                                   
parents; the Alaska statutes say non-custodial parents must have                                                                
access to the same records as custodial parents, but it is not                                                                  
defined anywhere in state law what that is required to be.  The                                                                 
federal law says if they don't provide those records as a state,                                                                
they can withhold federal funding.  He understands that school                                                                  
districts are providing records, but SB 27 puts it in state law.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN explained that while working on the legislation,                                                                  
another legislator suggested the language in Section 2 which deals                                                              
with records of students who transfer from one school district to                                                               
another.  There are provisions in law about what records are                                                                    
transferred and how soon they are to be transferred.  He wanted the                                                             
information about a child's commission of an offense, punishable as                                                             
a felony or involved the use of a deadly weapon, to also be part of                                                             
those records.  He noted that the Senate has passed this on the                                                                 
floor without objection.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Number 0371                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN thought there was something already in statute                                                             
similar to Section 2.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN said he remembered dealing with that issue but                                                                    
doesn't recall the details.  He tried to tailor this so it is                                                                   
specifically quite limited to use of a deadly weapon or something                                                               
punishable as a felony.  School districts want to know who is                                                                   
coming in so they can protect the other children.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Number 0478                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE wondered what would happen if a student who                                                                
who has committed a felony in another state transfers to Alaska,                                                                
but the first state's law prohibits the transfer of those records.                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN said he doesn't know for sure.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON asked Mr. Hargreaves to answer that question.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Number 0540                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
DARROLL HARGRAVES, Executive Director, Alaska Council of School                                                                 
Administrators, stated he didn't believe they could require a                                                                   
school district outside to furnish any records if it were against                                                               
their state law; that would be totally controlled by the laws of                                                                
that state.  He said they could consider not enrolling the student                                                              
for lack of records, like they do for health records, but he didn't                                                             
think that would be fair to the student because it is the state law                                                             
out there that they are dealing with.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked the sponsor if it is his intention to                                                                
slow down or stop the enrollment of an out-of-state student in that                                                             
circumstance.  He would like him to establish some type of intent.                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN said this amendment was offered by Senator Torgerson                                                              
address a circumstance in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School                                                                    
District.  He believes it was Senator Torgerson's intent to address                                                             
the problem in that school district of people moving from one                                                                   
school to another.  The question raised is valid; it goes a little                                                              
beyond that specific circumstance, but it is a legitimate one to                                                                
consider.  He doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize the                                                                     
student's performance, but on the other hand they need to do                                                                    
everything they can to protect the students and the teachers.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Number 0728                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
ROBERT BUTTCANE, Juvenile Probation Officer, Youth Corrections,                                                                 
Division of Family and Youth Services, Department of Health and                                                                 
Social Services, came forward to answer questions.  He answered                                                                 
Representative Green's question about the way this process works                                                                
now.  He told the committee that Youth Corrections receives police                                                              
referrals from a variety of law enforcement agencies.  When it is                                                               
determined that one of those referrals raised the concern for                                                                   
safety of students or school staff, they notify the school through                                                              
a safety alert document.  It is generally channeled to a single                                                                 
point within a local school district office; once it is within the                                                              
school system, they have their own internal policies as to how that                                                             
information is disseminated.  In general, it is disseminated to                                                                 
those people who have a need to know, including the principal of                                                                
the school in which the student is enrolled and appropriate school                                                              
staff, which might include school counselors, teachers and so on.                                                               
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR. BUTTCANE said those safety alert records become part of the                                                                 
student's record, and apparently some of those safety alert notices                                                             
were not being transferred to other schools when the student                                                                    
transferred.  The language in SB 27 helps take care of that because                                                             
it puts the responsibility for transferring that information on the                                                             
school the student leaves.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. BUTTCANE informed the committee that across the state Youth                                                                 
Corrections has worked with individual school districts as to what                                                              
kind of information they want to receive safety alert notices on.                                                               
Some school districts want to be notified of any offense referral,                                                              
whether it be a misdemeanor or a felony referral, while other                                                                   
school districts only want to be notified when Youth Corrections                                                                
decides there is an element of concern to the safety of students                                                                
and staff.  Youth Corrections is attempting to meet the local needs                                                             
and concerns of those schools and are notifying the schools on                                                                  
issues related to safety.  This bill helps ensure that when a                                                                   
student, who has felony-related offenses or weapons-related                                                                     
offenses, transfers to a new school, the new school receives that                                                               
information                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Number 0911                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked if Youth Corrections is capable of                                                                   
sending the student records of the students defined in Section 2                                                                
out-of-state.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. BUTTCANE said they do it; but he's not aware if they have sent                                                              
them to a school.  The information that they share with other                                                                   
states' jurisdictions tends to be to other probation or law                                                                     
enforcement entities.  He is not aware of an out-of-state school                                                                
approaching Alaska Youth Corrections for records or information.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Number 0963                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON asked if there was anything in the bill that                                                                  
would give the schools in Youth Corrections any problems.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. BUTTCANE said no.  They try to maintain an open and cooperative                                                             
relationship with schools.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON asked if it would be a problem for a parent to                                                                
see school records in a lock-down facility.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. BUTTCANE explained they would direct the parent to the school                                                               
officials.  Although they may be housed under the same roof, they                                                               
are two separate entities; the school records would be the purview                                                              
of the school principal.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Number 1040                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON asked if the state is the official guardian of a                                                              
foster child.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. BUTTCANE answered yes, the foster parent is an active partner                                                               
in that guardianship in a broader sense.  What the probation                                                                    
officer has is information the foster parent should probably have                                                               
as well.  That is not the case for every piece of information in                                                                
the probation file, but it is good case work that the foster parent                                                             
be fully informed and be a full participant.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Number 1078                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON asked Senator Leman when there is a long-term                                                                 
foster placement, should foster parents have access to this                                                                     
information, and do they fit under the classification of guardian.                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN suggested they ask the Department of Law.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON said he won't hold this bill up, but he will find                                                             
out.  If indeed foster parents would have a difficulty getting this                                                             
information in a long-term placement, he would ask to amend it on                                                               
the house floor to include foster parents.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Number 1158                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WHITAKER made a motion to move CSSB 27(FIN) from the                                                             
committee with individual recommendations and zero fiscal note.                                                                 
There being no objection, CSSB 27 moved from the House Health,                                                                  
Education and Social Services Standing Committee.