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.