The legislature is limping to the finish. May 4 is the day that legislators no longer receive their daily per diem payments and is technically the last day of the legislative session. At this point, it seems unlikely that they will meet this deadline. Both chambers debated all week, but we still have no budget specific targets. The House is rumored to have set their budget targets but isn’t releasing them. The Senate has released their overall budget target, but according to appropriators, they have not received the number to start putting together individual budgets.   

The property tax bill still looms in the background. The new bill, which was introduced last week, has yet to see a subcommittee in either chamber, the first step for full committee consideration. IASB continues to work on evaluating the impact on districts and hopes to release that information next week. For a complete summary of what happened this week, check out our bill summaries. 

HF 1009—Paying for School Security Costs from Management Fund: This bill would allow school districts to use money from the management fund to pay for school security infrastructure, which could include weapons detection or door monitoring systems. The fund could also be used to pay for school resource officers or private security. 

IASB is registered in support of the bill. This is another avenue for districts to be able to pay for school security, which is often expensive. The bill passed the House Ways and Means Committee.  

HF 471—Concussion Protocol Providers: This bill adds that someone who holds a doctorate in psychology with specialty training in neuropsychology or concussion management as a licensed health care provider can administer care when concussion protocol is required.     

IASB is registered undecided on the bill, but we welcome any qualified providers to assist districts with concussion protocol. The bill passed the House by a vote of 97-0 and passed the Senate by a vote of 47-0. It will now be sent to Governor Reynolds for her consideration.  

HF 706—Open Meetings Fines and Mandatory Training: This bill increases fines for violations of open meetings laws to between $500 and $2,500. If the violation is knowingly committed, the fines increase to between $5,000 and $12,500.     

Additionally, it requires training for newly elected public officials, including school board members, on open meetings and open records laws. The training must be 1-2 hours and can be provided by IPIB or another approved provider, like IASB. The bill is written to ensure school board members would be allowed to complete this training at our annual convention, even if they haven’t been officially seated on the board.  

IASB is registered undecided on the bill. The increased fines are very steep for unpaid school board members, but we can agree that training on open meetings and open records laws is important, and we already provide this information to our members. The bill passed the Senate with an amendment by a vote of 34-13, so it will be sent back to the House for their consideration.  

SF 277—Chronic Absenteeism Fixes: This bill aims to correct and fix some of the issues that have come up because of last year’s legislation aimed at addressing chronic absenteeism.     

The bill directs the Department of Education to develop model policy to provide county attorneys, which should ensure more consistent enforcement. It removes the requirement that schools send a letter by certified mail to parents or guardians when a child becomes chronically absent, instead requiring it to be sent by email, ordinary mail, or delivered in person. It adds exemptions to the chronic absenteeism policy, including for military service or attending a wedding or funeral. The bill also clarifies that the consequences for being chronically absent, including a school engagement meeting, will only be initiated if the absences are impacting a student’s academic achievement.     

IASB is registered in support of the bill. We know there are other fixes that might be required to improve the effectiveness of the new chronic absenteeism law, but this is a step in the right direction. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 47-0 and passed the House by a vote of 93-0. It will now be sent to Governor Reynolds for her consideration.   

SF 175—Human Growth and Development Curriculum Requirements: This bill would require school districts to provide instruction on fetal development with a video, ultrasound, or real images in grades 5-12. An amendment on the House floor requires that the instruction not be provided or produced by an entity that performs or promotes abortion.  

IASB is registered opposed to the bill, as we are on all curriculum mandates. We are opposed to the process rather than the content. We think the legislature should develop broad requirements, like human growth and development, the State Board of Education then develops content standards and local school districts should be able to choose a curriculum to meet those standards. The bill passed the House by a vote of 60-31. It will be sent back to the Senate for their consideration on the amended version.