Senate Education sent four K-12 education bills to the floor on Tuesday morning.
Committee members passed House Bill 1181, which allows for the requirement of a certification of health from an employee of a school at the request of the district’s Superintendent, on a unanimous vote.
ASBSD supports the bill.
Rep. Peggy Gibson, the bill’s sponsor, said the bill returned the certificate of health clause that was struck during a statute review in 2012.
The certificate of health would verify a physical or mental condition, or lack thereof, that could hinder a school employee from performing their work tasks.
ASBSD Lobbyist Dick Tieszen said the bill is “helpful to both the rest of the school, as well as the employee.
Another unanimous vote by the committee carried House Bill 1126 to the Senate floor.
The bill allows an appointed school board member to countersign school board payments. ASBSD supports the bill.
Tieszen said HB 1126 “brings some practical sense…to the ability (of school districts) to pay the bills.”
Rep. Kyle Schoenfish, the bill’s sponsor, said it would strengthen “internal control” in a school district.
House Bill 1167, which allows schools to keep and administer epinephrine auto-injectors in certain cases, was passed by the committee on a unanimous vote.
Susan Keltz, a school nurse, testified that without epinephrine readily available an anaphylactic (allergic reaction) can be deadly.
“With this bill, lives will be saved,” Keltz said.
ASBSD is monitoring the bill.
Finally, committee members passed House Bill 1030, which makes evaluation data of a teacher, principal or other school employee compiled by a school district confidential, on a 6-1 vote.
Secretary of Education Melody Schopp testified the evaluation information will “improve the practice” of teaching and needs to be confidential because it could contain student learning objective targets that have the potential to identify students and will also help foster an environment of growth of teachers.
ASBSD is monitoring the bill.
All four bills now head to the Senate floor for discussion and vote.
For updates on these pieces of legislation, and others, check the ASBSD Blog and Bill Tracker page.