Conferees split over disciplinary scope and parental notification in proposed teacher transparency bill

A Committee of Conference on Senate Bill 96 ended without agreement after lawmakers disputed which workers the bill should cover and how narrowly the bill may permit withholding information about student welfare.

The prime sponsor, identified in the meeting as the senator leading the bill’s effort, said the bill was intended to cover credentialed educators and administrators and to prevent the situation that occurred in Manchester from happening again. The sponsor also said, “There’s no way in the world I’m gonna accept that language” that appears to bar consideration of actual psychological or emotional injury as a compelling state interest for withholding information.

The disagreement centered on three points: whether the bill’s violation and penalty sections should apply to third‑party medical or mental‑health contractors, the wording about what constitutes a compelling state interest for withholding information, and the specifics of disciplinary penalties. The sponsor argued the bill was written for credentialed educators and administrators, not…