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Committee Hears Mixed Testimony on Bill to End Mandatory Statewide School Closures for Educator Conferences
Summary
A House State Administration committee hearing on House Bill 557 drew lengthy testimony from teachers, school groups and conservative organizations about whether state law should require districts to close for certain educator conferences and whether taxpayer-paid time should be used for union-sponsored events.
Representative Jodee Etchart, sponsor of House Bill 557, told the House State Administration Committee the bill would allow local school districts to decide how pupil-instruction-related (PIR) days are used and would remove a statutory provision that requires districts to close for ‘‘state meetings of teachers organizations.’’
Supporters of the bill, including Maxford Nelson of the Freedom Foundation and Derek Streicher of the Montana Family Foundation, argued that the statute in current law gives preferential, taxpayer-backed time off to teacher union activities and said some conference sessions contain partisan content. ‘‘There is no justification for the state to compel taxpayers to pay for teachers to attend the convention of a private membership organization,’’ Nelson said.
Opponents, including a long list of educators, school administrators and local…
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