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Committee adopts amendment then votes not to recommend parental-rights education bill
Summary
Senate Bill 72, a proposal to require schools to provide written notice of parental rights and statutory citations, was amended in committee but ultimately not recommended by a 2-to-1 committee vote.
Senate Bill 72, which would require school districts to provide parents with written notice of statutory and federal protections for student information and parental decisionmaking, drew prolonged debate over scope, evidentiary standards, attorney-fee remedies and whether the law should cover private schools.
The committee chair opened discussion saying he had an amendment on the table. Committee members debated multiple parts of the amendment (2025-0527s) and the underlying bill: whether private schools should be excluded; whether mental-health evaluation and treatment should be explicitly included in the list of procedures for which parents must be informed and give consent; whether a prevailing parent should automatically be awarded attorney fees; and whether the standard for finding an "infringement" of parental rights should be "clear and convincing evidence" or the lower "preponderance of the evidence."
Supporters said the bill consolidates numerous statutes and federal references into an accessible annual notice for parents. One sponsor argued the statute should be distributed annually in student handbooks or by other written notice so parents know their rights. Opponents and some committee members raised practical concerns: that providing full citations to federal code and statutes is not the same as producing a readable summary; that the attorney-fee provision would be unusual compared with typical civil practice; and that the bill as drafted might unintentionally sweep private schools into the requirement.
The committee adopted the technical and clarifying amendment (2025-0527s), including an explicit reference to mental-health treatment and grammatical fixes. The panel then voted on a motion "not to pass as amended." By voice vote the motion carried 2-to-1, so the committee did not give the bill a favorable recommendation. Committee members said they support notifying parents but remained divided about the bill’s language and remedy provisions.
