Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Enrollment Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House committee introduces bill allowing schools to deny enrollment for students with serious adjudications or who are disenrolled during expulsion process
Summary
Representative Sean Dyger, a Republican from District 23, asked the House Education Committee to introduce RS 32392, a draft request that would let local school boards deny enrollment to applicants whose conduct "in the judgment of the board" is dangerous and would add rules for recording serious adjudications and cases where parents withdraw students during an expulsion process.
Representative Sean Dyger, a Republican from District 23, asked the House Education Committee to introduce RS 32392, a draft request that tightens language allowing school boards to deny or bar enrollment for students the board judges dangerous and to record certain adjudications and enrollment history.
The bill restructures existing language into a list format, replaces the term "incorrigible" with a standard that allows a board to deny enrollment based on conduct "in the judgment of the board," and adds a provision to record cases where a student is withdrawn by parents during an ongoing expulsion process so that the school receiving a later enrollment application can be informed. Representative Dyger said the bill also adds a new subsection for students who have a conviction or adjudication under what he identified as "section 25 to 5 5A," describing those as serious felony-level offenses; he emphasized the language aims to capture only adjudications for the most serious offenses and not ordinary misdemeanors.
Dyger told the committee the proposal preserves due-process rights for students. He pointed members to text in the draft showing a process for students to petition a school board and said the bill leaves final authority with local school boards.
Committee members asked how juvenile adjudications would be disclosed and whether virtual charter schools could deny enrollment. Representative Clow asked how one would learn of juvenile adjudications when juvenile records are generally closed; Dyger answered the provision requires disclosure that a conviction or adjudication occurred but does not create a mechanism to obtain juvenile court files. On virtual charters, Dyger said his intent was not to remove placement options for students and that placement in settings such as virtual charter schools could be used when students are not in general classroom populations.
The committee moved to introduce RS 32392. Representative Gardner moved the motion; the transcript does not record a second. The chair called for a voice vote and members responded "aye." The committee approved introduction and the request will be printed.
Votes at a glance: RS 32392 — introduced (voice vote); mover: Representative Gardner; second: not specified; outcome: approved (voice vote).
