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Rep. Boyle introduces bill to bar taxpayer funds from supporting teacher unions; penalties outlined
Summary
Representative Judy Boyle introduced RS 32,070 to bar use of taxpayer dollars to support teacher unions, with narrow exceptions and escalating penalties; committee members asked whether teachers and school boards were consulted and requested research on effects on district‑union collaboration.
Representative Judy Boyle (District 9) presented RS 32,070, a draft that would prohibit taxpayer funds from being used to support teacher unions. Boyle explained the bill’s structure and said it contains exceptions where a negotiated agreement permits unpaid time off, personal leave, or if a union reimburses the district. "Pages 3 and 4 are different definitions in the part of the code that's ethics in government. Pages 5 and 6 are the penalties and they increase with each violation," Boyle said.
The bill gives definitions in both the ethics code and the educational code and outlines penalties that escalate with repeat violations, from $250 on the first offense to up to $2,500 on the third offense. Boyle said the bill would forbid districts from contracting in ways that would violate the prohibition.
Committee members asked whether teachers, unions or school boards had been consulted; Boyle said this bill is a cleaned‑up version of a measure from the prior year and that she had not worked with teachers or school boards on this draft. Representative Achilles urged the sponsor to consider research suggesting that collaboration between districts and teachers unions can benefit student outcomes and requested that the sponsor bring such research to the hearing. Representative Deiger asked whether professional organizations that sometimes advocate on policy would be swept up in the prohibition; Boyle said the bill targets paid activity done on behalf of unions and does not prevent individuals from doing unpaid advocacy on their own time.
The committee voted to introduce RS 32,070 for a hearing.
