Committee moves to replace lawsuit right with local school-board complaint process in bill addressing parental notification

A Senate education committee on Tuesday amended Senate Bill 76 to remove a statutory cause of action for alleged violations and replace it with an administrative complaint process handled by local boards of education, then voted to pass the bill out of committee as amended.

The amendment replaces the bill's subsection that allowed individuals to sue and recover attorney fees with a process in which a parent "aggrieved by a violation of the statute" files a written complaint with the school district's Board of Education. The board must appoint an investigating committee, which must meet with the parent and -- within 30 days after receipt of the complaint -- present written recommendations to the board. The board is required to consider the committee's recommendations at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The amendment retains a sentence preserving any other legal remedies that may be available to an aggrieved individual.

Committee counsel Jason explained the amendment during the meeting, saying it "strikes the current contents of subsection e which provides a statutory cause of action" and instead creates the administrative complaint procedure described above.

Supporters and opponents focused discussion on how the new process would work at the local level. Representative Pichney said the amendment "makes sense" and addressed the clause that had given them "heartburn." Committee counsel said the size and specific makeup of the investigating committee would be left to each local board of education at its discretion; when Representative Haskins asked whether a committee could be only one person, counsel replied that a committee is "by definition more than 1 person" and that a two-person committee would be within a board's discretion. Counsel also confirmed that if a child has joint custody, the complaint can be filed by one parent alone.

Representative Featherston, a teacher and parent, said she believed the bill still presented "fundamental problems," asserting it would create "state sanctioned bullying," and said she would oppose the measure. Representative McNorton said the bill would standardize practice across districts and voiced support.

A motion to adopt the amendment was made and carried on a voice vote. Representative Steele then moved to pass Senate Bill 76 as amended; Representative Brantley seconded. The committee passed the bill out of committee as amended. Several members asked to be recorded as voting no: Representative Miller, Representative Featherston, Representative Haskins, Representative Wynne and Representative Stockstill.

The amendment explicitly preserves a parent's right to pursue other legal remedies beyond the administrative process. The new local-complaint procedure requires boards to act on committee recommendations at their next regularly scheduled meeting and sets a 30-day deadline for the investigating committee's written recommendations.

The committee concluded its action on this bill and moved on to other agenda items.