Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Heated hearing on HB 557 over state‑mandated PIR days and educator conferences
Summary
HB557 would remove statutory language allowing pupil‑instruction‑related (PIR) days to be used for state teacher-organization meetings and strike the requirement that districts close for those meetings; proponents argued taxpayer protection and local control, while educators and school groups said the change would harm rural teachers and disrupt calendars and student activities.
Representative Jodie Etchart opened the hearing on House Bill 557, describing it as a "pro teacher, pro taxpayer, and pro local control" measure that would let local districts tailor PIR days and would remove statutory authorization for teachers to use PIR days to attend state meetings of teacher organizations.
Proponents including Maxford Nelson of the Freedom Foundation and Finley Warden (who described undercover observations) argued the MFPE educator conference includes sessions they characterized as political or ideological and said the statute in its current form improperly directs taxpayer-funded release time to those events. "There's no justification for the state to compel taxpayers to…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
