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Senate advances bill letting employees take limited time for parent–educator conferences
Summary
SB156 would permit employees of larger employers to use up to four hours of earned time per year for parent–educator conferences; floor debate centered on notice, employer mandates, coverage for shift workers and whether the provision should be mandatory or voluntary.
Senate Bill 156, sponsored by Senator Shepherd, would authorize eligible employees at employers with more than 25 workers to use up to four hours of earned leave in a year to attend parent–educator conferences. Shepherd framed the bill as a modest duty that helps parents, particularly low-wage workers, participate in school-based interventions and collaborative meetings about their children.
Floor discussion probed whether the measure would effectively mandate employer behavior, how notice requirements (three days’ reasonable notice in the bill) would function for emergent meetings, and whether the law would push conferences into daytime at the expense of evening access. The sponsor offered and the chamber approved language changes (substituting "parent educator" for "parent teacher") and agreed to preserve exceptions for small employers and for emergent situations where schools need prompt response.
After debate and a roll call, the clerk reported SB156 had 16 ayes, 9 nays and 4 absent; the bill was moved to the third-reading calendar for further consideration and potential final passage.
