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Bill would require parental presence for most school interviews of minor students, with exceptions for child-welfare cases
Summary
Representative Vanessa Sheehan presented HB 1267 to require parental presence for questioning of minor students by school attorneys or personnel, except in legitimate child-welfare cases; sponsors and senators discussed remedies and the preferred pathway for complaints.
Representative Vanessa Sheehan introduced House Bill 1267 after a constituent reported that school attorneys conducted in‑school interviews of children without notifying parents. "I believe language along the lines of that in HB 12-67 is needed to protect minor students from being questioned without their parents or legal guardians present," Sheehan told the committee.
The bill would require school districts to adopt policies to notify and allow parental presence for questioning, while carving out exceptions for legitimate child-welfare investigations. Sheehan said the bill leaves implementation to local districts but would provide statutory backing to prevent future incidents.
Senators asked about remedies if a district fails to follow the requirement; Sheehan said parents could take complaints to the Department of Education or, if necessary, pursue superior-court remedies already referenced in statute. Committee members suggested adding a local complaint or school-board step as an intermediate remedy before court.
Parent advocates and speakers at the hearing backed the bill as a common-sense safeguard to help students feel more comfortable and to protect parental rights; no final vote was recorded in the hearing transcript.
