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House approves parental-notification bill for classroom evacuations after debate on scope and special-education cases
Summary
The House passed a bill requiring local education agencies to notify parents when an entire classroom is evacuated because of disruptive behavior; sponsor said schools would send a single end-of-day notification and not multiple instantaneous reports.
Representative Mayberry moved passage of Senate Bill 2087 (House Bill 1895), which requires local education agencies to notify parents or guardians when a classroom is evacuated due to disruptive behavior. Mayberry said the bill was driven by feedback from a constituent and classroom teachers who reported that parents sometimes learn only at home that their child had been removed from class.
Members questioned the breadth and application in special-education settings. Chairman Clemens asked whether notifying "every parent of every child in the classroom if a single child simply interrupts classroom instruction" was necessary and noted the standard "substantially interrupt classroom instruction" could be vague. Representative Parkinson raised the hypothetical of special-education classes where a student may react violently multiple times a day; Mayberry clarified the bill distinguishes between single removals and a full-class evacuation and that the intent was a single end-of-day report when the entire classroom is cleared because of another child's behavior.
The House passed the bill (I's 57, 32 nays, five present not voting). Sponsors said the law aims to avoid singling out a disruptive student by informing all parents when a full-class evacuation occurs.
