The House Education Committee met Friday morning, February 3, 2023, and took the following actions on its docket.
HB 2137 (Delaney) Requires each local school board to submit to the Department of Education before the start of the school year, and to resubmit to the Department as necessary to remain current, a description of the reading intervention materials and core reading curriculum to be used at each of the schools within such local school division and the job description and contact information for each reading specialist and any dyslexia specialist employed by such school division. The bill requires the Department to publicly post on its website such information submitted by each local school board and update its website as necessary to ensure that such information is easily accessible, accurate, and current. Finally, the bill requires each local school board to post, maintain, and update as necessary a link on its website to the page on the Department's website on which such information is posted.
The bill was Reported with Substitute by a vote of 19-0.
HB 1387 (Greenhalgh) Requires each interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public elementary or secondary school or by a public institution of higher education to be expressly designated as one of the following based on biological sex: (i) males, men, or boys; (ii) females, women, or girls; or (iii) coed or mixed if participation on such team or sport is open to both (a) males, men, or boys and (b) females, women, or girls. The bill requires identification of the student's biological sex on an athletics eligibility form signed by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant to be submitted by any such student who desires to try out for or participate in an interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females, women, or girls from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill further prohibits any interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public elementary or secondary school or a public institution of higher education from competing against any interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a private elementary or secondary school or private institution of higher education unless such private school or institution complies with the applicable provisions of the bill.
The bill prohibits any government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking any other adverse action against public school or institution of higher education based on a violation of the provisions of the bill and creates a cause of action for any school or institution of higher education that suffers harm as a result of a violation of the bill. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any student that suffers harm as a result of a knowing violation of a provision of the bill by a school or institution or as a result of the student's reporting a violation of a provision of the bill by a school, institution, athletic association, or organization.
The bill was Reported with Amendment by a vote of 11-9.
HB 2432 (LaRock) Requires any person licensed as administrative or instructional personnel by the Board of Education and employed by a local school board who, in the scope of his employment, has reason to believe, as a result of direct communication from a student, that such student is self-identifying as a gender different from the student's biological sex to contact as soon as practicable at least one of such student's parents to ask whether such parent is aware of the student's mental state and whether the parent wishes to obtain or has already obtained counseling for such student. The bill requires the Board of Education to include in its guidelines for making such contact criteria to assess whether students have begun to self-identify as a gender different from their biological sex and criteria for notification of and discussions with parents of students self-identifying as a gender different from their biological sex. The bill also prohibits any licensed school counselor, professional counselor, clinical social worker, or psychologist or other counseling personnel in any school division from (i) encouraging or coercing a minor to withhold from the minor's parent the fact that the minor's perception of his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with the minor's biological sex or (ii) withholding from a minor's parent information relating to the minor's perception that his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with the minor's biological sex. Finally, the bill clarifies, in the definition of the term "abused or neglected child," that in no event shall referring to and raising the child in a manner consistent with the child's biological sex, including related mental health or medical decisions, be considered abuse or neglect.
This bill incorporates HB 1707 (Durant).
The bill was Reported with Amendment by a vote of 11-10.
