Feb. 26—CHEYENNE — A bill related to parental rights in education successfully passed the Wyoming State Senate on a 6-3 vote Monday, clearing it from the House Education Committee.
Rep. Carly Provenza (D-Laramie) opposed Senate File 9, “Parental Rights in Education-1,” calling it a “harmful bill” that fails to protect the rights of students experiencing abuse at home. He said that there is. Although she understood the right of parents to raise their children, as the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled, she worried that abused children would not have a foot to stand on.
“This conversation continues to be harmful. We continue to erase our children,” Provenza said.
When students disclose to school officials that they are being abused at home, many educators who testified said they were reluctant to report that information to parents for fear of retaliation from parents against students. Ta.
Lindsay Adam, a teacher and member of the Level Up teachers group, said she was concerned about the unprompted “sharing of secrets” from her students. Adam also said the bill broke confidentiality between students and their counselors who are uncomfortable discussing it with parents.
“If the child feels comfortable talking to their parents about these things, they will,” Adam said. “It is no secret that students struggling with their sexual orientation are at the highest risk of suicide.”
Other public testimony in opposition to the bill reflected the same concerns heard when the Senate Education Committee first discussed the bill several weeks ago. According to the bill's language, school nurses risk losing their licenses if they immediately treat students without notifying parents, said Janet Farmer, president of the Wyoming National School Nurses Association. said.
Specifically, Farmer pointed to Paragraph B of the bill, which requires school districts to provide a list of “all medical services” for which a student's parents must authorize.
“When you make a list, something is always left out,” Farmer said.
During the committee's discussion of the bill at the end of the session, Rep. Landon Brown (R-Cheyenne), who is married to a school nurse, proposed an amendment that would retain most of the language in the section. succeeded in.
According to Brown, the key word is “all medical services.”
“I think that's pretty plain language,” Brown said. “Including “all medical services provided'' would result in a long list.''
He said the language could easily be interpreted by parents to mean medical-related services provided by schools. Mr. Brown also succeeded in passing another amendment after health care to include “pain, injury, illness, and evaluation” to narrow the scope of services provided under this definition.
The bill was sent to the House floor for further debate. Rep. Jerry Obermueller (R-Casper) voted against the bill. Brown and Provenza.
Hannah Shields is a state government reporter for the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Contact her at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her at X@happyfeet004.
