CASPER, Wyo. — The Natrona County School District Board of Trustees had no choice.
The 2024 Legislature passed a parents’ bill of rights that mandated every school district to create a similar policy that mostly affects educators.
The board tried to steer a middle course when it met at the district’s Central Services Center, 970 N. Glenn Road, on Monday.
Some people who spoke with trustees during the public comment session didn’t like it, sometimes for very different reasons.
Board Chairman Kevin Christopherson, noting the district had no other choice, attacked the Legislature.
“That’s ridiculous,” Christopherson said. “You can’t pass a law that is so vague and doesn’t even have the intent that they wrote the law anywhere in it.”
The law, the rationale and the resulting policy are all unclear, and having local districts wade through the policies in the short time before the law goes into effect on July 1 is an insult to school districts, Christopherson said. “So shame on you.”
Trustee Kyla Alvey presented the policy for its second and final reading, stating that much of what is in the new policy already existed in other policies.
“We tried to keep it a little larger so that the teachers still have the ability to work best with their knowledge because they’re the ones working directly with the students,” Alvey said. “It will be a learning curve for everyone, so please take it easy with your teachers as this is newly implemented.”
The policy was the result of Joint Education Committee Interim Senate File 9 and will become Wyoming Statute 21-3-135. It will come into effect on July 1.
WS 21-3-135 is described as “notifications to parents and guardians regarding the educational, mental and emotional health of students; student welfare; procedures; School District Prohibitions.”
The district’s seven-page document begins with a front saying: “The Board of Trustees of Natrona County School District Number 1, Natrona County School District Number 1 recognizes the right of parents to make decisions regarding the care and control of children theirs. This policy attempts to describe parents’ rights regarding their student’s notice and records, including those rights described in Wyoming Statute 21-3-135. Parents and guardians will be notified annually of their right to file a complaint if they believe their rights as described in this policy have been violated.”
State Rep. Jeanette Ward, R-House District 57, told trustees that she took an active part in the development of WS 21-3-135. An incident in another school district prompted the bill, after she said parents’ rights were violated when a young student was put on a path of “social transition” without their knowledge, including using different names and pronouns for her. , Ward said.
Ward liked the politics of the board, she said.
However, the policy was written in a way that could allow a district staff member to advocate to parents for a student’s desire to transition socially, she said, adding that was one of the most prominent reasons the law was written next. first.
“I am disappointed that the proposed definition of ‘change’ in a student’s definition of physical, mental or emotional health or well-being does not include the desire to be referred to by a different name or pronouns, as that was the whole point of the Senate File 9, ‘Parental rights in education.’ Please consider addressing this concern,” Ward said.
Dirk Andrews, president of the Natrona County Education Association, congratulated everyone. He understands the district should have this policy, he said, but was disappointed the legislature chose to pass the new law without input from educators.
“With that said, this policy will add extra work for educators,” said Andrews, who is a kindergarten teacher.
Kindergarten teachers have social studies standards that focus on the family unit, and they will have to have parents “opt in” in order to teach, he said.
“Secondly, this policy essentially requires educators to violate the rights of students and turn them over to their parents or guardians if we have actual knowledge,” he said. “This will create a barrier between educators and their ability to connect with their students, and it will lead to educators walking away when those students need us most.”
Andrews noted the irony of lawmakers and their attitude toward local control of education. “I like how Wyoming is all about local control while we’re not, which seems to be happening more and more today,” he said.
Educators will need to be trained because some people will try to catch an educator doing something wrong, Andrews added.
Jennifer Hopkins said she supports the new policy and doubts what Andrews and other critics have said.
“Hopefully it won’t be too big of a deal, I hope not,” Hopkins said. “Parents just need to be notified of what’s going on and what’s being taught in certain subjects.”
Michael Stedillie referred to a trustee who told him to always follow the law, so he said it means something that doesn’t break the law.
WS 21-3-135 won’t become law until July 1, Stedillie said, “So I can happily vote against this policy that supports something that will be a law that I don’t support.”
Thomas Myler said he mostly supports the policy and the district does a good job supporting parents’ rights. However, he disputed the argument that it will have little effect on teachers.
“I find it a little ironic that some in the legislature want to limit what our teachers can focus on teaching, yet we now have a policy and a bill that requires them to do more than just teach,” he said.
“It’s less teaching and more spying, in a way.”
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