SCS/SB 728 - This act establishes the Parents' Bill of Rights Act of 2024 and creates provisions relating to discussion of certain topics by school personnel and the physical privacy of children.PARENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS ACT OF 2024 (Section 161.841)
This act creates the "Parents' Bill of Rights Act of 2024", which shall be construed to empower parents to enforce rights, as delineated in the act, to access records maintained by schools in which their children are enrolled in a timely manner or as specified in the act. The act defines a "school" as a public school, school district, charter school, or virtual school authorized under the provisions of the Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program.
Parents and members of the public shall have the right to be given the opportunity to view online and submit comments on all textbooks and instructional materials under review by a school. Publishers and other content providers shall given the opportunity to submit comments in response to an evaluation of textbooks or other instructional materials, as specified in the act. All comments submitted in relation to a reviewed textbook or instructional material shall be posted online.
No school shall require nondisclosure agreements for a parent's review of curricula, and each school shall allow parents, within two business days upon request, to review or make a copy of curriculum documents or to receive such documents in an electronic format, provided that no request would cause an infringement of copyright protections under the federal Copyright Act of 1976. Where the curricular materials being made available to parents for review are subject to copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property protection, the review process shall include technical and procedural safeguards to ensure that the materials are not able to be widely disseminated to the general public in violation of the intellectual property rights of the publisher or any contractual agreements between the publisher and the school, and that content validity is not undermined. If more than twenty pages are being copied using the school's equipment, the school may, at the school's discretion, charge the parent a fee described in the act.
No school shall collect any biometric data of a minor child without obtaining parental consent, except for biometric data necessary to create and issue appropriate school identification cards. Any company that produces school identification cards is prohibited from selling students' biometric data, and is additionally required to ensure that any copies of students' biometric data are destroyed upon the successful production of school identification cards. A school that collects a child's biometric data shall ensure that all copies of such data are destroyed within one year of the child's withdrawal of participation in all school activities.
Each school board meeting or charter school governing board meeting approving curricula shell be held in public in accordance with the Missouri Sunshine Law and shall allow for public comments.
Finally, each school shall notify parents of certain safety incidents and criminal charges filed against teachers, employees, and any guests or visitors to a school, as outlined in the act.
This provision is identical to a provision in HCS/SS#2/SCS/SBs 4, 42 & 89 (2023) and similar to provisions in HCS/HB 482 (2023), in HCS/SS#2/SB 761 (2022), in SS/SCS/SB 741 (2022), in HB 2195 (2022), in HB 1858 (2022), and in HB 1474 (2022).
DISCUSSION OF CERTAIN TOPICS BY SCHOOL PERSONNEL
(Sections 170.385 and 170.386)
This act prohibits public school officials from encouraging a student under the age of 18 years old to adopt a gender identity or sexual orientation. The act additionally prohibits public school officials from withholding information regarding a student's gender identity from the student's parent.
The act defines a student's "documented identity" as such student's gender identity or sex as registered by the student's parent during enrollment. If a student's parent does not register such student's gender identity or sex during enrollment, the student's documented identity shall be their biological sex as correctly stated on their birth certificate or other government record, as specified in the act.
A school official shall inform a student's parent within twenty-four hours if the student expresses confusion about their documented identity or requests to use personal pronouns that differ from their documented identity. A school official shall obtain written parental consent before allowing a student to use a name other than the name provided by the parent when registering the student for school and before encouraging a student to wear certain items of clothing. Finally, a school official shall not encourage a student to pursue gender reassignment therapy or surgical procedures.
Any teacher, including any school counselor, who violates the provisions of the act shall face charges of incompetence, immorality, and neglect of duty under the laws governing the discipline of holders of certificate of license to teach. The State Board of Education shall promptly investigate any claim from a parent of a public school student that a teacher of such student has violated the act. If the claim is found to be valid, the State Board shall discipline such teacher as set forth in the act. The Board of Nursing shall promptly investigate any claim from a parent of a public school student that school nurse has knowingly violated the act. If the Board finds that such claim is valid, the Board shall file a complaint against such school nurse's license with the Administrative Hearing Commission on grounds of unethical or unprofessional conduct involving a minor. Any other school staff member who knowingly violates the provisions of the act shall have his or her employment terminated for gross misconduct, and shall additionally be ineligible to work in any public school for a period of four years.
A parent may bring a civil action against a school district, public elementary or secondary school, or public charter school that violates the provisions of the act, and the attorney general may bring a civil action against any school district, public elementary or secondary school, or public charter school that violates the provisions of the act.
These provisions are similar to SCS/SB 134 (2023).
PHYSICAL PRIVACY OF CHILDREN (Section 171.425)
This act requires that all public school shower rooms, locker rooms, and restrooms accessible for use by minors under 18 years of age shall be designated for and used by male or female minors only. The act provides for the best available accommodations for any minor who asserts that his or her gender differs from his or her biological sex, provided that such minor's parent shall consent to such accommodations in writing. Such accommodations may include, but are not limited to, controlled use of faculty shower rooms, locker rooms, or restrooms, or access to single-stall and unisex restrooms.
A school district that violates any provision of the act shall be ineligible to receive state aid and shall be classified as unaccredited until the district proves to the satisfaction of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that it is no longer in violation of the act.
This provision is identical to SB 1274 (2024) and is similar to SB 974 (2024), HB 2355 (2024), HB 2357 (2024), a provision in SB 165 (2023), SB 690 (2018), SCS/SB 98 (2017), and SB 720 (2016).
OLIVIA SHANNON