Governor Signs Bill To Require Schools To Offer In-Person Classes

Friday morning, Governor Reynolds signed into law Senate File 160, a bill to require schools to offer in-person classes.

The law requires schools to begin to offer in-person education beginning on Monday, February 8.

Bills of interest:

SF 160 - In-Person Classes (A) - This bill, a priority of Governor Reynolds, sets forth the criteria for a school district to provide in-person instruction.

Passed the Senate 29-18; Passed the House 59-39. Signed into law by Governor Reynolds 1/29

SF 117 - Surtax for School Safety Officers (M) - This bill authorizes school districts to raise additional amounts of property tax or income surtax under the instructional support program for certain school resource officer expenses.

Subcommittee: Cournoyer, Kraayenbrink and J Smith

SF 80 - Student Pronouns (A) - This bill requires a school district, if a student will be asked by a school employee or in a school communication to identify the pronoun by which the student prefers to be called, or will be asked to take a survey on pronoun preference, to provide written notification of such action to the parent or guardian of the student at least one week before such action occurs. After the identification or survey has occurred, the bill requires the school district to provide the student’s identification or survey response to the student’s parent or guardian upon request.

Subcommittee: Sinclair, Carlin and Celsi

SF 58 - Human Growth and Development Curriculum (F) - This bill provides that the age-appropriate and research-based instruction in human growth and development, which each school board must provide, must include instruction regarding dating violence and affirmative, conscious, and voluntary consent to engage in sexual activity.

Subcommittee: Sinclair, Rosenboom and J Smith

SF 9 - Music Therapist Certification (M) - This bill requires any person claiming to be a music  therapist to hold a music therapist board-certified credential granted by the certification board for music therapists or a professional designation in good standing listed on the national music therapy registry. The bill as proposed would also likely impede the use of therapeutic music by non music therapists.

Subcommittee: Whiting, Giddens and Schultz

HF 285 (formerly HSB 62) - Music Therapist Certification (M) - This bill requires any person claiming to be a music  therapist to hold a music therapist board-certified credential granted by the certification board for music therapists or a professional designation in good standing listed on the national music therapy registry. The bill as proposed would also likely impede the use of therapeutic music by non music therapists.

On House debate calendar

HF 107 - In-Person Clinical Supervision (M) - The bill provides that the board of social work and the board of behavioral science shall not require that supervision of an applicant for a license as a social worker, marital or family therapist, or mental health counselor be completed in-person.

Approved by subcommittee

HF 101 - Teacher Recruitment and Retention Task Force (M) - This bill directs the director of the department of education to establish and convene a teacher recruitment and retention task force. If the bill does move forward it should be expanded to include school social worker recruitment and retention.

Referred to Education