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2004 House Bill 5530: Require ISD special education parent advisory committees
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- Introduced by Rep. John Stahl (R) on February 11, 2004, to require Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) to appoint special education parent advisory committees comprised exclusively of parents of pupils with disabilities, to provide advisory input on the improvement of special education services. This is one of a number of bills that have been introduced to reform ISDs.
- Referred to the House Education Committee on February 11, 2004.
- Reported in the House on March 16, 2004, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-1) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the House on March 16, 2004, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that requires a majority of the advisory committee to be parents, but not all of the committee. It also establishes that the committees would be subject to the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Brenda Clack (D) on March 16, 2004, to strip out the provisions making the committees subject to the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act. The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on March 16, 2004.
- Passed 64 to 40 in the House on March 16, 2004, to require Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) to appoint special education parent advisory committees comprised of a majority of parents of pupils with disabilities, to provide advisory input on the improvement of special education services. The committees would be subject to the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information ActThis is one of a number of bills that have been introduced to reform ISDs.
Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No" - Received in the Senate on March 17, 2004.
- Referred to the Senate Education Committee on March 17, 2004.
Most Recent Comments
1) Rep. Meisner's "no vote explanation" by Admin003 on March 17, 2004Rep. Meisner, having reserved the right to explain his protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement:
"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:
While the open meetings act and FOIA seem like reasonable things to apply, the result of doing so in the case of special education parent advisory committee meetings could be to create a chilling effect on parent's voluntary participation in these committees. Discussions at these meetings can be very sensitive, relating to the individual cases of students. It may be that parents at these meetings would not participate as actively if they were worried about their comments ending up in the local papers. "
Reply
Reps. Gillard, Zelenko, Anderson, Law and Elkins, having reserved the right to explain their protest against the passage of the bill, made the following statement:
"Mr. Speaker and members of the House:
I voted no on House Bill 5530(H-1) because provisions added in committee could actually have a reverse effect and frighten parent participation on local school district Special Education Advisory committees.
The committees are not policy making in nature and simply advise local school boards on special education issues. These advisory committees often hold discussions that involve issues specific to special education students of parents who sit on the board. These discussions should not have to be subject to FOIA and OMA requirements and making them could actually violate federal privacy law. Protecting the privacy of special education students and their families should be of paramount importance. It is for these reasons that I voted no on House Bill 5530."
Reply
Introduced in the House on February 11, 2004, to require Intermediate School Districts (ISDs) to appoint special education parent advisory committees comprised of a majority of parents of pupils with disabilities, to provide advisory input on the improvement of special education services. The committees would be subject to the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information ActThis is one of a number of bills that have been introduced to reform ISDs
The vote was 64 in favor, 40 opposed and 5 not voting
(House Roll Call 123 at House Journal 22)
Click here to view bill details.
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