Wyoming News; Bill would outline parents' rights to information regarding children's health

POWELL — The rights of parents and guardians regarding their children’s mental, physical and emotional wellbeing through schools will be laid out in Wyoming law if Parent Rights in Education 1 passes during this year’s legislative session. 

However, the bill’s impact may be limited because many of the items listed in the bill are already practiced at least in area schools or covered under federal law. 

If passed, Senate File 9 would reaffirm the rights of parents regarding their students’ physical and mental health as well as provide a clear path for parents who have complaints, said Rep. David Northrup (R-Powell), chairman of the House Education committee. 

The bill is sponsored by the Joint Education Interim Committee, and it’s a revamped version of last year’s SF 117. 

The bill requires that a student’s parents be notified if there are changes in the student’s physical, mental or emotional health as well as schools’ ability to “provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the student.” 

“It’s a much simpler bill to understand now than it was before,” Northrup said. 

The language in the bill came from out of state legislation that was made into a Wyoming bill, Northrup said, adding that the portion of the bill that outlines the complaint process for parents is a benefit to them because it provides “a clear path on how to air grievances.” 

Jay Curtis, Park County School District 1 superintendent, provided Northrup with input on the legislation and said portions of the bill are already covered under federal law. He said he is indifferent to the passing of the bill, and the district affirms the rights of parents to their children, as long as it doesn’t pit parents against parents, which he does not think is something that this bill does. 

Curtis doesn’t think the bill will have a tremendous impact on how the district operates, but he understands that there could be value to parents “in this political climate” to have a bill that reaffirms parents’ rights regarding their children. 

“My opinion is that we certainly support parents as our partners in educating their children. We affirm their rights as parents to make the best decisions for their kids, and this statute, if passed, will change very little of what Powell does to help support those parent rights,” Curtis said. “Because I feel like we’re already doing the vast majority of what this law would call for.” 

Sen. Dan Laursen (R-Powell) said that he would vote yes on the bill in order to get it to committee. Laursen is not on the education committee, but after reading through the bill, he thinks it is the district’s responsibility to get the information out to parents. 

Having the protections listed in the bill are necessary, Laursen said, in case something does happen.