A great deal of IASB’s attention has gone to SB2914 (Cappel, Moeller), which is scheduled in the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee: Administration, Licensing & Charters on Wednesday, May 6 at 2 p.m. IASB urges members to file a witness slip and to contact their Representative to express opposition to this bill. IASB has numerous concerns with this bill. The most significant include:

1. Student Safety. SB2914 puts student safety and well-being at risk. The Notice to Remedy is a critical tool for school boards to address concerning behavior early and set clear expectations before it escalates into more serious misconduct. Early intervention is especially important with student-staff boundary violations, to prevent that behavior from escalating to more serious behaviors such as grooming or sexual misconduct. Also, if these cases go to arbitration, students may be expected to participate in adversarial hearings without appropriate accommodations. Many students will not participate and that means teacher misconduct may go unaddressed. Finally, SB2914 allows the arbitrator unlimited scope in both decision-making and determining a remedy, including potentially requiring the removal of the Notice to Remedy from the personnel file.
2. Loss of Critical Employment Rights. One of the primary duties and responsibilities of elected boards of education is to employ school personnel and make critical employment decisions. SB2914 shifts (or potentially invalidates) employment decision-making away from locally elected school boards to an outside individual who is not accountable to the school community. A Notice to Remedy is not a disciplinary action. It states expectations and behaviors to be remedied. The board’s decision to issue a corrective employment notice should not be subject to binding arbitration.
3. Binding arbitration. It is important to note that SB2914 imposes binding arbitration on school board decisions with no option for appeal. Arbitration is typically agreed to by two parties and memorialized in an agreement such as a Collective Bargaining Agreement. Statutorily imposing binding arbitration on school boards is extremely concerning.

This is a nuanced issue, but an extremely important one for elected school boards in managing teacher misconduct. House members need to be made aware of this bill’s impact on member districts and students. Please call or email your House member and file a witness slip before 2 p.m. on May 6.