By Christopher M Peeks February 11, 2024
Recently, the Alabama State Senate Education Policy Committee passed the "Parents' Right to Know" bill with unanimous agreement. This bill mandates that schools post syllabuses of instruction on their website for guardians to review and permits them to request all instructional and supplemental materials and books available to students in the classroom. If a classroom teacher refuses to comply with a request, a parent may file a complaint with the local superintendent. If the issue remains unresolved within ten school days, the parent may file a complaint with the state superintendent.
Originally, the bill required that teachers have a parent-teacher conference within ten days of a guardian requesting over a question or objection about the course of study. However, Democrats felt that this would add to teachers' workload, detract from instruction time, and be another mandate on their workload. They demanded changes to the bill, and the Republicans agreed. The Singleton amendment still allows parents or guardians "to request information on instructional and supplemental materials." It would also enable the school to address the concerns of any parent, custodian, or guardian by providing a detailed summary of instructional materials adopted by the local board by email, telephone, or other electronic means.
Senator Greg Reed (R-Jasper), the bill's sponsor, emphasized, "This is a starting place for parents to find out what their child is being taught." The parental right to know bill was a priority for me. How can we take all the information that is going on in a child's education and put it on a website for parents and grandparents?"
The bill passed out of the Senate as amended and is now headed to the Alabama House of Representatives.
C-Brandon Mosely
Chris Peeks
Reporter and Columnist
Alabama Political