HF 3436

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 02/15/2022 12:26pm

A bill for an act
relating to education; providing for transparency in curriculum; protecting parent's
rights; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 120B.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [120B.1999] PARENT'S RIGHTS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Legislative findings. new text end

new text begin (a) The legislature finds that it is a fundamental
right of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, and care of the parent's minor child.
The legislature further finds that important information relating to a minor child should not
be withheld, either inadvertently or purposefully, from the child's parent, including
information relating to the minor child's health, well-being, and education, while the minor
child is in the custody of a school district. The legislature further finds it necessary for a
school to establish a consistent mechanism for a parent to be notified of information relating
to the health and well-being of the parent's minor child.
new text end

new text begin (b) For the purposes of this section, "parent" means a person who has legal custody of
a minor child as a natural or adoptive parent or a legal guardian.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Infringement of parental rights. new text end

new text begin The state, any of its political subdivisions,
any other governmental entity, or any other institution must not infringe on the fundamental
rights of a parent to direct the upbringing, health, well-being, mental health, and education
of the parent's minor child without demonstrating that the potential infringement of parental
rights is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest, and that the potential
infringement of parental rights is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less
restrictive means.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [120B.202] SUNSHINE IN LEARNING.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin For the purposes of this section the following terms have
the meanings given:
new text end

new text begin (1) "learning materials" include but are not limited to the following: all textbooks, reading
materials, videos, audio recordings, presentations, digital materials, websites, instructional
handouts and worksheets, syllabi, and online applications for a phone, laptop, or tablet;
new text end

new text begin (2) "used for student instruction":
new text end

new text begin (i) means assigned, distributed, or otherwise presented to students in any course for
which students receive academic credit or in any educational capacity in which participation
of the student body is required by the school or in which most students in a given grade
level participate; and
new text end

new text begin (ii) applies also to any materials from which students are required to select one or more
if the available selection is restricted to specific titles;
new text end

new text begin (3) "original materials" means learning materials owned or licensed by the school district,
school, faculty, or staff that are used for student instruction;
new text end

new text begin (4) "activities" include but are not limited to assemblies, guest lectures, action-oriented
civics learning assignments or projects, including the actual or simulated contacting of
government officials or any requirement to advocate for or comment on a contemporary
political or social issue or participate in organized political activity, social demonstrations,
or other field trips or projects, service-learning, internships, or other forms of collaboration
with outside organizations after regular school hours for course credit or as a class project
or assignment, or other educational events facilitated by the institution's faculty or staff,
including those conducted by outside individuals or organizations, excluding presentations
given by students enrolled at the school; and
new text end

new text begin (5) "lesson plan" means the daily, weekly, or other routinely produced guide, description,
or outline of the instruction to be provided by a teacher to students at the school.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin School website. new text end

new text begin A school board or board of a charter school must ensure that
the following information is displayed on a school's website in an easily and publicly
accessible location:
new text end

new text begin (1) all instructional or training materials and activities used for staff and faculty training;
new text end

new text begin (2) all learning materials and activities used for student instruction. The display of
materials or activities must identify, at a minimum:
new text end

new text begin (i) the title, author, organization, and any website associated with each material and
activity;
new text end

new text begin (ii) a link to the learning material, if publicly available on the Internet or, if not freely
and publicly available, a brief description of the learning material and information on how
to request review of a copy of the learning material according to the curriculum review
procedure under section 120B.20;
new text end

new text begin (iii) if the learning material was created for nonpublic use the identity of the teacher,
staff member, school official, or outside presenter who created it. A teacher, staff member,
or school official may be indicated by a personal title and last initial;
new text end

new text begin (iv) the full text or a copy of any learning materials or educational activities, including
presentations, videos, and audio recordings used for student instruction at the school, if
those works were created by the school's governing board or a teacher or staff member
employed under the authority of the governing board. This section does not require the
posting of academic assessments or academic tests; and
new text end

new text begin (v) if the activity involves service-learning, internships, or collaboration with outside
organizations after regular school hours for course credit, the name of the organization, and
the number of students engaged in service-learning, internships, or collaboration with that
organization. The names of the students involved must not be posted;
new text end

new text begin (3) any procedures for documentation, review, or approval of lesson plans, training,
learning, curricular materials, or activities used for staff and faculty training or student
instruction at the school, including by the principal, curriculum administrators, or other
teachers; and
new text end

new text begin (4) at each school with a catalog or documented inventory of the resources available to
students in its school library, a listing of available resources in the library.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Copyrighted material. new text end

new text begin Nothing in subdivision 2 may be construed to require
the digital reproduction or posting of copies of the learning materials themselves, where
reproduction would violate copyright. When reproduction would violate copyright, a school
must offer a link to a publicly available website describing and offering access to the learning
materials. If the materials are not available free of charge, a school must offer, if available
and upon request, the learning materials for public inspection, as required under subdivision
2, clause (2), at the school building where the learning materials or activities are used for
student instruction. Materials must be provided, if available, no later than 30 days after
requested. To the extent practicable, a school must make all learning materials, including
original materials, available for public inspection and allow the public to copy, scan,
duplicate, or photograph portions of original materials within the limits of "fair use" as
provided by United States Code, title 17, section 107.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Individual components. new text end

new text begin Subdivision 2 does not require the separate reporting
of individual components of learning materials that are published together as a single volume.
Articles, videos, or other materials from websites that are used for student instruction should
be identified where possible with an internet address specific to the relevant content used
for student instruction.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Posting information; timing. new text end

new text begin The information required by subdivision 2 must
be displayed online no later than 14 days after the first instance of training or instruction.
The information must be organized by school, grade, teacher, and subject and remain
displayed on a school website for at least two years. For privacy purposes, teachers and
staff employed by a school may request that a school use a personal title and last initial in
lieu of a full name. The date of the latest modification or update to the information must be
displayed on the same website location.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Posting information; preparation. new text end

new text begin To prepare and host the listing of materials
and activities under subdivision 2, a school:
new text end

new text begin (1) may but is not required to utilize a collaborative online document or spreadsheet
software that allows multiple authorized users to update or make additions to posted content
on an ongoing basis if a link to the listing is publicly accessible via a school website; or
new text end

new text begin (2) may but is not required to satisfy the requirements of subdivision 2, clause (2), by
posting a copy or the full text of the lesson plans submitted to a school principal or other
staff by instructors at a school in the current year, provided that the lesson plans provide
equivalent detail of the learning materials and activities used for student instruction as
required by subdivision 2, clause (2), and that any learning materials and activities not
recorded on the lesson plans are also disclosed via a publicly accessible portion of a school
website in the manner prescribed by subdivision 2, clause (2).
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Violations. new text end

new text begin The attorney general, commissioner of education, state auditor,
county attorney for the county in which an alleged violation of this section occurs, or a
resident of a school district in which an alleged violation of this section occurs, may initiate
legal action in the district court in the jurisdiction in which the school district, public school,
charter school, or other governmental entity responsible for the oversight of public secondary
or elementary schools is located for the purpose of complying with this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Legal opinion. new text end

new text begin An attorney acting on behalf of a school district, public school,
charter school, or governmental entity responsible for the oversight of public secondary or
elementary schools may request a legal opinion of the attorney general as to whether a
particular piece of training, learning, or curricular material or activity meets criteria under
this section and has been disclosed in a manner that complies with this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Judicial review. new text end

new text begin Upon complaint, the district court in the county in which the
school resides has jurisdiction to order the production of any learning materials or other
materials or activities, as specified in this section, improperly withheld from the complainant.
The court must determine the matter de novo and may examine the contents of the disputed
materials in camera to determine whether any part of the materials must be withheld. The
court may assess against the governing body of the school reasonable attorney fees and
other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case under this section in which the
complainant has substantially prevailed. In the event of noncompliance with the order of
the court, the court may hold the responsible school official or employee in contempt. A
court must not be required to review a complaint under this section unless complainants
have first attempted to remedy the alleged noncompliance by contacting: (1) school officials
to resolve the noncompliance within 15 days, or, if still unresolved; (2) the school's governing
body to resolve the noncompliance within 45 days.
new text end