Latest news with #SB139
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Without input from teachers, our Legislature has given us a bad cellphone law
The latest misguided legislation to be mandated to Oklahoma public schools is Senate Bill 139. This measure, which Gov. Kevin Stitt signed May 5, requires Oklahoma school districts to adopt a cellphone ban policy for a full year, beginning in August 2025. The language of this abbreviated two-page bill is the result of compromise between the two chambers over words like 'shall' and 'may.' The Oklahoma Legislature loves to dictate to educators what they, the lawmakers, think is best for Oklahoma students. Oklahoma lawmakers also frequently pass laws with little to no 'fiscal impact,' without considering the very real cost to the people who will actually implement the laws ― building administration and teachers. The result is a host of education laws that are nothing more than the heavy burden of unfunded mandates. More: Cellphones will be banned in Oklahoma schools for 2025-26 school year: What to know Cellphone use in schools is a complicated issue that will not be solved through simple mandates. Everyone in education, no exceptions, has a nuanced opinion on the pros and cons of personal devices in the classroom. The issue of cellphones in schools would have provided the perfect opportunity for public testimony to be utilized as a vital part of the legislative process. Oklahoma needs a public hearing component in the Legislature, something significantly more robust than interim studies that often do not allow public comment. Cellphone use in schools is a complicated issue that will not be solved through simple mandates, guest columnist writes. The majority of educators agree that cellphones constitute a problem that needs to be addressed. But SB 139 is a short-sighted 'solution' that will likely play out as follows: Oklahoma legislators pat themselves on the back after passing a cellphone ban that includes no assistance, financial or otherwise. Local district administration fulfill their requirement by adopting a one year policy banning cellphones from schools. Building level administrators are faced with the very difficult choice of implementing the policy at the door as students enter every morning or simply passing the buck and placing the onus of implementation squarely on the backs of teachers. A teacher single-handedly barring cellphones from their classroom is taking on an additional unpaid part-time job. An effective ban would require partnerships across all levels: teachers, building administrators, district administration and lawmakers. More: Opinion: Compromises between students, parents, educators could address cellphone issues The Oklahoma Legislature has already indicated that they are only interested in mandates and not partnerships. Time will tell how district and building level administrators respond to SB 139. Worst case scenario: full implementation becomes the sole responsibility of already-overtasked teachers, and the teacher shortage shifts from terrible to unimaginable. Aaron Baker Aaron Baker is a high school social studies teacher and musician living in northwest Oklahoma City. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: New Oklahoma law on cellphones unlikely to help much | Opinion
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oklahoma House, Senate consider each other's bills banning cellphones in schools
A poster reads, "bell to bell, no cell" at the Jenks Public Schools Math and Science Center, where students are prohibited from using cellphones during class time. Oklahoma lawmakers are considering multiple bills that would restrict student cellphone use during the school day. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — A Senate committee has approved a House bill calling for cellphone bans in public schools, setting the stage for final negotiations on a major policy priority for Oklahoma lawmakers. The Senate Education Committee advanced House Bill 1276 with a 7-4 vote on Tuesday. Similar legislation from the Senate is on the agenda for the House Common Education Committee's meeting Wednesday. HB 1276 would require every district in the state to develop a policy restricting student use of cellphones and personal electronic devices for the entire school day, starting next school year. The bill leaves the door open for local school boards to opt out and continue permitting student cellphone use in their districts. Similar legislation that originated in the Senate, SB 139, would mandate a cellphone ban in all public schools for a year with no chance for districts to opt out until after the 2025-26 academic year. Districts would have the choice after the first year whether to keep the prohibition in place. Each version would allow students to use their cellphones for medically necessary reasons or in emergency cases. Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, and Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, are the authors of both bills. If both bills pass the committee stage, Seifried said House and Senate lawmakers will discuss which version has the most support from the full Legislature. Allowing districts the chance to opt out of the cellphone ban has been a priority of the House, Seifried said. The message she heard most often from fellow senators is 'let's get it done,' she said. 'I think we'll eventually get together and decide which version will pass and which can gain the most consensus,' Seifried said after the committee vote. 'We wanted to get both through committee. We really are working together on this quite closely, and so that'll be for us to decide in the coming weeks.' House lawmakers passed HB 1276 with overwhelming support from both parties. The Senate passed SB 139 along party lines. The policy of restricting cellphones in schools has enjoyed vocal support from Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leaders. If one of the measures becomes law, Oklahoma would join nine other states, including California and Arkansas, that have enacted a ban on cellphones in schools. Oklahoma lawmakers have been looking into the issue since before the 2025 session began. Both chambers hosted fall interim studies examining the detriments of digital media on children and the benefits of cellphone bans in Oklahoma schools that already have these restrictions in place. Caldwell said he and Seifried agree educators, parents and students would recognize the positive impact once a statewide ban is in place. He decided to include a district opt-out provision in HB 1276, he said, after having conversations with House leadership and fellow representatives. Caldwell said he hopes both the House and Senate versions advance past the committee stage for consideration in final negotiations. 'This truly has a chance to make transformative change in our schools, and that's not something we get a chance to do every day,' Caldwell said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What passed in the Alabama Legislature: March 4-6, 2025
Rep. Margie Wilcox, R-Mobile, sends a Mardi Gras throw aloft in the Alabama House of Representatives on March 4, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Mardi Gras is an official holiday in Mobile and Baldwin counties. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Here is a list of bills that passed the Alabama Legislature this week. House HB 274, sponsored by Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, would reduce the terms of members of the Crenshaw County Board of Education from six years to four. The measure, a constitutional amendment, passed 67-0. The amendment goes to the Senate. HB 313, sponsored by Rep. Paul Lee, R-Dothan, sets the salary for the Houston County coroner to $22,000 and the sheriff's salary to $150,000 and allows both to receive cost-of-living adjustments extended to other county employees. The bill passed 23-0. It goes to the Senate. HB 314, sponsored by Rep. Paul Lee, R-Dothan, allows the Houston County sheriff to create guidelines for using the Sheriff's Office credit or debit card. The bill passed 17-0. It goes to the Senate. SB 139, sponsored by Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, extends the terms of Scottboro's mayor, city council and board of education by one year in order to revise election dates for the general municipal election. The bill passed 11-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. HB 309, sponsored by Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, allows the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance board to renegotiate Medicare retiree health benefits plans every five years, instead of every three. The bill passed 96-0. It goes to the Senate. HB 226, sponsored by Rep. Danny Crawford, R-Athens, allows widows and widowers to apply for homestead exemptions as long as their name is on the deed and they remain unmarried and reside in the same house. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to the Senate. HB 212, sponsored by Rep. Mike Kirkland, R-Scottsboro, requires people that uproot aquatic plants to make sure the entire plant is removed from the water. The bill passed 103-0 after being swapped out for SB 64. The legislation goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. HB 96, sponsored by Rep. Chad Robertson, R-Heflin, requires high school students to be excused from class when participating in National Signing Day activities for acceptance of athletic scholarships, postsecondary school educational commitments, commitments to apprenticeship programs, and military enlistments. The bill passed 101-0. It goes to the Senate. HB 315, sponsored by Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, connects certain products covered under state sales tax holidays to the Consumer Price Index to accommodate for inflated costs. The bill passed 100-0. The bill goes to the Senate. HB 151, sponsored by Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa, creates a designated license plate for fire chaplains. The bill passed 102-0. It goes to the Senate. SB 25, sponsored by Senate Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, directs sales taxes collected in community development districts to a grant fund supporting those districts, with grants distributed by state legislators representing those areas. The bill passed 98-1. The bill goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. HB 194, sponsored by Rep. Paul Lee, R-Dothan, requires the Joint Committee of the State Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Nursing for Advanced Practice Nurses to have two members that are nurse practitioners and one member who is a certified midwife. The bill passed 97-0. It goes to the Senate. HB 209, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, expands jury duty exemptions to nursing mothers. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to the Senate. SB 80, sponsored by Sen. Tom Butler, R-Madison, changes the name of the Alabama Local Government Training Institute to the Buddy Sharpless Education Institute in memory of the former executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama. The bill passed 102-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. HB 24, sponsored by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, expands a tuition reimbursement program for first responders to volunteer first responders. The bill passed 102-0. It goes to the Senate. HB 251, sponsored by Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, prohibits convicted sex offenders from accessing the Internet and allows the Board of Pardons and Paroles to conduct polygraph examinations as a term of release. The bill passed 90-0. It goes to the Senate. HB 295, sponsored by Cynthia Almond, R-Tuscaloosa, allows a battalion level commander of the Alabama National Guard to discipline any member that is level E-9 or below and adds a pay deduction as a punishment. The bill passed 96-0. It goes to the Senate. HB 146, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Greenhill, eliminates youthful offender status for people charged with intentional murder. The bill passed 67-33. It goes to the Senate. HB 270, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Hammett, R-Dozier, creates unrestricted, restricted and business entity licenses for water well drilling, and sets a $1,000 fee for unrestricted licenses and $500 fees for restricted and business entity licenses. The bill passed 102-0. It goes to the Senate. Senate SB 46, sponsored by Sen. David Sessions, R-Grand Bay, allows Class 2 municipalities to establish an agreement with the Department of Environmental Management to enforce the Alabama Scrap Tire Environmental Quality Act. The bill passed 32-0. It goes to the House. SB 41, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, allows the Calhoun County Commission and municipalities in the county to regulate halfway houses and other similar facilities. The bill passed 32-0. It goes to the House. SB 127, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, allows the Calhoun County Commission to increase compensation for members of the local board of registrars. The bill passed 32-0. It goes to the House. SB 128, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, provides an additional yearly expense allowance of $13,966 to the Sheriff of Calhoun County starting in June 2025. It would also set the sheriff's salary to $114,290 per year starting in January 2027. The bill passed 32-0. It goes to the House. HB 135, sponsored by Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, allows the Dale County Commission to raise the county lodging tax from 2% to 4%. The bill passed 32-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. HB 100, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Killen, allows the Lauderdale County sheriff to establish procedures for using a credit card or debit card to make purchases. The bill passed 32-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. HB 98, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Killen, allows the Lauderdale County sheriff to organize fundraising events and use the profits to cover operation costs. The bill passed 32-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. HB 99, sponsored by Sen. Phillip Pettus, R-Killen, would allow the Lauderdale County revenue commissioner to establish procedures for filing business personal property tax returns electronically. The bill passed 32-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. SB 57, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, would allow officers of a limited liability company holding less than 1% of the shares in the entity to sign property paperwork officially. The bill passed 30-0. It goes to the House. SB 88, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, allows a judge to set a hearing on a petition for a criminal expungement even if a prosecutor or a victim files no objection. The bill passed 30-0. It goes to the House. SB 45, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, would allow the Secretary of State to designate an individual to serve in their place on the Alabama Athlete Agents Commission. The bill passed 30-0. It goes to the House. SB 165, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, R-Birmingham, would establish a deadline for candidates to file a statement of economic interests within five days of a qualifying deadline or deadline to declare an official candidacy in an election, and setting the deadline for independent candidates at five days after the date of a primary election. The bill passed 30-0. It goes to the House. SB 96, sponsored by Sen. Josh Carnley, R-Enterprise, would allow Alabama vehicle owners to apply for a salvage certificate of title if their vehicle is damaged and declared a total loss outside of the state. The bill passed 31-0. It goes to the House. SB 130, sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, would allow people to use gold and silver in monetary transactions. The bill passed 31-0. It goes to the House. SB 18, sponsored by Sen. Merika Coleman, R-Pleasant Grove, would allow child support payments to be retroactively applied to cover expenses incurred during pregnancy. It passed 31-0. It goes to the House. House HB 233, sponsored by Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, removes a requirement that the threat must be credible and imminent from the legal definition of a terrorist threat in the second degree. The bill passed 90-0. It goes to the Senate. Senate SB 199, sponsored by Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, would establish parental leave for state and public education employees. The bill passed 28-3. It goes to the House. SB 137, sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, would allow owners of certain privately owned sewer and wastewater systems to choose to be under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission. The bill passed 29-0. It heads to the House. HB 230, sponsored by Rep. Randall Shedd, R-Fairview, would require real estate agents to give clients a disclosure form before showing a property to conform with a new national rule and clarify when written agreements are needed between agents and clients. The bill passed 30-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. House HB 202, sponsored by Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, expands civil immunity for law enforcement officers. The bill passed 75-26. It goes to the Senate. HB 265, sponsored by Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, raises the penalty for resisting arrest from a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $3,000 fine to a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine. The bill raises it to a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $7,500 fine, if a person brandishes a deadly weapon or injures a person, and a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, if the person uses a deadly weapon or causes serious injury to another person. The bill passed 78-14. It goes to the Senate. SB 116, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Montgomery, bans a modification for firearms that allows continuous firing, also known as a Glock switch. The bill passed 77-23 with a House committee substitute. It goes back to the Senate for concurrence or a conference committee. SB 115, sponsored by Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, makes impersonating a peace officer a Class C felony. The bill passed 94-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. SB 67, sponsored by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, reforms the State Board of Veterans Affairs to change the membership and powers of the board. The bill passed 56-39. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. HB 302, sponsored by Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, requires companies that hire people without legal status to register their employees with the Department of Workforce and provides sanctions for employing people without legal status. The bill passed 81-0. It goes to the Senate. HB 304, sponsored by Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville, gives law enforcement officers the authority to impound a vehicle when the driver does not have a drivers license. The bill It passed 72-14. It goes to the Senate. HB 3, sponsored by Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollingers Island, enhances penalties for people without legal status when they are charged with a felony where the victim is a minor. The bill passed 76-3. It goes to the Senate. Senate SB 178, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, would allow the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court to appoint a visiting judge at the request of the Attorney General or a district attorney. The bill passed 27-0. It goes to the House. SB 123, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, adds civil case numbers assigned in state court to data required to be published on civil asset seizures and forfeitures. The bill passed 27-0. It goes to the House. SB 91, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, requires a person seeking to build a structure 200 feet or higher within two miles of a military installation to get approval from the local government before beginning construction. The bill passed 27-0. It goes to the House. SB 134, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, would allow the Board of Pardons and Paroles to share electronic monitoring GPS data with law enforcement agencies in an active investigation. The bill passed 27-0. It goes to the House. SB 222, sponsored by Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, allows medical clinic boards that lease property to a health care provider that has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to readjust their own debt under federal bankruptcy law. The bill passed 26-0. It goes to the House. SB 97, sponsored by Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, drops a requirement for those applying for out-of-state surplus line broker licenses to provide a surety bond. The bill passed 27-0. It goes to the House. SB 151, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, updates internal citations in the insurable interest law and the life insurance policy loan law. The bill passed 27-0. It goes to the House. SB 179, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, allows a battalion level commander of the Alabama National Guard to discipline any member that is level E-9 or below and adds a pay deduction as a punishment. The bill passed 28-0. It goes to the House. SB 183, sponsored by Sen. Josh Carnley, R-Enterprise, allows the Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe to hire law enforcement officers to provide police protection to tribal grounds, property, employees, and residents. The bill passed 28-0. It goes to the House. SB 181, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, would allow licensed respiratory therapists to practice among compact states. The bill passed 28-0. It goes to the House. SB 198, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, would create the Legal Services Office within the Alabama National Guard and establish the Legal Assistance Program to help National Guard members and their families with personal legal matters. The bill passed 28-0. It goes to the House. SB 194, sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, would allow authorities to terminate or move easements on authority property via eminent domain. The bill passed 28-0. It goes to the House. SB 138, sponsored by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, would prohibit some occupational licensing boards from denying licenses based solely on a criminal conviction unless the crime is directly related to the duties of the profession. The bill passed 29-0. It goes to the House. HB 102, sponsored by Rep. Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville, requires local education agencies to allow students to enroll in dual enrollment programs if a parent or guardian requests it, and establishes student eligibility requirements. The bill passed 30-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Scottsboro officials' terms would be extended a year under Alabama Legislature bills
A voter walks into Jackson Way Baptist Church during Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Huntsville, Ala. Two bills in the Legislature would extend the terms of officials in Scottsboro to get the city on the same election cycle as the rest of the state. (Eric Schultz for Alabama Reflector) Lawmakers are considering legislation that would modify the election cycle for a municipality located in the northeastern part of Alabama. Both HB 132, sponsored by Rep. Mike Kirkland, R-Scottsboro, and SB 139, filed by Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, extend the term for the mayor of Scottsboro; the city council and the local board of education. Kirkland said in an interview that the legislation aims to put the city 'on the same cycle as other municipal elections across the state.' Scottsboro was excluded from a 2021 law that covered most Alabama cities. 'We were kind of out there, we weren't part of the original bill that moved the elections, so what this does is it gets us caught up with everybody else,' said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The two bills, nearly identical in language, will lengthen the terms of Scottsboro City Council that expire in 2026 to 2027, when elections for the next term will take place, and occur afterward on a four-year cycle. The bills would extend the mayor's term from 2028 to 2029. School board terms that expire in either 2028 or 2030 will be extended to 2029 and 2031, respectively. All future municipal and school board elections will take place in August. 'After the effective date of this act, if no candidate for mayor, member of the city council, or member of the city board of education receives a majority of votes cast in the regular municipal election, a second or run-off election shall be held on the fourth Tuesday following the regular election,' the bill states The Alabama Legislature in 2021 enacted a law standardizing municipal elections across the state and extending municipal official terms by a year. Scottsboro was not included in the law, requested from the Alabama League of Municipalities, because the city already had rules in place governing when its elections would take place. 'That affected all municipalities with the exception of a handful with local legislative bills that directed their elections,' said Scottsboro Mayor Jim McCamy, elected in 2020. 'The city of Scottsboro was one of those cities. We had two local bills way back in the 1950s that directed our elections, and because of that, we and any of the others that it didn't apply to had to have a local bill to put us on the same cycle as the rest of the state.' Local officials had been working with their state legislators to get legislation enacted, but their bills stalled because the Legislature had other priorities. Scottsboro is working to get legislation passed in the current session. Kirkland added that altering the terms for officials to get on the same cycle as the state would increase voter turnout. 'Typically, there is a competition for resources for ballots, but more specifically electronic vote-counting tabulators,' said Rob Johnston, director of legal services for the Alabama League of Municipalities. 'When the counties are using them for county and statewide elections, then the municipalities will have to find their own resources, and poll workers as well.' Scottsboro also wants to remove themselves from the presidential cycle to downplay the partisan impact of its elections because municipal officials are nonpartisan, not affiliated with a political party. 'Have you ever seen a Republican or Democrat pothole in a street?' McCamy said. 'I haven't, and I never have. It doesn't matter; it is what it is.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
