Latest news with #SB364
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oklahoma law now bans corporal punishment for students with disabilities
Lori Wathen holds a paddle printed with the word "no" to oppose the practice of corporal punishment in schools before an interim study on the subject on Oct. 21. A ban on corporal punishment of students with disabilities has become law. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — A new Oklahoma law will prohibit schools from inflicting physical pain as punishment for students with disabilities. Although the practice is already banned in the state's regulations for schools, attempts by the Oklahoma Legislature to add the rule to state law failed in previous years. State law had barred schools from using corporal punishment on students only with 'the most significant cognitive disabilities.' Senate Bill 364 extends the corporal punishment prohibition to students with any type of disability defined in a federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday permitted SB 364 to take effect without his signature. The bill had passed the state Senate in a 31-16 vote and the House 63-25 after lengthy debates in both chambers. It outlaws the 'deliberate infliction of physical pain by hitting, paddling, spanking, slapping or any other physical force' as a method of discipline for students with disabilities. 'While many schools already prohibit corporal punishment, there are still instances where it is used against children who may struggle to control their behavior or grasp the consequences of their actions,' said Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, an author of SB 364. Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, has been an outspoken opponent of the measure. He said the bill was overbroad because it extends to students who have no type of cognitive disability. He said it also limits parents' choice to decide how schools should discipline their children. State law previously allowed parents to waive the corporal punishment ban by giving written consent. SB 364 removes that provision. More than 100 school districts in Oklahoma permit corporal punishment. The rate of students disciplined with this method has declined nationwide, and 27 states ban the practice entirely, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Students with disabilities were overrepresented among the children who experienced corporal punishment at school, as were Black and Indigenous students, federal data shows. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A chance to protect and serve: New law allows eligible non-citizens to serve in law enforcement
Apr. 13—Local officials are excited about a recently signed bill allowing non-citizens in New Mexico to serve in law enforcement if they are authorized to work in the United States. On April 7, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law Senate Bill 364, which allows people with work authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to serve as sheriffs and police officers. Currently, only U.S. citizens can serve in those capacities, Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Franchesca Perdue said in a news release. "The change will expand the pool of eligible law enforcement candidates and give more people opportunities to serve their communities as officers," Perdue said. Bill co-sponsor Sen. Cindy Nava, D-Bernalillo, said in a statement that SB364 is "more than a public safety bill." "It opens the doors for people like my brother Eric, a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient who dreamed of serving our community but was forced to leave New Mexico to do so," she said. "Now, others like him will finally have the chance to protect and serve the state they call home." Nava co-sponsored the bill with House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, and Sens. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, and Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces. The bill also addresses law enforcement retention in New Mexico, Nava co-wrote in a letter to the Journal. "With fewer recruits entering the profession and more officers retiring or leaving for other opportunities, law enforcement agencies have struggled to maintain adequate staffing levels," she said. "SB 364 opens the door for individuals who might otherwise have never considered a career in law enforcement — people who are already working, living and contributing to our communities but were previously excluded from this essential work."
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico lawmakers pass bill allowing immigrants to work as police
The Albuquerque Police Department has indicated that its 885 sworn officers are 74% of the budgeted capacity, according to the Department of Workforce Solutions' analysis of SB364. (Photo by Shelby Kleinhans for Source NM) State lawmakers sent Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham a bill that would, if enacted, allow immigrants authorized to work by the federal government to become police officers in New Mexico. Currently, New Mexico law limits policing jobs to people with U.S. citizenship. Senate Bill 364 would open these jobs up to applicants who have work authorization from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, part of the federal Department of Homeland Security. According to a spokesperson for the governor, she has not yet decided whether to sign SB364. 'The governor is going through each bill that made it to the 4th floor and there is a process where she evaluates each one. She has until April 11 to decide,' Deputy Director of Communications Jodi McGinnis Porter told Source NM on Friday. SB364 co-sponsor Sen. Cindy Nava (D-Bernalillo) told the Senate Judiciary Committee the bill would remove 'outdated restrictions' in state law and allow immigrants with federal work authorization to be police officers and sheriff's deputies. The bill, if enacted, would allow legal permanent residents and beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to become police officers, if they meet all the standards and qualifications, Nava said. She told the House Judiciary Committee it would open the door to more than 51,000 New Mexicans to apply for police jobs. 'These are individuals who are desperately needed by our police departments and sheriff's offices,' said Nava, who is a DACA recipient herself. The Albuquerque Police Department has indicated that its 885 sworn officers are 74% of the budgeted capacity, according to the Department of Workforce Solutions' analysis of the bill. Using national survey data from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the department estimates New Mexico has between 749 and 1,947 empty but funded positions for patrol officers, supervisors and detectives. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SB364 was sponsored by Nava, House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque), Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla (D-Albuquerque), Senate Judiciary Chair Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces), and Sen. Craig Brandt (R-Rio Rancho). SB364 passed the Senate on March 13 and the House of Representatives on March 21. It passed unanimously through the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, and passed with bipartisan support through the House Judiciary Committee. Jessica Inez Martinez, director of policy and coalition building at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, was an expert witness on SB364 and told the House Judiciary Committee that legal permanent residents must go through a lengthy process to achieve that status and then in order to maintain it, must not commit specific crimes. DACA recipients, to maintain their status, can't commit any crimes, she said. 'They would go through the process to do the background checks like every other candidate that is going through the law enforcement process,' she said. She also noted people who achieve legal permanent residence can also become citizens within three to five years. DACA recipients cannot achieve citizenship but can get work authorization, she said. Rep. Nicole Chavez (R-Albuquerque) said she had thought that noncitizens can't carry firearms and asked how that would work under the bill. Sen. Brandt responded by reading from a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice that outlines exceptions to that prohibition, including DACA recipients who are certified police officers, who may possess firearms and ammunition issued to them by the police department for official use. If an officer's job requires them to be armed 24/7, then they are allowed to take the gun home, but if their job only allows them to carry while on shift, then they lock the gun up in the department's armory every day, Brandt said. In her presentations to legislative committees about the bill, Nava spoke in detail about her brother, who is a DACA recipient like her and moved away from New Mexico to work for the police department in Blue Island, Illinois. Jeffrey Farr, chief of police in Blue Island, told the House Judiciary Committee via Zoom that his department employs seven DACA recipients and started hiring them about two years ago because they found it 'increasingly difficult to communicate with the community that we are supposed to serve.' 'Each of them have played a vital role in the success of our police department,' Farr said. 'I highly encourage you to pass this law.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
