The revision, which eliminates the social networking provisions of Mrs. Cunningham's SB 54, the Amy Hestir Davis Student Protection Act, mandates that all Missouri schools have a policy in place concerning student-teacher communication by March 1, 2012.
The revision was made despite the fact that Gov. Jay Nixon only called for the repeal of the Facebook portion of the bill in his call for a special session.
In a legislative update sent Monday night, Missouri NEA issued the following report:
Missouri NEA testified in support. No witnesses testified in opposition. The Senate version of the bill was approved without changes by a vote of 13-0. The bill has been referred to the House Rules Committee. If the bill is heard and approved by the Rules Committee, it can be reported to the House floor and placed on the House calendar for possible debate later this week.
If the bill is taken up and passed in its current form by the House, the bill will be printed in final form and sent to the Governor. If the bill is finally agreed to, the Governor will have three options: to sign the bill into law, to veto the bill and return it to the legislature with his objections or to allow the bill to become law and go into effect without signing it.
SCS/SB 1 revises and simplifies existing law regarding school policies on employee-student communications as contained in section 162.069 from SB 54 (Jane Cunningham), a bill enacted in the 2011 Regular Session and signed into law by the Governor. The existing law provision creates confusion regarding a teacher's ability to communicate that needs to be addressed legislatively.
Missouri NEA appreciates the Governor's action to include the issue in the special session. SCS/SB 1 maintains local control so teachers, parents and students can provide input regarding board policies that effect them. At this time it is the only bill moving on this topic. The Association supports SCS/SB 1 as a way to enact a legislative fix to the major concerns raised by SB 54 and will continue to work with legislators and the Governor's office toward the goal of consensus around a legislative answer to the issue during the special session.
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