Key Points:
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Sen. Shawnna Bolick will likely bring back school safety data bill
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Bill would require schools to post safety data online
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The bill failed in the House after passing the Senate last session
Sen. Shawnna Bolick is looking to revive a bill next session that would require school districts and charter schools to post school safety data on their websites.
Bolick, a Phoenix Republican, said she will “probably” bring back Senate Bill 1255, which would require districts and charter schools to post a link to the most recent information reported to the Civil Rights Data Collection survey, which is listed on the U.S. Department of Education website.
The bill would also require the Arizona Department of Education to use the data to annually publish a school safety report.
Bolick decided to bring attention to the bill after Maryvale High School student Michael Montoya II, 16, died after he was stabbed at the school on Aug.19.
Chris Daniel Aguilar, 16, was arrested in connection with the stabbing.
“This is why I advocated for SB 1255: to create stronger reporting tools and provide schools with better awareness of where safety measures need improvement, allowing intervention before disputes turn fatal,” Bolick said in a press release issued on Aug. 22.
The survey includes student enrollment data, student-to-teacher and student-to-counselor ratios, the percentage of students who are suspended and student retention numbers for individual schools.
Bolick said in an interview that she has run similar versions of the bill in previous years but has encountered opposition, even within her own party.
Posting a link to the data on a school website is a simple solution that could help inform parents and the community, she said.
“So I figured why don’t we at least start with this basic information that’s already being reported?” she said. “That way, when parents are looking for a school for their kids, they would see that right on the website. I don’t think it’s a lot to ask.”
In the last session, the bill passed the Senate mostly along party lines but failed on the House floor during the third read hearing on April 16.
Five House Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill, although a motion to reconsider the legislation was passed the same day.
The measure was scheduled for another third read hearing on the House floor on June 20, but was never heard before the end of session.
During House committee and floor hearings, the bill garnered little debate as it received approval in the House Education Committee and Committee of the Whole before it ultimately stalled.
Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, chair of the House Education Committee, spoke in support of the bill during the March 20 Committee of the Whole hearing, saying the data could serve as an important tool in informing parents and legislators about the condition of schools across the state.
“School safety is not just the physical safety of the campus. We’re not talking just about cameras, locks, doors, fencing,” Gress said. “We’re also talking about school climate and when you have a school that is infected with rampant bullying, lax discipline, you’re going to create very hostile situations for the staff and for the students. So having this information available to policymakers on the state level can give us more information … and guidance on how we can definitely improve the climate of our campus.”
Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, D-Tucson, said during the hearing the Legislature shouldn’t pile more requirements on school districts as she spoke in opposition to the bill.
“We do not need districts to then have to post it again,” Gutierrez said. “It’s also something that typically would go through the State Board of Education rather than the Department of Education.”
Instead, lawmakers should focus on applying these types of transparency measures to private schools that accept money from the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program, she said.
“I would just say that we need to stop requiring more and more of district schools when we require nothing of private schools or micro schools, or any schools that take ESA vouchers,” she said. “When we finally start mandating transparency from all of these schools, then maybe we can talk about what might need to be added back.”