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A bill to allow parents to sue Arizona teachers for 鈥渦surping the fundamental right鈥� of a parent in raising their children won approval is now one signature from becoming law.

The state House of Representatives approved the measure on a party-line vote Monday, sending the legislation to Gov. Doug Ducey, who is expected to sign it into law.

Supporters of the bill said it was necessary to subject teachers to lawsuits in order to bring transparency to schools, which they said have been asking 鈥渋nappropriate questions鈥� of students. The main impetus for the legislation were student surveys sent out by schools 鈥� often aimed at identifying students struggling with mental health during the pandemic 鈥� that made and .

by Rep. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix, began its legislative life as a more controversial bill that would have forced teachers to tell parents everything a student tells them 鈥� including outing them if a student .听

The bill was eventually . Kaiser insisted that the bill was never meant as 鈥渁n attack鈥� on the LGBTQ community, even though it specifically said teachers would have to disclose information about a student鈥檚 鈥減urported gender identity鈥� or a request to transition to a gender other than the 鈥渟tudent鈥檚 biological sex.鈥� It was also drafted by two .听

The bill in its current form prohibits a school, political subdivision or government from 鈥渦surping the fundamental right鈥� of a parent in raising their children, allows a parent to bring a civil suit against any government entity or official that violates the in Arizona law, gives parents the rights to all written or electronic records from a school about their child 鈥� including a students counseling records 鈥� and requires schools to notify parents before a survey is conducted of students, among other changes.

Rep. Judy Schwiebert, D-Phoenix, said she appreciated the amendments to the bill, but felt that it was still 鈥渁mplifying and magnifying the divide between teachers and parents.鈥澛�

Schwiebert, a former teacher, and her Democratic colleagues have stated concerns about the bill鈥檚 overly broad language that .听聽

鈥淧arents can already file a lawsuit against a school district, or teachers, if they object to things that are happening, and this just reinforces this,鈥� Schwiebert said. 鈥淚 think that this bill sends the wrong message. It sends a message of division rather than encouraging people to work together to resolve the issues in their local schools.鈥澛�

Kaiser and other supporters dismissed those concerns. The bill was largely drafted by the , which praised the passage of the bill.听

鈥淭he bill strengthens current law protecting those parental rights and ensuring parents have access to their children鈥檚 medical and educational records,鈥� CAP鈥檚 statement said. 鈥淚t also puts an end to the growing practice of schools providing probing surveys to students without their parents鈥� permission.鈥澛�

Gov. Ducey will have five days to sign the bill into law or veto it.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: [email protected]. Follow Arizona Mirror on and .

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