Senate Bill 49
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SPONSOR
Senator Michele Reynolds, District 3 TARGETS K-12 Local Schools DESCRIPTION Provides up to 3 days excused absence days for religious holiday observance for K-12 public school students and staff |
COMMITTEE
House Primary and Secondary Education Committee Previously in Senate Education Committee INTRODUCED January 26, 2023 WATCH HEARINGS Read Testimony | Watch Testimony BILL General Info | As-Written | Analysis |
SB 49 Details
Senate Bill 49 requires K-12 public schools to adopt a policy that gives students, teachers, and staff up to three days of religious expression days to observe holidays under an excused absence policy.
Provisions that impact school staff members:
Provisions that impacts students:
Provisions that impact school staff members:
- The board of education of a city, exempted village, local, or joint vocational school district shall adopt a religious expression day policy under which each person who is employed by the board, except for substitute teachers, shall be entitled, during each school year, to up to three days of religious expression leave at the employee's regular compensation.
- Religious expression days may be used to take holidays for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system or participate in organized activities conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or other religious or spiritual organization
Provisions that impacts students:
- Any K-12 student is permitted to be absent for up to three religious expression days each school year to take holidays for reasons of faith or religious observance
- The district cannot impose an academic penalty as a result of a student being absent as permitted in the policy
- Students must be provided with alternative accommodations with regard to examinations and other academic requirements missed due to an absence
- In order to have an absence covered by this policy, the student must provide their classroom teacher with written notice of the specific dates for which the student requests alternative accommodations
- A classroom teacher shall accept without question the sincerity of a student's religious or spiritual belief system, and keep all requests for alternative accommodations confidential