SB1211 - 552R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 9-837, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE9-837. Directory of documents; public inspection; posting; school materials

A. The municipality shall publish, or prominently place on the municipal website, at least annually a directory summarizing the subject matter of all currently applicable ordinances, codes and substantive policy statements. The municipality shall keep copies of this directory and all substantive policy statements at one location. The directory, ordinances, codes, and substantive policy statements and any materials incorporated by reference in the documents shall be open to public inspection at the office of the municipality or posted on the municipal website.

B. A municipality may post on its website links to the website of each school that posts materials pursuant to section 15-113.01 and that is located within that municipality. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 15-113, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-113. Rights of parents; public educational institutions; definitions

A. A parent of a student in a public educational institution has the right to review learning materials and activities in advance. Each school that is operated by a school district, charter school, accommodation school and Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind campus shall make all learning materials and activities that have been used or that have been planned for use at the school or campus available on written request for review by parents, including review by parents who are considering enrolling their children in the school, at the school site. A parent who objects to any learning material or activity on the basis that the material or activity is harmful may request to withdraw that parent's student from the activity or from the class or program in which the material is used and request an alternative assignment.

B. A charter school may require parents to waive the right to object to learning materials or activities pursuant to subsection A of this section as a condition of enrollment if the charter school provides a complete list of books and materials to be used each school year before the student enrolls. If the charter school introduces books or materials that were not disclosed prior to before the student's enrollment, the parent retains the right to object to those materials pursuant to subsection A of this section.

C. A charter school may require that any request to review learning materials or activities or to withdraw the student from learning materials or activities pursuant to subsection A of this section be made in writing.

D. A public educational institution shall obtain signed, written consent from a student's parent or guardian before doing either of the following:

1. Using video, audio or electronic materials that may be inappropriate for the age of the student.

2. Providing sex education instruction to the student. At the same time the public educational institution seeks consent, it shall inform the student's parent or guardian of the parent's or guardian's right to review the instructional learning materials and activities.

E. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Objects to any learning material or activity on the basis that the material or activity is harmful" means objecting to the material or activity because of sexual content, violent content or profane or vulgar language.

2. "Public educational institution" means any of the following:

(a) A school district, including its schools.

(b) A charter school.

(d) The Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Title 15, chapter 1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-113.01, to read:

START_STATUTE15-113.01. Materials and activities; posting required; definitions

A. Each school that is operated by a school district or charter school shall disclose on a publicly accessible portion of its website all of the following:

1. The procedures or processes in effect at the school for a parent to have access in advance to review the current learning materials and activities used for student instruction at the school.

2. The procedures or processes in effect for the school principal or other staff to document, review or approve lesson plans or the learning materials and activities used for student instruction and teacher training at the school and any change in those procedures or processes from the prior school year.

3. A listing of the learning materials and activities used for student instruction at the school in the current school year, including the following, organized, at a minimum, by subject area, grade and teacher:

(a) Textbooks, articles and other required reading materials.

(b) Videos and audio recordings.

(d) Websites.

(e) Instructional handouts and worksheets.

(f) Online applications for a phone, laptop or tablet.

(g) Grade level or schoolwide assemblies.

(h) Guest lectures.

(i) Action-oriented civics learning assignments or projects.

(j) Service learning projects.

4. A listing of the teacher training materials and activities used at the school in the current school year.

B. For all learning materials and activities used for student instruction or teacher training on topics of discrimination, diversity, equity, inclusion, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, bias, action-oriented civics, service learning or social and emotional competencies, or any combination of these topics with other concepts, the information required by subsection A, paragraphs 3 and 4 of this section:

1. Must be displayed at least seventy-two hours before the first use of the learning material or activity.

2. Must include:

(a) The title, author and organization associated with the material or activity.

(b) If the material or activity is freely and publicly available on the internet, a link to the material or activity.

(c) If the material or activity is not freely and publicly available on the internet, a brief description of the material or activity and information on how to request review of a copy of the material or activity.

(d) If the material or activity was created for nonpublic use, the identity of the teacher, staff member, school official or outside presenter who created the material or activity, which may be indicated by a personal title and last initial if referring to a teacher, staff member or school official.

C. For all learning materials and activities used for student instruction or teacher training on topics other than those described in subsection B of this section, the information required by subsection A, paragraphs 3 and 4 of this section:

1. Must include at least the title and the author or organization associated with the material or activity, and, if accessed online, an internet address associated with each material or activity, except that instructional worksheets or handouts may be listed by title or internet address alone.

2. Must be displayed online beginning not more than seven school days after the first use of each learning material or activity.

D. Information posted pursuant to this section may be posted on an ongoing basis. The listing of learning materials and activities for each school year shall remain accessible via the school website for at least two years.

E. Subsection A, paragraph 3 of this section does not require:

1. The digital reproduction of the learning materials or activities.

2. The disclosure of academic assessments.

3. The separate reporting of individual components of learning materials that are produced as a single volume, except that for digital volumes containing works by multiple authors, the school shall provide either a table of contents or internet address that discloses the discrete works and authors contained within the volume. Articles, videos or other materials from websites shall be identified, if possible, with an internet address specific to the relevant content used for student instruction.

F. This section does not require a school to post or distribute a learning material or activity used for student instruction or training in a manner that would constitute an infringement of copyright under the copyright act (P.L. 94-553; 90 Stat. 2541 to 2598; 17 United States Code sections 101 to 1332).

G. In preparing the listing of learning materials and activities pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 3 of this section, the school:

1. May use collaborative online document or spreadsheet software or an online learning management system that allows multiple authorized users to update or add to posted content on an ongoing basis, provided that the information is publicly accessible via a posted link on the school website or that, if using an online learning management system, temporary remote access is provided on demand pursuant to paragraph 2 of this subsection.

2. May satisfy the requirements of subsection A, paragraph 3 of this section by posting a copy or the full text of the lesson plans submitted to the school principal or other staff by instructors at the school in the current year, or by providing temporary login credentials via a publicly accessible link on the school website to the school's online learning management system for any grade levels requested, provided that both of the following apply:

(a) any learning materials and activities that are used for student instruction and that are not recorded on the lesson plans or the online learning management system are also listed via a publicly accessible portion of the school website, and that any materials or activities on topics described in subsection B of this section are presented in equivalent or greater detail as required by subsection B of this section.

(b) Any temporary login credentials are automatically generated immediately on request and provide access for the requested grade levels for not less than seventy-two hours at least once per thirty-day period for each requestor. The access provided via the login credentials may be limited to the learning materials and activities used for instruction at the school and is not required to provide access to academic assessments, answer keys, student generated content, student performance records or other student identifying information.

3. Shall display the listing in electronic formats that are searchable or sortable at a minimum within each separately posted section or course.

H. A school whose learning materials or activities are selected independently by instructors at a school site with fewer than twenty enrolled students is not required to post a listing of learning materials and activities pursuant to this section.

I. A party may not initiate legal action to enforce this section unless the party adheres to the following process:

1. The party, which shall be limited to the superintendent of public instruction, the auditor general, the attorney general, the county attorney for the county in which an alleged violation of this section occurs or a student or the parent of a student enrolled in the school district or charter school in which an alleged violation of this section occurs, shall submit a complaint in writing with the specific facts of the alleged violation to the principal of the school. The party may not submit more than one complaint of an alleged violation to the principal in any thirty-day period. The complaint may identify multiple materials within a single course that have not been posted in compliance with this section. The principal shall investigate the complaint and respond in writing, including a description of any action taken to resolve the complaint, within fifteen school days after receiving the written complaint.

2. If the action taken by the principal of the school does not resolve the complaint in a manner that ensures that each material or activity identified in the complaint is posted with the equivalent level of detail as required by this section, the party shall submit a complaint in writing with the specific facts of the alleged violation to the school district governing board or charter school governing body or the administrator designated by the governing board or governing body. The school district governing board, charter school governing body or designated administrator shall investigate the complaint and respond in writing, including a description of any action taken to resolve the complaint, within twenty-five school days after receiving the written complaint.

3. If the action taken by the school district governing board, charter school governing body or designated administrator does not resolve the complaint in a manner that ensures that each material or activity identified in the complaint is posted with the equivalent level of detail as required by this section, the party may pursue legal action to enforce this section.

J. If a complaint is not resolved after pursuing resolution pursuant to subsection I of this section, the superintendent of public instruction, auditor general, attorney general or county attorney for the county in which an alleged violation of this section occurs, or a student or parent of a student enrolled in the school district or charter school in which an alleged violation of this section occurs, may initiate a suit in superior court to bring action for injunctive relief or a writ of mandamus to compel the school district governing board or charter school governing body to ensure that each material or activity identified in the suit is posted with the equivalent level of detail as required by this section. If a student or parent of a student prevails, the court shall award reasonable attorney fees to the student or parent. In the event of noncompliance with the order of the court, the court may punish the responsible official or employee for contempt. If the employment of an individual at the school has been discontinued or an internet address that functioned at the time of initial posting subsequently ceases to function, the governing board or governing body may not be held liable for not posting or updating the listing of learning materials and activities for that individual or item beyond what has previously been posted.

K. An attorney acting on behalf of a school district or charter school may request a legal opinion of the attorney general or the county attorney for the county in which an alleged violation of this section occurs as to whether the actions taken by the school district or charter school comply with this section.

L. For privacy purposes, a teacher or staff member employed by a school may request that the school use the teacher's or staff member's personal title and last initial instead of the teacher's or staff member's full name when posting materials.

M. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Action-oriented civics learning assignments or projects" includes assignments or projects that require students to contact elected officials or other outside entities advocating for a political or social cause or to participate in political or social demonstrations.

2. "Guest lecture":

(a) Includes a presentation or educational event conducted by an outside individual or organization, including those facilitated by the school's staff.

(b) Does not include student presentations given by students enrolled at the school.

3. "Lesson plan" means the daily, weekly or other routinely produced guide, description or outline of the instruction to be provided by a teacher to students at the school.

4. "Service learning projects" includes both of the following:

(a) Any requirement to participate in internships or other forms of collaboration with outside organizations after regular school hours for course credit or as a class project or assignment.

(b) The specific internships or organizations selected by students if the selection is made from a list of specific internships or organizations determined by the school or its staff.

5. "Social and emotional competencies" includes student relationship skills, social-awareness, collective goal-making and emotional self-management.

6. "Used for student instruction":

(a) Means assigned, distributed or otherwise presented to students in any course for which students receive academic credit or in any educational capacity in which the school requires the student body to participate or in which a majority of students in a given grade level participate.

(b) Includes learning materials or activities from which students are required to choose one or more from a selection of materials that is restricted to specific titles. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 15-721, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-721. Common schools; course of study; textbooks; approval; selection; definition

A. The governing board shall approve for common schools the course of study, the basic textbook for each course and all units recommended for credit under each general subject title prior to implementation of before implementing the course.

B. If any course does not include a basic textbook, the governing board shall approve all supplemental books used in the course prior to approval of before approving the course.

C. If any course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books, the governing board may approve all supplemental books and teaching aids, including instructional computer software, that are used in the course prior to approval of before approving the course.

D. If the course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books that have not been approved by the governing board at the time of approval of the course, a teacher may use the supplemental books at any time during the school year. Use of the supplemental books shall be brought to the attention of the governing board during the school year in which they are added for ratification.

E. Notwithstanding any other law, subsections B and C of this section do not apply to supplemental books used in courses or programs instituted pursuant to article 4 of this chapter.

F. The governing board shall:

1. Enforce the course of study and select all textbooks used in the common schools and purchase the textbooks from the publishers. The governing board may budget and spend district school funds may be budgeted and expended by the governing board monies for teaching aids, including instructional computer software. For courses that do not require that each student have a textbook other than for classroom instruction, the school district need only purchase one textbook for each student in the largest group that would be receiving classroom instruction at any one time.

2. Require that all meetings of committees authorized for the purposes of textbook review and selection be open to the public as prescribed in title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1.

3. Make available at the school district office for review by the public, for a period of sixty days prior to formal selection of textbooks, a copy of each textbook that is being considered for selection.

4. Make available at each school that is operated by the school district a copy of each textbook that is being considered for selection for review, on written request, by parents, except that a school district is not required to make available at a school site a textbook that is not being considered for use at that specific school site. For the purposes of this paragraph, "parents" includes parents and guardians who are considering enrolling their children in a school that is operated by the school district.

G. For the purposes of this section, "textbook" means printed instructional materials or digital content, or both, and related printed or nonprinted instructional materials, that are written and published primarily for use in school instruction and that are required by a state educational agency or a local educational education agency for use by pupils in the classroom, including materials that require the availability of electronic equipment in order to be used as a learning resource. END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 15-722, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-722. High schools; course of study; textbooks; approval; definition

A. The governing board shall approve for high schools the course of study and all units that are recommended for credit under each general subject title before implementing the course.

B. The governing board shall approve for high schools the basic textbook for each course and may purchase the textbooks from the publishers if approved by the governing board. Before the approval of approving any basic textbook for high schools, the governing board shall do all of the following:

1. Provide information on the school district's website, if the school district maintains a website, on the basic textbooks that are proposed for approval.

2. Require that all meetings of committees authorized for the purposes of textbook review and selection approval be open to the public pursuant to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1.

3. Provide an opportunity for public comment for at least sixty days. Public comment may include written comments, oral comments and comments submitted through e-mail email.

4. Make available at the school district office for review by the public, for a period of at least sixty days prior to the formal selection of before approving the textbooks, a copy of each textbook that is being considered for selection approval.

5. Make available at each school that is operated by the school district a copy of each textbook that is being considered for approval for review, on written request, by parents, except that a school district is not required to make available at a school site a textbook that is not being considered for use at that specific school site. For the purposes of this paragraph, "parents" includes parents and guardians who are considering enrolling their children in a school that is operated by the school district.

C. If any course does not include a basic textbook, the governing board shall approve all supplemental books that are used in the course before usage.

D. If any course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books or instructional computer software, the governing board may approve all supplemental books and instructional computer software that are used in the course before usage.

E. If the course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books that have not been approved by the governing board at the time of approval of the course, a teacher may use the supplemental books at any time during the school year. Use of the supplemental books shall be brought to the attention of the governing board during the school year in which they are added for ratification.

F. The governing board shall prescribe up to five textbooks for each course, and the teacher, with the consent of the governing board, may use any one of the prescribed textbooks for the purposes of the teacher's course.

Sec. 6. Section 15-730, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-730. Access to instructional and teacher training materials by parents and guardians; definitions

A. On written request, school personnel designated by the a school district governing board or charter school governing body shall permit allow parents or and guardians access to both:

1. Instructional materials or teacher training materials currently used by or being considered for use by the any school within the school district or the charter school by making available at least one copy of the instructional material or teacher training materials available for review by the parents or and guardians at each school site within ten school days after the written request. Parents or and guardians may take printed textbooks, printed supplementary books and printed subject matter materials from the school district premises for a period of not more than forty-eight hours. Parents or guardians may review all other materials, including films, only on the school district premises.

2. A classroom library within ten school days after the written request.

B. The governing board or governing body or any staff person who is employed by the governing board or governing body and who is acting in the course of the staff person's official duties may not purchase or contract for copyrighted instructional materials used for student instruction at any school under the authority of the governing board or governing body, including the renewal of subscription-based digital materials for which students are provided individual login credentials or access via electronic personal devices, unless parents and guardians of enrolled students are provided the opportunity to review the materials within ten school days after submitting a written request to the governing board or governing body or the school in which the student is enrolled. The means of review shall include at least one of the following:

1. Access to the materials that have been used at the school site within ten school days after receiving the written request.

2. Temporary remote access or the provision of login credentials to at least one copy of the materials for at least twenty-four hours following the written request, not to exceed one request per item per household during any thirty-day period.

C. A parent or guardian is not required as a condition of reviewing the materials under this section to enter into terms of a nondisclosure agreement or waive any rights beyond complying with federal copyright law.

D. To the extent practicable, each school shall allow the parent or guardian to copy, scan, duplicate or photograph portions of original materials within the limits of fair use under section 107 of the copyright act (P.L. 94–553; 90 Stat. 2541 to 2598).

E. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Nondisclosure agreement" means a confidentiality agreement or contract provision that prohibits the disclosure of information by a party to the contract.

2. "Original materials" means materials that are owned or licensed by the school district, public school, faculty or staff and that are used for student instruction. END_STATUTE

Sec. 7. Severability

If a provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.END_STATUTE