Parent's Right To Know
1) Classroom curricula must be posted on the website of the school
2) Parents or guardians of enrolled students can request information on instructional and supplemental materials used in the classroom
3) If a classroom teacher fail to comply, the parent or guardian may file a complaint with the local superintendent of education
4) The number of complaints must be reported to the State Superintendent of Education and the Legislature.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1.
(a) At the beginning of each school year, and no later than 30 calendar days after a new or revised curriculum is adopted, the local superintendent of education and local board of education shall verify that each school under the jurisdiction of the board has posted current adopted curricula for each class on the website of the school. Access to the online curricula shall be made available to students, parents, or guardians of enrolled students through the school website. If a school has no accessible website, the curricula shall be posted on the website of the local board of education or the State Department of Education.
(b) Each classroom teacher shall comply with the request of any parent or guardian by providing a detailed summary, by email, telephone, or other electronic means, of instructional materials adopted by the local board of education, supplementary instructional materials in the classroom that were not adopted by the local board of education, and books in the classroom that are available for students to read, subject to all of the following:
(1) Only the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the class may make a request pursuant to this subsection.
(2) If a parent or guardian would like further information regarding how the instructional materials relate to the content standards adopted by the State Board of Education or to physically examine any instructional materials used in the classroom, the parent or guardian may request that the local board of educational allow that examination at the next work session of the board. The board shall notify the parent or guardian and the teacher of the issues involved and the date and time of the next work session.
(c) For any class in which reading books is required, the classroom teacher shall include the titles of the books on a class syllabus. Upon the request of the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the class, the classroom teacher shall make the syllabus available to the parent or guardian.
(d) If a classroom teacher fails to comply with this section, the parent or guardian may file a complaint with the local superintendent of education on a form developed and provided by the local superintendent of education. If the complaint is not resolved by the local superintendent of education within 10 school days, the parent or guardian may file a complaint with the State Superintendent of Education, or his or her designee. The State Superintendent of Education shall make a form available for parents or guardians to file a complaint pursuant to this subsection.
(e)
(1) On or before September 1 annually, each local superintendent of education shall report the number of complaints filed with him or her during the previous school year to the State Superintendent of Education. On or before October 1 annually, the State Superintendent of Education shall report the total number of complaints filed during the previous school year, statewide and by county, to the Chairs of the Senate Education Policy Committee and the House of Representatives Education Policy Committee.
(2) Any complaint filed by a parent or guardian pursuant to this section is an educational record of the student on whose behalf the complaint was filed and shall not be released or viewed, except as provided in this section and where the release or viewing is otherwise consistent with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and state law.
Section 2.
This act shall become effective on June 1, 2024.