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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 20, 2022 10:55 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Stephen Kinsey and Rep. Rick Krajewski |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Conditions for Closing Schools |
| The current conditions a school board in a school district of the first class must follow when permanently closing a public school are woefully inadequate. They largely ignore the wellbeing of the students and communities affected by a school closure. Students are sent to new schools without a proper analysis of how an influx of students will affect the schools in question or support services for the students who are forced to change schools. Unsurprisingly, changes resulting from a school closure can negatively impact students and receiving schools, and we must do something to ensure that students and schools in this stressful circumstance have all of the information and resources they need. Students who are put in such a difficult situation deserve better, which is why we plan to introduce legislation that would require school boards in a school district of the first class to conduct a thorough study of each school proposed to be closed, with the primary focus on the welfare of the students affected by the decision to close the school. Additionally, school boards would be required to provide students with school closure counseling services to help the affected students cope and better transition from their community school to another school within the district. Furthermore, this legislation would require school boards to convene separate public hearings for each school that is proposed to be closed and each school that is designated to receive a particularly heavy increase in students. These changes would create a more comprehensive process for closing schools that would better serve our students and communities. Please join us in co-sponsoring this important legislation and making the wellbeing of our schoolchildren the primary concern when a school must be closed. |
Introduced as HB659