This policy advisory derives from legislation passed in 2020. In 2020, the Arizona legislature passed “Jake’s Law” which created a fund that provides uninsured and underinsured children access to behavioral health services when they are referred through an educational institution—otherwise known as “school-based referrals.”

JLDAB, JLDAB-R, and JLDAB-E, are new to ASBA’s manual. The documents provide
a mechanism for school districts and charter schools to refer children to community
based behavioral health providers and to have those services paid for by the Children’s
behavioral health services fund or AHCCCS. The policy is optional, meaning that the
law does not require schools to make school-based referrals. However, if the school elects
to make these referrals, then a policy is mandatory. JLDAB is a policy that enables the
statute to work as intended; JLDAB-R is a regulation the Superintendent may utilize to
achieve the goals of policy JLDAB; and JLDAB-E is an exhibit of the survey
Superintendents may utilize to comply with the statute and policy.

Pima JTED Counselors may refer students to the following agencies for behavioral health services:

• La Frontera (onsite one day a week at Camino Seco)
• Crisis Response Center (CRC)
• Talk it Out (TUSD/U of A)
• Tu Niditio
• Goodwill
• Teen Lifeline
• SAAF (Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation)

HB2161 amended A.R.S. §15-117 which governs district or charter school administration of student surveys relating to fourteen (14) specific topics. Districts and charter schools are cautioned to take special care when conducting a survey of pupils soliciting any information that relates to the categories defined in 15-117(A). Districts are required to provide parents a copy of any 15-117 survey and obtain informed consent from the parent at least seven (7) days before administering the survey. The previous statute limited this requirement to surveys that would be retained for longer than a year and listed that consent would be obtained at the beginning of the school year. ASBA modified JRR to retain what is appropriate for board policy and moved the bulk of the rules regarding 15-117 surveys to a new regulation, JRR-R.

HB2025 requires governing boards and charter schools to, in a public meeting, develop and adopt policies to allow for visits, tours and observations (See A.R.S. §15-341(46); 15-184(J)). The requirement pertains to parents and parents of students that may enroll in the school district or charter school. Visits, tours and observations that threaten the health and safety of pupils and staff are not required. This practice was in policy prior to HB2025 but policy KI and regulation KI-R is now updated to conform with statute.

Additionally, schools may not require anyone to wear a mask or face covering unless under a long-standing safety rule not related to COVID-19 (See HB2453). Finally, exhibit KI-E was created to require prospective visitors to fill out a form before visiting the school under policy KI.

HB2161 and HB2439 are two parental rights bills that substantially affected policy KB, and its corresponding regulation, KB-R and exhibit, KB-EB. HB2161 amended 15-102 as follows: the law requires school districts to create procedures enabling parents to request access to school district and employee electronic records that relate to their child.

KB now has this requirement listed in policy. Regulation KB-R was amended to state that parents seeking the types of records listed in 15-102 and 15-143 may request the records from the district office.

HB2161 amended the Parent’s Bill of Rights, 1-602, which is revised verbatim in Exhibit KB-EB. HB2161 created a parent’s cause of action that enables parents to bring a lawsuit and seek damages and other remedies if the parent’s rights are violated. If boards seek guidance on how to avoid the type of litigation discussed in KB-EB and HB2161 please contact ASBA and/or their own legal counsel.

HB2439 also affected 15-102 and 15-189.07. Policy KB is amended to reflect the required policy addition requiring schools to provide access to parents to the school’s library collection of available books and materials and parents may receive a list of books and materials borrowed from the library by their children. KB-R provides districts and charter schools with a regulation stating that parents may request the library items and the list of library books their child has borrowed by using a request form created (Exhibit IJNC-E).

HB2495 prohibits school districts and charter schools from referring students to or using any sexually explicit material in any manner, except as part of sex education instruction as permitted by 15-711. Materials may be exempted from this rule if the materials meet certain statutory definitions such as having serious educational value. Policy IHAMB was updated to prohibit the referral to sexually explicit materials unless part of a Governing Board approved sex education program or as exempted by statute. Regulation IHAMB-R was updated with the language from statute to provide administrators with the legal language necessary to develop a sex education program for governing board approval if one is sought.

House Bill 2086 states that immunization for COVID-19 or any variant of COVID-19 is not required for school attendance. The law goes on to state that an immunization must be prescribed by rule adopted pursuant to A.R.S. §36-672(A) before it may be required for school attendance. HB 2371 states that no governmental entity may require a person under 18 years of age to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or any variant of COVID-19 without parental or guardian consent. (A.R.S. §36-681). This law was passed after A.R.S. §15-342.05, 2021’s COVID-19 mask and immunization law, was invalidated by the Arizona Supreme Court. Appropriate changes have been made in Policy JLCB and Regulation JLCB-R. Exhibit JLCB-E has been updated to include the 2022-2023 requirements.

House Bill 2616 states that school districts and charter schools may not require a minor to wear a mask or face covering without parental or guardian consent. This bill was passed in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Therefore, Policy JLCC, Communicable Infectious Diseases, was amended to reflect this change.

Note: This law was codified in Title 1, §1-611, and therefore the mask/face covering law may be read to apply to more than infectious diseases. Subscribers are notified to speak with their district legal counsel for potential broader impact of this law.

House Bill 2498 prevents a school district from requiring a resident of this state to receive a vaccination for COVID-19 or any variant of COVID-19. House Bill 2453 prohibits a school district from imposing a mask or face covering requirement anywhere on district premises, except where long-standing workplace safety and infection control measures that are unrelated to COVID-19 may be required. Policy KI is amended to reflect these rules.

HB2179 amended A.R.S. §15-914.01 which applies to school districts seeking that the State Board of Education (SBE) assume accounting responsibility for their district. The law now requires that the school district file their application with the county school superintendent as well as SBE. The law also requires districts apply for an evaluation with their county school superintendent before January 1 of the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year of implementation. Policy DIA has been amended to conform with the law.

House Bill 2325 established 9/11 Education Day and requires that schools dedicate some portion of September 11, or an adjoining non-weekend day, to teaching, in an age-appropriate fashion, about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This legal requirement has been added to policy IHA. Resources for age-appropriate education will be developed by the Arizona Department of Education.

HB2178 excludes a school psychologist—who is certified by ADE to use that title, and is either employed by or contracted to provide services in an educational institution setting that services pupils in prekindergarten or kindergarten programs or the 1st-12th grades—from licensure requirements prescribed by the Board of Psychologist Examiners if the services are a part of that person’s contract with the educational institution setting. Previously, only employed school psychologists were exempt from licensure. JLDA was updated to reflect this change.

HB2322 criminalized Hazing. Hazing is a class 1 misdemeanor unless the victim dies and then it is a class 4 felony. ASBA’s model Hazing policy, JICFA, and accompanying exhibit are based on previous law, A.R.S. §15-2301, which was largely unchanged. The major change to policy and to §15-2301 is that the definition of hazing now links directly to the criminal statute. Therefore, Hazing has been redefined in policy and in the exhibit as “an act in violation of section §13-1215 or 13-1216.” Copying the entire criminal statute into this definition would not be helpful to policy, thus a linking definition is being used.

HB2632 increases the number of questions a student must correctly answer on the required civics test identical to the civics portion of the naturalization test to 70, from 60, beginning with the graduating class of 2026. Schools must document the test as pass or fail on the pupil’s transcript. Permits a 7th or 8th grade pupil to take the test. Requires school districts and charter schools to report the factors in §15-701.01(L) to the Department of Education. Policy IKF is updated to reflect these changes.

SB1165, the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” requires that each school district and charter school designate their interscholastic or intramural sports based on the biological sex of the students who participate on the team or in the sport. The permissible categories are the following: Males, men or boys; Females, women or girls; or, Coed or mixed. The law outlines that a student that is harmed by the school’s knowing violation of §15-120.02 may bring a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages, or any other relief available under law. JJIB is amended to conform with statute. JJIA is an optional policy for those districts that have intramural sports which this law applies. JJIB-R is updated to include the private cause of action.

SB1246 enables the school district to contract for vehicles and other transportation services, including electric vehicles. Specifically, §15-923 now permits districts to select preapproved contract carriers or private parties to obtain electric school buses, or other electric vehicle services, if the contract carrier or private party is approved by the school bus advisory council established under §28-3053.

SB1630 expanded the type of vehicle permissible to transport school children to vehicles described in §15-925. This expands the Board’s authority to utilize non-school bus vehicles. Allowable vehicles are now included in Policy EE.

Note: The legislature’s intent in SB1246 was made clear: it is economical to have electric transportation, it prevents pollution and protects the health of our most vulnerable communities, and the benefits outweigh the costs.

With the expansion of SB1630 and additional allowable vehicles came legislative changes to correspond, for example, drivers of non-bus (§15-925) vehicles can be licensed for that type of vehicle; insurance may be purchased for those vehicles; drivers must have fingerprint clearance card, and DPS certificate to drive school children. EEAEA is updated to reflect these statutory changes.

SB1361 modifies eligibility, application and reporting requirements for a certificate of educational convenience (“CEC”). A certificate of educational convenience is a pupil’s ability to apply to attend a district outside of their home district if they are precluded from attending the home district because of distance, lack of adequate transportation facilities or a parent’s or guardian’s employment. The bill requires school districts that receive an application (CEC) pursuant to §15-825 to submit the completed application to the county school superintendent. Policy JF was amended to add this language because it is mandatory for the district if an application is received.

HB2439 instructs school districts and charter school governing boards to adopt procedures that provide parents access to a school’s library collection and a list of books and materials their child borrows. This required list is included in IJNC, the policy that applies to libraries. IJL is a policy that applies to the selection and adoption of materials. HB2439 also revised IJL as follows:

For books and materials purchased after January 1, 2023, the law creates a public review period that requires districts and charter schools to notify parents at least seven (7) days before the public review period begins and ends. The law also requires the Superintendent to place new books and materials on the websites for a minimum of sixty (60) days. Finally, this does not apply to replace lost or damaged books or materials. IJL was revised to include that the Governing Board will comply with HB2439. The specifics of HB2439 were included in Regulation IJL-R. Additionally, IJL-E was created to give notice to parents that a book or material public review period was beginning and when it would end.

HB2439 instructs school districts and charter school governing boards to adopt procedures that provide parents access to a school’s library collection and a list of books and materials their child borrows. This is not required by law until January 1, 2023.

ASBA has created a new regulation IJNC-R to assist Superintendents in complying with this law. The regulation provides that parents seeking access to the school’s library collection, or a list of their child’s borrowed books or materials may utilize a request form (Exhibit IJNC-E).

School districts and charter schools must set aside 1 to 2 minutes at the beginning of each day for silence. Teachers may not tell the children what to meditate on. Teachers must encourage parents to discuss with their children how to use the moment of silence.

HB2161’s private cause of action enables parents to sue “governmental entities” for usurping the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children. ASBA’s policy on teaching controversial issues, IMB, is amended to reflect that teachers have a great responsibility to educate students, but that parents ultimately direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children.