Carrie Semmelroth — Addressed directly in response to the question about the date conflict.
Carrie Semmelroth — Representative Rehart asked for a quick reminder of what grades social studies covers, then followed up by asking about how much instructional time is devoted to government and the founding of the country as part of the broader social studies discussion.
Greg Wilson — Greg Wilson is introduced and comes forward to respond to questions, then identifies himself as chief of staff at the State Department of Education and explains the department’s rulemaking authority. He outlines the Code of Ethics changes, emphasizing that the digital communication rule is intended to reduce unethical educator-student interactions by limiting communications to district-approved devices and platforms, while also helping teachers or coaches demonstrate that communications were not unethical. He concludes by clarifying that professionalism under the Code of Ethics covers all professional conduct, and notes that the digital communication language is the only substantive change on that page aside from a Title 37 reference.
James Woodward — Asked whether the ethics changes are designed to address inappropriate conduct with students and teachers being moved between schools.
James Woodward — Referenced as the member asking the question.
James Woodward — Continues the question about whether the ethics changes are meant to address inappropriate conduct with students and teacher transfers.
James Woodward — Addressed by Mr. Wilson while asking about the ethics changes.
James Woodward — Says the issue needed to be addressed and acknowledges the rationale for the ethics changes.
James Woodward — Referenced as having another question/comment.
James Woodward — Addressed by Mr. Wilson; likely a transcription error for a committee member.
James Woodward — Explained that one docket handles special education and the other handles social studies standards.
James Woodward — Was asked for clarification and responded that the interpretation was not correct.
James Woodward — Referenced as the person whose explanation was being clarified.
James Woodward — Was asked to give a quick reminder about the scope of social studies standards.
James Woodward — Was asked whether he knew how much time is spent on government and the founding of the country.
James Woodward — Explained that the standards solidify the foundation for teaching the founding era and strong U.S. history.
James Woodward — Was asked to answer whether the curriculum covers communism/socialism.
James Woodward — Said there are specific U.S. history standards around the rise of the Soviet Union and that he would need to look further.
James Woodward — Was thanked for responding to the questions.
James Woodward — Said the standards updates reflect a concerted effort to include founding principles, political philosophy, and the foundation of the U.S. system of government.
James Woodward — Reiterated that the updates intentionally include founding principles and political philosophy.
James Woodward — Was asked to provide more detail to the committee on the chapters and issues covered.
James Woodward — Was addressed as the discussion turned to the special education manual.
James Woodward — Was thanked for his explanation before the motion was made.
James Woodward — Was thanked for coming after the motion passed.
Mr. Wilson — The question is directed to Mr. Wilson for explanation of the ethics changes.
Mr. Wilson — The question is directed to Mr. Wilson for response.
Mr. Wilson — Explains that the Professional Standards Commission oversees the Code of Ethics and that the changes are meant to address inappropriate communications.
Mr. Wilson — The follow-up is directed to Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Wilson — The question is directed to Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Wilson — Clarifies that an approved device may be a personal cell phone used for work purposes and that the policy is meant to cover common communication practices.
Mr. Wilson — Explains that the student device itself is not approved, but communication must occur through an approved platform/app.
Mr. Wilson — Responds that the language reflects public comment and existing district practice.
Mr. Wilson — Explains that schools and families commonly use communication applications and that the structure is not unusual.
Christy Zito — Representative Hostetler asks whether the rules need to be so explicit because the conduct may happen frequently on school phones or devices, and the discussion continues with whether this is common enough to warrant addressing it earlier in educator preparation rather than relying on common sense.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Was addressed during clarification about whether there are two separate dockets and how the social studies standards are referenced.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Clarified that the question was about social studies dates between the two dockets, not special education.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Questioned whether the special education/social studies units were different and not updated to the latest version.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Brad Hunt addressed the clarification to this member regarding how approved dockets are codified.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Said the committee did not need to walk through the material today.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Said he would be interested in more detail and asked whether the curriculum teaches the horrors of communism.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Said he was not trying to put Mr. Wilson on the spot and was raising his own concerns.
Janie Ward-Engelking — Said the question was not meant as a gotcha and suggested the witness could return better prepared.
Brad Hunt — Brad Hunt, the Division of Financial Management state rules coordinator, clarified the docket issue by explaining that if both dockets are approved, the resulting changes would be merged together when the administrative code is codified.
Dave Lent — The chair opens the meeting and explains the agenda.
Dave Lent — The speaker addresses the chair in making an apology for getting ahead of the agenda.
Nick Wagner — Nick Wagner, the Administrative Rules Coordinator for the State Board of Education, introduces himself and presents the proposed rule changes, explaining that they are cleanup-only revisions that do not alter current requirements or processes.
Nick Wagner — Nick Wagner clarified that he would only address the first two changes and then defer the remaining issue to Chief of Staff Greg Wilson; the exchange was briefly acknowledged before moving on.
Kevin Cook — The speaker addresses the Vice Chair and committee members.
Kevin Cook — Representative Nelson’s question and follow-up concerns are repeatedly referenced as the committee discusses communication rules for students, coaches, and chaperones. He then directly raises concern that the phrase 'school-based account' is too restrictive, especially for trip-related communication and situations where educators or students may use personal cell phones or group texts. He argues schools should be able to authorize communication methods for specific trips and concludes by proposing to strike 'school-based account' from the language.