Wyoming school district delegates pass four resolutions at WSBA assembly
SHERIDAN — Voting delegates from member school districts voted to pass four of the six resolutions set before the Wyoming School Boards Association during the annual delegate assembly Nov. 20, with a majority of the conversation revolving around firearms in schools.
The four resolutions passed will set legislative and position platforms, which will help the WSBA in decision making and advocacy for the upcoming 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions.
The four resolutions passed included the following: Local Boards to Decide Conceal Carry Rule; Retain Local Board Authority Over Possession of Firearms by Employees; Conceal Carry Permit Requirement; and Homeschool Should Not Be Classified as a Dropout.
SCSD2 board member May Beth Evers said it is critical to have Wyoming school boards come together and to hear each other’s thoughts on certain topics.
“We have many commonalities, and we have differences, but those don’t override the commonalities we have and that we’re in the business of education,” Evers said.
Guns in schools
Converse County School District 1 submitted a resolution titled Local Boards to Decide Conceal Carry Rule, and board member Josh Moore shared his school district’s reasoning for submitting it.
“We just adopted concealed carry a couple months ago, and it was a pretty long process. I think about two years in total…We simply hope that if there’s another House Bill 125 to come down the line that they carve out our school district’s abilities to decide what’s best for them (and) to kind of let us do our own thing,” Moore said. “Whether that means to allow it or not allow it, but we know our communities better than anyone else.”
House Bill 125 would have removed most gun-free zones in Wyoming and would have allowed people with concealed carry permits to bring firearms into most public places overseen by the state.
Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed the bill in March 2024.
Natrona County School District 1 board member Mary Schmidt said she believes a conceal carry policy needs to be decided at the state level, as it can add confusion for school districts across the state.
“A gun ban has to be statewide because you can’t have people going from one district to another and not knowing what that rule is. I think that adds to confusion and can add to a lot of problems,” Schmidt said.
Park County School District 6 submitted a resolution titled Retain Local Board Authority Over Possession of Firearms by Employees. Board member Stefanie Bell focused on two points: student and staff safety and liability.
“If gun-free zones were to go away and we did not retain statutory language allowing the application and approval for employees, those employees may say, ‘I have the right or have the training. I’ve been doing this for years,’ but should they be involved in something they have absolutely no coverage through the district, so they’re personally liable for what happens?” Bell said.
Bell also noted the importance for her school district to have some knowledge of how many weapons are in a building. The district is told time and time and again that until the school building is secure, emergency medical services can’t enter the building, Bell said.
PCSD6 also submitted the Conceal Carry Permit Requirement resolution.
Cathay Roes said the purpose of the resolution is to clarify that if people have a concealed carry permit that is approved by the state of Wyoming or any state with reciprocity, they can provide that information to the front office before they carry a firearm into the school district.
“This is purely you’re walking into the front office to go help in a classroom for the day. The district knows you’re coming, (and) we ask that people present their driver’s license or some sort of identification anyway, so it’s basically that would be a secondary ask,” Roes said. “There are some questions about the execution of that. Would it be every time? Would it be when you provide your driver’s license the first time? I mean, there’s a lot of questions about it, but I think it’s more to the point that if there’s some sort of proof that that person has had some training that would be ideal.”
Homeschool students should not be classified as dropouts
Big Horn County School District 3 submitted a resolution called Homeschool Should Not Be Classified as a Dropout.
Board Chair Bette Rae Jones provided an example from her own school district in which a student moved to homeschooling his senior year. Despite completing his education, the Wyoming Department of Education classified the student as a non-graduate in the district’s cohort records for WDE.
BHCSD3 was informed by WDE the classification was because the student’s chosen homeschool curriculum delivered virtually did not meet the WDE’s criteria for an approved program.
“This isn’t just a single case. WDE policies are inconsistent. Students using Wyoming based virtual school programs are considered transfers, but if they enroll in virtual programs outside of Wyoming, they are labeled as a non-graduate,” Jones said. “This approach is not only unfair to public schools, but also contradicts federal guidelines under the Every Student Succeeds Act…We cannot control the curriculum choices of homeschooling families, nor should we penalize schools for decisions made by parents.”
The WSBA Board determined that the resolution was unnecessary, as state and federal law allow for a student who elects to leave a public school for a homeschool program to be counted as a transfer rather than a dropout. The WSBA board worked with the proposing district to draft a new resolution to better address the issue.
Schmidt, a homeschool parent, shared her thoughts on the issue.
“As a homeschool parent, this isn’t right and I agree that the district shouldn’t be penalized. Reading the homeschool law, this is a legal violation from a bureaucratic agency (WDE),” Schmidt said. “They don’t have the right to take the law and interpret it in any way they want and that’s exactly what they’re doing.”
The substitute resolution states the WSBA urges WDE to modify its graduation rate calculation policies to ensure that district graduation rates are not negatively impacted by homeschool families’ curriculum choices when they meet the state’s statutory requirements for homeschooling. It also calls upon the WDE to clarify and revise its guidance to prevent unintended district penalties due to curriculum selections made by families choosing to homeschool.
What didn’t pass
Voting delegates voted to not pass a resolution submitted by Fremont County School District 2.
The resolution would have changed the date required for staff members resigning from their position to give written notice from May 15 to April 15, allowing the school districts extra time to seek better teachers and not have to come up with extra money every year to give staff an incentive to provide the district early resignation notices.
Hot Springs School District 1 board member Joe Martinez said his school district has allocated additional monies to try to receive early notifications from staff, and that’s an option open to every district.
“We’ve done that for years, even prior to any sort of serious shortages that we’re currently seeing. We did that really as an incentive, so that we can start our search earlier…I think every school district has the ability to do it if you so choose,” Martinez said.
One resolution not considered covered curriculum transparency, which was originally submitted by Fremont County School District 1.
FCSD1 elected not to bring a motion forward due to the belief that it is reflected in the association’s advocacy agenda and a prior resolution passed by the body.
This story was published on November 21, 2024.