The Wyoming Senate has given initial support to a bill that would require school districts to publish the materials they used for teaching in a school year. Senate File 62 requires it to be organized by school, grade and subject area.
Senate Majority Leader Ogden Driskill said the goal is just to provide transparency to the public about the books and materials schools use to teach subjects. But opponents say it could be an undue burden on teachers. Powell Sen. R.J. Kost told the Senate that he worries the information could cause trouble.
“What’s the end result? So that someone can attack? So that somebody can say this is a bunch of garbage and I don’t want this in my (child’s) class?” He said. “And that one screen can cause problems?”
Kost said the proposal does not move education forward.
Senate Minority Leader Chris Rothfuss said it’s an issue that would better be handled by local school boards and not the legislature.
Senate Education Chairman Charles Scott said he supported the bill and opponents were seeing things “go bump in the night.” The bill will be debated two more times.