A bill that would have required local school districts to approve sex education courses in Alaska schools has failed by a single vote in the Alaska House.
A conference committee version of House Bill 156 was approved by the Alaska Senate on Wednesday morning, but when the vote came to the House, only 20 lawmakers voted “yes.” Twenty-one were needed for approval.
“I’m trying to figure out what happened myself,” said Rep. Wes Keller, R-Anchorage and the author of the bill.
As late as yesterday, the bill was thought to have the votes to pass.
“I’m not going to talk to the press right now because I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus,” he said.
The vote seemingly ends the lengthy saga of an effort by Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, to place restrictions on sex ed classes in Alaska schools.
[Bill would restrict Planned Parenthood in Alaska schools.]
[Juneau teens say banning Planned Parenthood in school is bad for students.]
[Public weighs in almost 7:1 against banning Planned Parenthood from schools.]
The bill could be returned to conference committee or reconsidered under various procedural moves, but those were not immediately thought likely.
House Bill 156 had already passed the House once as a measure giving state school districts a two-year break from a standardized-testing requirement.
After years of development, state’s vaunted Alaska Measures of Progress exam failed to deliver the data administrators sought, and this year’s tests were cancelled when a backhoe severed a fiber-optic cable in Kansas, home to the testing center, just as Alaska students were preparing to take the computerized exam.
In the House, the measure was opposed by lawmakers concerned that federal school funding could be endangered if the state ignored a federal requirement to conduct standardized tests.
When the bill reached the Senate, it was amended to include an escape clause allowing the state to recant if its funding was endangered. Then, a new obstacle arose.
Another amendment, pushed by Dunleavy, added portions of his SB 89, a controversial measure that failed in a House committee.
[Bill to ban Planned Parenthood in schools dies in committee.]
SB 89 would have prohibited sex education by anyone but a certified teacher employed at the local school hosting the sex ed course, and it was written to specifically forbid lessons provided by organizations that also provide abortion services. This was seen as specifically targeting Planned Parenthood.
[Amendment restricts who can teach sex ed.]
Dunleavy’s amendment was subsequently watered down: The last version of HB 156 required only that sex ed instructors be overseen by a local teacher. Instead of prohibiting Planned Parenthood and any similar organizations, the bill required sex ed materials and instructors first be approved by a local school board.
The amended HB 156 passed the Senate and returned to the House, where lawmakers rejected it by one vote on April 17.
With different versions passed by the House and Senate, the bill was sent to a conference committee to reconcile the differences. That committee met earlier this week and recommended the Senate version, an act that returned the bill to the House for consideration.
On Wednesday afternoon, there was no small amount of suspense as lawmakers cast their votes, one by one, in the gymnasium of the Terry Miller Building. With the Capitol under construction, lawmakers have been holding floor sessions elsewhere.
The first sign of difference from the House’s previous votes came when Rep. Benjamin Nageak, D-Barrow, voted against the bill. The second came when Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel, voted for it.
That left the bill at a 20-19 vote.
Then, Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau, announced she would change her vote from “no” to “yes”.
That would have given the bill 21 votes and enough to pass, but after Muñoz changed her decision, so did Herron.
That kept the bill at a 20-19 vote, one short of approval. Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, is stricken with cancer and has been absent for most of the Legislative session.
After the vote, Muñoz said it was a very close issue in her mind.
“I’ve been hearing from people pro and con for the last couple of weeks,” she said.
While she is opposed to the Dunleavy amendment within HB 156, she supports other aspects of the bill ─ in part because the superintendent of the Juneau School District sent her a letter saying he supports the measure.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com.
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