A bill that would require Arizona teachers to post their lesson plans, curriculum and other materials online has failed to pass. Republican Rep. Steven Kaiser, who supports the bill, was disappointed that the bill came up two votes short of passing.
"And in order to keep this alive and to keep discussions going, I'm voting no right now, so that we can do this again," he said.
By voting no, Kaiser is able to make a motion to reconsider, which he did.
Lawmakers went back and forth. Democratic Rep. Jennifer Pawlik called the bill burdensome.
"If people want to know what's happening in the classroom, they should talk to teachers," she said. "They should go to curriculum night, look in their child's backpack. There's so many ways to know what's going on in the classroom without punishing teachers. Teachers are not the enemy."
Republican Rep. Michelle Udall acknowledges that posting materials online will take extra work on the part of teachers.
"And I think that we as a body should certainly consider offering some kind of a stipend or something for that extra work that it will take/ However, as a parent, in order to exercise some of those parental rights that were spoken of, we have to know what's going on."
Republican Rep. Joel John split with his House Republican colleagues who voted to support the bill. John is a former teacher. He said the bill goes too far.
