SF 31 - Education Policy Bill Summary

• School boards must adopt comprehensive strategic plans that include culturally relevant curriculum, ethnic studies, and goals for recruiting racially and ethnically diverse teachers to reduce achievement disparities

• Changes student discipline policies to emphasize nonexclusionary practices like positive behavior interventions and social-emotional learning before dismissal, with requirements for alternative educational services during suspensions

• Establishes goal for teaching workforce to increase racial and ethnic diversity by at least 2 percentage points annually and requires biennial reporting on programs addressing teacher diversity shortage

• Modifies school meal policies to prohibit "lunch shaming," ensure students with outstanding meal debt can still receive free/reduced-price lunches, and require respectful debt collection practices

• Adds new curriculum policy requiring school boards to prohibit discrimination against teachers for incorporating contributions from federally protected classes into instruction