House suspending rules, taking up 2nd reading calendar…

The House is suspending its rules to take up House bills on its 2nd Reading Calendar this morning, which includes HB 695, the bill to set up a new $200,000 legislative legal defense fund. First up is HB 694, amending a provision of the “Students Come First” reform law that required school districts to provide lists of liability insurance providers to teachers.

Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, told the House, “This bill is really nothing more than trying to grant free advertising to a Washington-based organization that provides liability insurance for teachers.” The Northwest Professional Educators Association from Spokane testified for the bill in committee. That organization bills itself as the teachers association that’s “not a union,” offering “affordable liability coverage, legal representation, and other education-related benefits without paying for controversial political agendas.”

Rep. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, the bill’s House sponsor, said the original reform law required school districts to distribute the lists of liability insurance providers, which teachers must sign; this year’s bill shifts that responsibility to the State Department of Education. The bill passed the House on a 53-15 vote and now moves to the Senate side.