DESE Records

The House Children and Families Committee met on Tuesday morning to discuss HB 339, sponsored by Rep. Ann Kelley (R-Lamar). Currently, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is required to keep a record of substantiated, signed parental complaints against licensed childcare facilities, and DESE shall continue to make such complaints and findings available to the public upon request. HB 339, however, prohibits DESE from releasing information to the public that would identify the person who reports such a complaint. The committee went into an executive session where House Committee Substitute for HB 339 was voted do pass with consent status by a vote of 14-0. The substitute added the line stating no information identifying reporters of such complaints shall be made available to the public.