BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, has prefiled a bill to make sure that K-12 schools don’t withhold a transfer student’s records because he or she has an unpaid balance at the school they’re leaving.
Simpson said Daphne High School Principal Fletcher Comer contacted him and said he had problems getting students’ records when they transfer from a private school to the public school.
If the student owes money to their previous school, some schools will not release the student’s transcript, the principal told Simpson.
“When the private school doesn’t release their transcripts, then that means the public school can’t have that person marked as a graduate,” Simpson said. “It’s causing a decrease in the graduation rates for schools, which causes the ratings (on report cards) to go down. There’s a domino effect.”
House Bill 56 is a short piece of legislation.
“No public or nonpublic K-12 school, including a private, church, parochial, or religious school, may refuse to transfer the records of a student who is transferring to another public or nonpublic school based solely on the student having an unpaid balance due the transferring school.”
Public schools must have a student’s transcript from the previous school in order to certify the student has enough credits to graduate.
Comer told ADN most of the time, private schools send the student’s transcript when the transfer happens.
“Almost 98% of the time, everything is smooth, but that one particular piece complicates the life of a child,” he said. “We need to be careful we don’t penalize children for adult situations.
“I appreciate Rep. Simpson being willing to look at that and take it to the state and see if they feel the same way.”
The bill has been assigned to the House Education Policy committee. The legislative session starts Feb. 4.
“The whole purpose of the bill is just to make sure that the child doesn’t suffer, to make sure that the school that the kid is transferring to doesn’t suffer,” Simpson said.
“Let’s not play games with the kids’ transcripts and the kids’ future. Let’s just do what the right thing would be.”