The proposed bill would amend current statutes regarding school attendance for religious purposes by changing the language from permissive to mandatory. Under current law, school district governing boards and charter school governing bodies "may" allow students to be excused for religious purposes, whereas the new bill would require them to adopt a policy that "must" allow such excusal. This change emphasizes the obligation of governing bodies to permit students to participate in religious exercises or instruction without discretion.

Additionally, the bill makes several technical updates, including changing the term "pupil" to "student" throughout the statute and clarifying that the policy must stipulate the conditions under which a student can be excused. These conditions include obtaining written consent from the person who has custody of the student. The bill also removes the requirement for the governing bodies to apply for authorization of school closure for certain reasons, streamlining the process related to student excusal for religious purposes.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 15-806
House Engrossed Version: 15-806