Video & Transcript Research : 'Grow Your Own Educator Program'
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NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
IC - Economic and Rural Development Aug 11th, 2025
Economic & Rural Development & Policy Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- I'm going to blend in with both your comment and your question.
- The geothermal grant alone... program that we passed with your help is open to all municipalities in
- And then our newest program is the Water Education Program.
- And this is a growing program this year.
- To be aware of it, should something like this begin to occur in your own districts.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
Appropriations Committee on Higher Education Oct 8th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- We'd like to give you a minute to just let us know what your background is in higher education and your
- Senator Lee, give us your insights into higher education and your passion. Thank you. Thank you.
- students who are entering into careers in technical education programs.
- , and adult education workforce programs.
- So the peak grow-your-own...
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
IC - New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Aug 11th, 2025
New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- program to the degree that it is today.
- I wanted to mention that your Clients, your constituents, our clients, are getting the benefit of their
- for job training. incentive program.
- Just because it's a fire hose of information in your presentation, I have to restate this program of
- This is going to be eat, talk, go back to your hotel, your home, or your.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
January 15, 2025 - 03:30 PM
Transcript Highlights:
- Senator Cory Steinman, his heart was in the career and technical education programs.
- The TEACH program then comes in and invests in the education side to get them that angle, too.
- The program then comes in and invests in the education side to get them that angle, too.
- And then our program comes along and educates them to get them where they hope to be in their career.
- We also have a fantastic opportunity to provide our Help Me Grow program, which is another investment
Summary:
The Education Administration Subcommittee held an introductory meeting focused largely on member introductions and “homework” reports about education issues in each district. Members raised a wide range of concerns and priorities, including early childhood care and VPK access, school choice and school closures, teacher recruitment and retention, conflict resolution and school safety, early literacy and preparedness, technology and AI/STEM instruction, attendance and mental health, ESE services, dual enrollment and career/technical education, caregiving youth, and real-time student enrollment/funding tracking. Several members also emphasized local challenges such as housing-driven teacher turnover, disaster-related attendance problems, and funding inequities across counties.
The committee then heard a detailed presentation on Florida’s early learning system from Chancellor Carrie Miller of the Department of Education’s Division of Early Learning. She outlined the structure and funding of School Readiness, VPK, and the Gold Seal Quality Care program, the role of early learning coalitions and DCF, and the state’s quality and accountability measures. She highlighted the importance of kindergarten readiness, teacher quality, and the new School Readiness Plus program, which helps families transition off subsidy more gradually. Additional panelists from the Children’s Forum, the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, and a Tallahassee child care provider discussed workforce shortages, low wages, provider turnover, the TEACH scholarship program, Help Me Grow, local coalition operations, and the need for more providers and more consistent regulation.
During questions, members asked about wait lists, special needs services, teacher retention, provider onboarding, and DCF regulation. The panel said Miami-Dade’s wait list was about 4,000 children and described priority categories for service; they also said children with disabilities are screened and referred for support, though not given a separate priority category. Panelists reported that TEACH has helped reduce turnover through education support and service commitments, but said wages and career pathways remain major issues. Members also pressed for clearer, more consistent licensing standards and more support for new providers entering the field. No formal votes or committee actions were taken in the meeting.
CA
Transcript Highlights:
- In my 10 cities, each city they have their own education elections.
- Charter schools serve as a resource for communities, they deliver vital education programs for students
- Appreciate you and your lifetime of service and education. Thank you. Thank you.
- The students in your assembly districts in the state deserve more than a promise of education.
- Department of Education, they support low-income students through the Title I funding program.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
- educational programs?
- Could you tell us the impact of our educational and rehabilitation and mental health programs on your
- Through your education and cognitive intervention programs, which you do through Windham, and keeping
- Through your education and cognitive intervention programs, which you do through Windham, and keeping
- Through your education and cognitive intervention programs, which you do through Windham, and keeping
Bills:
SB1
Keywords:
campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards
Summary:
The committee heard a Legislative Budget Board presentation and then testimony from the Department of Public Safety on the Article 5 public safety budget. LBB said DPS’s 2026-27 recommendation totals $3.7 billion, down from the prior base, while FTEs rise by 856.7. Major items included increased funding for driver license services and customer support, new trooper funding and recruit schools, crime lab operations, border security, and reductions tied to one-time facility, vehicle, and aircraft spending. The committee also discussed new riders, including one to lapse unused trooper funds and require reporting after recruit schools.
Members focused heavily on driver license operations, questioning why prior staffing increases and a prior efficiency study had not solved long wait times, high call abandonment, and appointment delays. DPS and LBB said the agency receives about 22,000 calls per day, answers only about 9 percent, and is seeking more staff plus technology upgrades such as automation, kiosks, and better online processing. Senators also raised concerns about rural access, REAL ID document requirements, and whether the department should rethink its processes rather than simply add employees.
DPS leadership then described needs for the Williamson County training academy, additional troopers, Capitol and Alamo security, border operations, aircraft and vehicle replacement, and regional headquarters in El Paso and San Antonio. Members asked about Operation Lone Star costs, overtime, pursuit safety, border crime, oilfield theft, and sexual assault kit and toxicology backlogs. DPS said border deployments remain focused on criminal threats, that overtime is partly driven by deployments and staffing shortages, and that the sexual assault kit backlog is down to 118 cases with a goal of zero by April. The committee later recessed and began the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission budget presentation, where LBB outlined a $115.1 million recommendation and noted ongoing costs for the AIMS technology project.
NH
Transcript Highlights:
- So, if you're growing your three plants outside, how would you keep that under your control?
- <01:00:56.240>
their <01:00:56.480>own would empower patients to grow their own would - <01:16:18.480>
own <01:16:19.600>uh, uh, if you look at your own uh, uh, if you look - their own medicine ability to grow their own medicine perpetuates<01:38:29.040>
the <01:38:29.280 - their own insulin cheaply able to grow their own insulin cheaply and<01:38:36.199>
safely.
AR
Transcript Highlights:
- They're called inclusive post-secondary education programs.
- The Howe's Tradition Program helped me learn how to set goals to continue my education.
- Thank you for your presentation. Thank you, Madam Chair. Jeff Adams, Office of Special Education.
- If you were to recruit students to your program, how would you do that?
- Thank you for your work, and I commend you for another version of education.
Summary:
The committee first approved the minutes from November 17 by motion and voice vote. It then heard a presentation from Arkansas State University on its inclusive postsecondary education programs, HOWL and ATLAS, led by Dr. Kristen Johnson and Shane Broadway. The programs serve students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, by providing on-campus living, academic support, life-skills training, financial literacy, internships, employment support, and community integration. Johnson explained that HOWL is a comprehensive transition program that does not lead to a degree but is eligible for financial aid, while ATLAS is degree-seeking and provides additional supports. She reported strong outcomes, including high goal attainment and a majority of graduates working full time, and emphasized that the programs are designed to help students build autonomous adult lives.
Members asked about recruitment, eligibility, costs, school outreach, business partnerships, and transition planning. Johnson said the programs have done extensive outreach through IEP meetings, transition symposia, email blasts, and school visits, but that awareness remains a challenge. She identified major roadblocks as business concerns about liability, fragmented collaboration, and difficulty navigating funding streams such as vocational rehabilitation and Medicaid. She also said more coordinated statewide communication and coalition-building are needed, and noted that ASU is helping launch a state alliance for similar programs, with new programs opening at ASU Mountain Home and the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff.
The committee then heard from the University of Central Arkansas about Project Ascend, a new low-sensory living-learning community for neurodiverse students in Hughes Hall. Dr. Debbie Daly and Jeremy Gillum described it as a voluntary, self-identified program focused on community building, belonging, and retention rather than remediation or degree planning. The program has hosted a few low-sensory social events and plans to expand outreach through campus tours, orientation, and targeted communications. Members asked about recruitment, participation, success measures, and how to avoid duplicating ASU’s efforts; UCA said it is still in its infancy and will measure success mainly through participation, retention, and student engagement. The meeting ended with general support from members, discussion of collaboration across institutions and agencies, and adjournment of the task force.
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Select Committee on Youth Mental Health and Treatment Accessibility Dec 2nd, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- It looked like from your own slide.
- It looked like from your own slide.
- It's an amazing program because you go to your primary care physician. There's no stigma.
- If they go to your IOP program, then they're not going to be able to school, and then they're going to
- What happened is, if a person didn't fit into that program, they would educate the commanding officers
Summary:
The hearing focused on youth mental health and treatment access in California, with opening remarks emphasizing that youth distress, self-harm-related emergency visits, and difficulty obtaining care remain elevated, while workforce shortages and reliance on one-time funding continue to limit access. Assemblymember Lori Davies echoed concerns about unstable funding and said lawmakers need to hear directly from providers and families as they prepare for the budget and legislation. The chair framed the hearing as a chance to hear from county, school, provider, and student perspectives, especially in San Diego County, where needs are high and investments have not always matched demand.
County and school officials described the current system and recent state initiatives, including the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, school-linked fee schedules, payment reform, and the Behavioral Health Services Act transition. San Diego County Behavioral Health said it serves Medi-Cal youth with specialty mental health needs through a broad continuum of care, including outpatient clinics, school-based services, crisis response, residential treatment, and new crisis and residential facilities. San Diego County Office of Education and San Marcos Unified School District described efforts to expand school-based services and reimbursement through CYBHI, but said implementation is slowed by complex billing rules, insurance-data collection concerns from families, administrative burden, and uncertainty about sustaining staff positions funded by grants or soft money. School counselor testimony highlighted reduced stigma through campus outreach and clubs, but also noted that counselor-to-student ratios remain well above national standards and that budget cuts threaten supports.
Provider testimony stressed that the system remains fragmented and that youth often move between emergency rooms, inpatient care, outpatient therapy, schools, and county programs without smooth handoffs. A child psychiatrist described crisis cases in which the main choices are brief hospitalization or discharge with limited follow-up, and argued for stronger warm handoffs, more outpatient and intensive outpatient options, better school-clinic coordination, and broader use of mobile crisis and 988. Rady Children’s Hospital and Aurora Behavioral Health described large increases in behavioral health demand, expansion of integrated care, and major barriers tied to low reimbursement rates, delayed payments, and administrative complexity. Across the panel, witnesses called for more stable funding, clearer reimbursement rules, better parent education on warning signs, and stronger collaboration among schools, counties, hospitals, and community providers to reduce stigma and improve timely care for youth.
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Business and Professions Committee Apr 21st, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- These are all the types of stores you see on your main streets in your districts.
- I have my own practice.
- I ask for your aye vote.
- Thanks to the author for your presentation, as well as to your witnesses.
- in development, and existing programs have been approved to grow.
Summary:
The committee heard a long agenda of bills, with members repeatedly noting the lack of quorum while testimony continued. AB 1693 by Assemblymember Zbur would streamline local permitting for retail tenant improvements by allowing qualified professional certifiers to review plans and requiring local action within set deadlines; the California Retailers Association supported the bill, citing lengthy permit delays, and there was no opposition. AB 2010 by Assemblymember Soria would expand access to high-volume spay and neuter services, including mobile clinics, to address pet overpopulation; supporters said it would improve access in rural and underserved areas, while opponents and the Veterinary Medical Board raised concerns about safety standards and asked for amendments. AB 2195 by Assemblymember Rodriguez would stop automatic occupational license suspensions for low-income parents behind on child support; supporters argued the policy is counterproductive and hurts earning capacity, while the California Child Support Association and others said license suspension is an effective enforcement tool that brings parents to the table. The committee also heard AB 2311 by Assemblymember Chiu, which would let public health care district hospitals directly employ physicians; supporters said it would improve recruitment and access to care, while medical groups warned about physician autonomy and institutional influence. AB 1796 by Assemblymember Jackson would create a licensure pathway for professional interior designers and add an interior designer to the California Architects Board; supporters framed it as a public safety and professional recognition measure, while opponents said it would create confusion, unnecessary regulation, and no demonstrated public harm. AB 1739 by Assemblymember Ward would make it a crime for clergy providing therapeutic services to engage in sexual contact with a counselee, closing a gap in existing law; it drew strong support from survivor advocates and no opposition. Finally, AB 2497 by Assemblymember Johnson began testimony on modernizing the physical therapy practice act, with the author noting committee amendments that removed imaging and other provisions, but the transcript cuts off before testimony or action on that bill was completed.
MA
Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session
Joint Committee on the Judiciary Jun 21st, 2026 at 01:00 pm
Joint Committee on the Judiciary
Transcript Highlights:
- To that end, if you are recording this on your own device, please alert Talia Quinn.
- H. 1923, Raise the Age, and H. 1899, S. 1241, educational programming behind the wall.
- I mean, to pass H. 1923 for more public safety, and H. 1899, an act related to educational programming
- These are the individuals who have inspired me to further my education, who have encouraged me to grow
- One factor in your decision is how to expand access to rehabilitative programming and how to fund it.
Summary:
The Joint Committee on the Judiciary held a lengthy hearing on several juvenile justice and parole-related bills, with much of the testimony focused on H. 2051/S. 1087 to end lifetime parole for juveniles and emerging adults, and H. 1923 to raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to include 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds. Chairs Brandy Fluker-Reid and Lydia Edwards opened the hearing by noting the large number of bills and witnesses, the need to keep testimony moving, and special procedures for incarcerated witnesses and sensitive testimony. They also acknowledged the historic nature of the hearing being chaired by two Black women attorneys. No votes were taken during the hearing itself.
Many incarcerated speakers and advocates supported ending lifetime parole, arguing that young people can change, that lifetime supervision creates constant fear of technical violations, and that it undermines rehabilitation, family stability, employment, and reintegration. Several testified about their own trauma, youth, and growth in prison programs, while others emphasized the costs of decades of supervision and the racial disparities in the system. Support also came from elected officials, UTEC, the Transformational Prison Project, United Way, CPCS’s Youth Advocacy Division, the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, and others, who said juvenile systems are better suited to developmentally appropriate treatment and that the bills would improve public safety and reduce recidivism.
There was also opposition, including testimony from family members of a murder victim who argued that lifetime parole should remain for serious violent crimes and that some offenders are not sufficiently rehabilitated. One virtual witness described a family tragedy involving the kidnapping and murder of her infant nephew and warned that ending lifetime parole could remove needed long-term supervision for dangerous offenders. In addition to the juvenile justice bills, the committee heard testimony on H. 1867, a bill related to continuing care for severe mental illness, and H. 2063, which would increase penalties for assaults on correction officers and other prison staff; the correction officers’ union supported H. 2063 and related safety bills. The hearing continued with many more witnesses and bill topics, but no final committee action was announced in the portion provided.
MA
Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session
Combatting Antisemitism Jun 21st, 2026 at 01:00 pm
Transcript Highlights:
- But it's thinking of your own. Some big things. I'm serious. I'm not, but it's making it for us.
- with your pastoral.
- Education happens in schools, but it also happens in public libraries, after-school programs, museums
- Education happens in schools, but it also happens in public libraries, after-school programs, museums
- I feel alone when my own education system allows for delegitimization and dehumanization of my people
Summary:
The meeting focused on the commission’s work addressing antisemitism in Massachusetts, including security, education, victim services, and legal responses. A major presentation came from former federal prosecutor Eric O’Sham, who described the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, the attack’s planning and execution, the 11 victims killed, the defendant’s white supremacist and antisemitic online activity, the federal prosecution, and the long aftermath for the victim community. Commissioners asked about prevention, radicalization online, security for houses of worship, and how to support victims; O’Sham emphasized the limits of law enforcement when speech is protected, the importance of public education, security grants, and victim-witness support. The commission also heard from Ariel Holman of Agudath Israel, who described a wide range of antisemitic incidents affecting Orthodox Jews, including assaults, threats, vandalism, school harassment, and zoning barriers, and urged expanded security personnel grants, mental health resources, kosher food access, and support for synagogue development. Other speakers included advocates and local officials who supported Holocaust education, the planned Boston Holocaust Museum, cemetery protection, and broader public education efforts, while some public commenters criticized the commission’s focus or raised concerns about definitions of antisemitism and free speech. The meeting concluded with approval of prior meeting minutes and the start of public comment, which was limited to three minutes per speaker due to time constraints.
ND
North Dakota 2026 1st Special Session
Higher Education Institutions Committee Apr 8th, 2026 at 01:00 pm
Higher Education Institutions Committee
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Joint Hearing Higher Education Committee and Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee Aug 26th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- In addition to AI training courses created by our own CSU faculty, we also host training programs provided
- This co-curricular educational event is being held in collaboration with the first-year writing program
- using AI in an ethical manner to support your education.
- Thank you for your presentations and your thoughtful insights.
- You know your classroom best. You know your students best. It is your... It's between...
Summary:
The Assembly Committee on Higher Education and the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee held an oversight hearing on the California State University’s AI-empowered initiative, including the systemwide rollout of ChatGPT EDU and broader AI integration across CSU campuses. Opening remarks emphasized both the promise of AI for student success, workforce preparation, and access, and the need to address risks such as bias, privacy, misinformation, environmental impacts, and mental health harms. CSU representatives said the initiative grew out of Academic Senate recommendations and a systemwide generative AI committee, and that the goal was to provide equitable access, training, governance, and workforce alignment across the 23-campus system.
CSU officials described systemwide contracts for AI tools, the AI Commons training hub, and faculty grant programs supporting AI-related curriculum innovation. They said more than 93,000 ChatGPT EDU accounts had been activated, over 4,300 faculty had taken voluntary training, and $3 million had been awarded to 63 faculty-led projects from more than 400 submissions. San Jose State University highlighted its own AI-focused programs, courses, orientation training, faculty fellows, student ambassadors, and interdisciplinary efforts to build AI literacy and responsible use into instruction and co-curricular programs. CSU also said it was tracking metrics on adoption, academic outcomes, workforce outcomes, and environmental impacts.
Faculty, staff, and student representatives welcomed the educational potential of AI but raised concerns about the rollout, saying it had moved quickly and without enough consultation or consistent systemwide policy. They urged stronger protections for academic freedom, intellectual property, privacy, equity, and worker input, and warned about bias, surveillance, job displacement, and the environmental cost of AI. Legislators pressed CSU and OpenAI representatives on training requirements, data privacy, bias reporting, discipline for misuse, liability, sycophancy, and safeguards against harmful uses such as non-consensual imagery or self-harm-related interactions. CSU said interactions in the licensed tool are private, data are not used to train models, and campuses retain their own conduct processes; members also asked CSU to follow up on systemwide training, policy consistency, and additional safeguards.
TX
Texas 89th Regular
Appropriations - S/C on Article III Feb 26th, 2025
Appropriations - S/C on Article III
Transcript Highlights:
- So on behalf of the UT system I thank you, I thank you for your dedication, your support of higher education
- And your support of higher education. We couldn't be where we are today without you.
- We have to be able to grow our programs and expand our programs.
- Our enrollment in academic programs at UT Tyler continues to grow.
- to increase the number of undergraduate students in traditional education programs and launch. programs
MA
Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session
Joint Committee on Financial Services Jun 21st, 2026 at 10:00 am
Joint Committee on Financial Services
Transcript Highlights:
- Thank you for your time and your leadership.
- Thank you for your time and your leadership and your commitment to this urgent issue.
- Thank you for sharing as well your story and that of your family. We appreciate your testimony.
- I couldn't imagine what was going on in your own mind and in your family, not only logistically trying
- Thank you for your testimony. Appreciate your work.
Summary:
The Joint Committee on Financial Services held a lengthy public hearing with testimony on a wide range of health insurance and access-to-care bills. Early testimony focused on prescription drug pricing and pharmacy reimbursement, with supporters of H. 1326 arguing that pharmacy benefit managers and MassHealth managed care arrangements reimburse independent pharmacies too little, contributing to pharmacy closures and “pharmacy deserts.” The committee also heard repeated support for H. 1151/S. 742 on cognitive rehabilitation for acquired brain injury, H. 1288/S. 716 on telehealth parity for nutrition counseling, H. 1309/S. 761 on full-spectrum pregnancy care without cost-sharing, H. 1312 on insurance coverage for doula services, H. 309 on prompt access to health care by removing deductibles for certain services, H. 809/H. 1227 on biomarker testing, H. 1162/S. 810 on reducing inequities in access to medical procedures by limiting insurer cuts tied to Modifier 25, and S. 726 on insurance coverage for mobile integrated health.
Testifiers included legislators, physicians, pharmacists, dietitians, emergency and rehabilitation clinicians, and patients and family members. Supporters of the brain injury bill said cognitive rehabilitation is medically necessary, improves long-term outcomes, and can reduce institutional care and public costs; they noted the bill has been heard repeatedly and has support from the Brain Injury Commission and prior favorable committee action. Supporters of the pregnancy care and doula bills described out-of-pocket costs as a barrier to maternal health and shared personal stories of high bills and unmet support needs. Biomarker testing advocates and cancer patients said coverage gaps deny patients access to precision treatment, can lead to avoidable suffering, and should be standardized across insurers; several speakers said insurers often deny claims despite clinical benefit. Dermatology witnesses said insurers’ use of Modifier 25 cuts reimbursement for same-day evaluation and procedure visits, forcing separate appointments and increasing patient burden. Mobile integrated health supporters described home-based care as a way to reduce emergency department use and hospital readmissions, especially for patients with transportation or mobility barriers. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the hearing itself.
FL
Florida 2026 Regular Session
Appropriations Committee on Higher Education Apr 10th, 2025
Appropriations Committee on Higher Education
Transcript Highlights:
- And we have Senate Bill 1726 on higher education by our very own Senator Calatayud, and you are recognized
- I do have one question about your new program. Are there questions?
- I do have one question about your new program and dealing with the aircraft and mechanics that you're
- why can’t we have our own medical school and add to the doctoral programs at UWF?
- And I would like to be as much of a help as I can in that, to see the program grow and see more folks
Summary:
The committee first heard CS/SB 1458 on apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. The bill sponsor said it would add consistency and transparency by requiring local education agencies and training providers to define their roles and funding shares in contracts, cap an LEA’s share at 10% when it serves only an administrative role, and require public meetings and published work papers for the district workforce education funding steering committee. Several industry and business groups appeared in support, and the bill was reported favorably without debate.
The committee then took up CS/CS/SB 1726 on higher education, which was substantially revised by a delete-all amendment. The amended bill addressed presidential searches, trustee eligibility, interim presidents, polling by universities, mission reviews, and other governance issues. Members asked about the requirement that final presidential candidate groups include at least three applicants, the qualifications for interim presidents, trustee residency/alumni requirements, and limits on candidate polling. Senators Leek and Smith offered contrasting views, with Leek warning about candidate withdrawals and Smith supporting the bill as a way to depoliticize higher education governance. The bill, as amended, was reported favorably.
The remainder of the meeting was devoted to confirmation hearings for university and college boards of trustees. Several appointees and reappointees from FAMU, UNF, Pensacola State College, UF, and UWF described their ties to their institutions and goals such as student success, workforce alignment, military support, research, and regional access. The UWF nominees drew the most scrutiny over their votes for former board chair Scott Yenor, whose public comments about women and other groups were criticized by senators and public commenters. Some nominees said they were unaware of the full scope of those remarks and would not have voted for him with that knowledge; others defended their votes as based on his education-reform views. Public testimony also raised concerns about UWF board members’ lack of higher-education experience and local ties. The committee confirmed the non-UWF nominees in a block vote and then began individual votes on the UWF nominees, with debate centered on Yenor-related concerns.
MA
Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session
Joint Committee on Education Jun 21st, 2026 at 01:00 pm
Joint Committee on Education
Transcript Highlights:
- And last question: for your district, for the elementary, I assume you have your own superintendent,
- your own... so I should put in a superintendency, okay, with the other two schools, elementary district
- By expanding grow-your-own programs and funding, this builds a stronger local educator pipeline.
- you for your thoughtful consideration and your commitment to educating our students.
- Hi, my name is Stephanie Cross, and as a parent and educator, I am respectfully requesting your support
Summary:
The hearing focused primarily on H. 517/S. 314, a bill to provide a sustainable future for rural schools, and H. 697, a bill to require full funding of regional school transportation. Witnesses from rural districts, school committees, superintendents, students, and local officials described chronic underfunding, declining enrollment, high fixed costs, special education and transportation burdens, and the loss of programs, staff, and extracurriculars. Several speakers argued that rural aid should be funded at $60 million annually and made non-discretionary, while others emphasized that transportation reimbursement for regional districts has repeatedly fallen short of the state’s promise and is driving budget crises and overrides. A number of students testified in support of rural aid, describing cuts to classes, counselors, and activities, and the impact on their schools and communities. Committee members also discussed whether transportation policy should be revisited to address underlying cost drivers, including bus bidding practices and whether regional districts should have more flexibility in transportation requirements.
The committee also heard H. 515, concerning Hancock Elementary School and a school choice-related exemption from a state requirement that has created a large financial burden for the district. Hancock’s superintendent and Rep. John Barrett explained that a decades-old regulation, recently enforced by DESE, would require Hancock to pay tuition for choice-in students through high school graduation even though the district only serves pre-K through grade 6 and sends its own students elsewhere for middle and high school. They said the rule creates a significant per-student shortfall and has forced Hancock to opt out of school choice. Committee members asked for clarification about how the arrangement works and how the costs fall on Hancock.
Additional testimony supported related transportation bills for non-regional districts, especially Plymouth/Carver and North Middlesex, describing high and rising bus costs, special education and McKinney-Vento transportation expenses, and the strain on local budgets. Speakers repeatedly said that state reimbursement has not matched actual costs and that communities are being forced to choose between transportation and classroom services. No votes or final actions were taken in the hearing; the committee simply received testimony and closed the hearing on the bills discussed.
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Education Finance Apr 22nd, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- The original legislation authorizing the Higher Education Student Housing Fund program included a set
- Chair, for your leadership in support of California's institutions of higher education, and UC qualifies
- Possible programs include those tied to healthcare, business, and education.
- We engage in regional activities like the K-16 Educational Collaborative Grants Program, which expands
- Thank you for the hearing and your advocacy for higher education in California.
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Joint Committee on the Arts May 14th, 2026
Joint Committee on the Arts
Transcript Highlights:
- Allison Frenzel, who's the education program specialist at the California Department of Education. who's
- the education program specialist at the California Department of Education, and then Michael Weoff,
- The LA Music Center has an educational program that pairs professional artists with schools.
- own education and your own capabilities as a human, you're using it as an easy button.
- We have a legal referral service, and we have educational programs for lawyers and artists.