Transcript Highlights:

• I'm Jessica Hathaway, Deputy Director with the Legislative Education Study Committee.
• I have appreciated the opportunity to work with a sponsor as well as the Legislative Education Study
• design, Indian Nation Tribes, Pueblos, and other individuals As requested by the Legislative Education
• I think it's very appropriate that the Legislative Education Study Committee actually hold this, which
• So if the working group recommends creation of a statewide education commission, I guess legislative

Committee: House House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Removal of legislative authorization.
• and Director John Sena from the Legislative Education Study Committee.
• And I participated actually in the Hispanic Education Act and in bilingual multicultural education.
• Implementation of educational acts.
• , and Hispanic Education.

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• Special Education. ...by creating an Office of Special Education with a named deputy by the Secretary
• of Education.
• The Office of Special Education and a Deputy Secretary of Special Education would ensure compliance,
• Act and state education law.
• We support this legislation.

Committee: House House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> components of the education components of the education transformation<00:03:24.920><c> bill</c>
• </c> path that the Education Committee took. path that the Education Committee took.
• </c> recommended next steps for legislative recommended next steps for legislative decisions, decisions
• Legislation<00:05:23.840><c> in</c><00:05:24.000><c> this</c><00:05:24.760><c> um</c> Legislation in
• </c> about cost drivers in our education about cost drivers in our education system,<00:19:18.120><c>

Transcript Highlights:

• Is it good practice to keep a larger proportion of legislators who will then be implementing the legislation
• Is it good practice to keep a larger proportion of legislators who will then be implementing the legislation
• , non-legislators.
• to implement the Together with any legislation necessary to implement the recommendations to the Legislative
• I mean, you know, okay, cool, education on the North Dakota court system, education on co-parenting,

Committee: Joint Child Custody Review Task Force

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1002, introduced by Senator Soules for the Legislative Education Study Committee, an act
• Senate Bill 107, introduced by Senator Pope for the Legislative Education Study Committee, an act relating
• to education.
• The Public Education Department will discuss the public education budget and education budget 101, covering
• I have a list: Legislative Council, Legislative Finance Committee, Legislative Education Study Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Schools Board of Education.
• Beyond special education, SSD also serves as the countywide provider for career and technical education
• Unlike K-12 education, early childhood education in St.
• Education, like all education, is challenging. Yeah. Okay.
• I started off my career in education.

Committee: House General Laws

Transcript Highlights:

• chair, the state board, the education.
• We do establish a worker to update the Florida educate educator accomplish practices, otherwise known
• And that's truly the goal of this legislation.
• So this is an graduates are choosing education. So this is an important piece of legislation.
• education plan or IEP.

Transcript Highlights:

• We, as educators, require and rely on our entire educational community.
• We as educators, we require and rely on our entire educational community.
• Strong schools depend on strong educators. Strong educators deserve a seat at the table.
• Education Association has lost nearly 400,000 active education workers.
• to actually pay to educate students. ...taxpayer money that flows to education to actually pay to educate

Transcript Highlights:

• Reinstating continuing education requirements helps... education credits per year.
• Reinstating continuing education requirements helps For continuing education, reinstating continuing
• We support voluntary continuing education.
• And then what is left for the continuing education.
• priorities and on what workforce education priorities should be funded from the Workforce Education

Summary: The committee held a public hearing on HB 2337, which would repeal the planned 2027 requirement that certain family-member long-term care providers complete annual continuing education. Rep. Barnard said the bill was intended to reduce burdens on relatives caring for one loved one and to avoid forcing them into courses that are often not relevant to the person they support. Supportive testimony from family providers and disability advocates emphasized that family caregivers already receive individualized training from doctors and therapists, that the available course library is often geared toward aging-related care rather than developmental disabilities, and that mandatory CE could create compliance barriers and risk losing caregivers. Opponents, including SEIU 775 representatives and family caregivers who support the current system, argued that continuing education improves care quality, helps caregivers stay prepared as needs change, and should remain mandatory; they also said the state had already responded to prior concerns by expanding the course catalog and allowing repeat courses for credit. No action was taken on HB 2337. The committee then heard HB 2311, a technical bill making administrative changes to the Workforce Education Investment and Accountability and Oversight Board. The bill would extend co-chair terms, allow more than four meetings per year, shift consultation on workforce investment effectiveness to the Student Achievement Council, and eliminate the requirement for a public data dashboard. The bill sponsor and supporters from WASAC, Microsoft, and the United Faculty of Washington State said the changes would improve board operations and oversight, while also raising broader concerns that WEA funds have been used to supplant general fund support for higher education. Testimony noted the dashboard had not been funded and that WASAC already tracks related metrics through other tools. No vote was taken on HB 2311 during the hearing. The committee then moved to executive action on HB 2132, which limits disclosure and retention of personally identifying information in WASFA records. An amendment by Rep. Levitt was adopted to allow the Student Achievement Council to share applicant information with entities beyond higher education institutions under binding data-sharing agreements. The committee then adopted the amended substitute bill and voted it out of committee. The final roll call was 9-8 in favor, and Substitute HB 2132 was reported out with a do pass recommendation. The committee also announced that executive action on HB 288 and HB 2148 would be delayed and that no action would be taken on those bills that day.

Transcript Highlights:

• Secretary Mariana Padilla and the executive director of the Legislative Education Study Committee.
• of the Legislative Education Study Committee.
• education department.
• Please, educate.
• But I think our responsibility as state legislators is looking at the New Mexico education and public

Bills: HB2 , SB204 , SB241 , HB34

Committee: House House Education

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 253, as substituted, which would create a framework for full-time virtual/distance learning programs in New Mexico. Sponsors and agency witnesses said the bill is intended to preserve virtual options while adding approval, reporting, and compliance requirements, including definitions for distance learning programs, annual reporting, renewal every three to five years, and a pause on new programs while existing ones are grandfathered for a period. They also said the bill addresses budget concerns by limiting enrollment growth units and excluding distance-learning students from certain funding calculations, including rural population units, to prevent unexpected losses in the state equalization guarantee. Public testimony was sharply divided. Supporters included district superintendents and education officials who said the bill is needed to protect school funding, improve accountability, and gather basic data that the state currently lacks. Opponents included parents, students, teachers, charter-school representatives, and business and advocacy voices who argued virtual education has been lifesaving for medically fragile, bullied, rural, neurodivergent, and working students, and that the bill’s caps, geographic limits, and approval authority would reduce school choice and could eliminate some programs. Several witnesses stressed that virtual charter schools such as Pecos Cyber Academy and New Mexico Connections would not be affected, while others said the bill still reaches too broadly. Committee members raised extensive questions about the 10% enrollment cap, the adjacent-district requirement, the denial-and-appeal process, the treatment of charter schools versus district programs, and the effect on rural or small districts. Witnesses explained that the bill is meant to be temporary, with an interim study in 2026 to develop longer-term policy, but some members said they remained concerned about overreach and unintended consequences. No final vote or action on the bill was shown in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• of the California Department of Education.
• This bill, Legislative Council, your legis- Legislative Council has labeled this bill as a Mandate Yes
• I also serve as president of California Virtual Educators United representing over 1,100 educators across
• Christopher Anderson 25-year educator in career tech education president of Stockton Teachers Association
• Department of Education.

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• We, as educators, require and rely on our entire educational community.
• SCR 2002, legislator, Rules. SCR 2008-2012, annual taxes, Rules. SCR 2014, legislation, Rules.
• Strong schools depend on strong educators. Strong educators deserve a seat at the table.
• Education Association has lost nearly 400,000 active education workers.
• to actually pay to educate. the taxpayer money that flows to education to actually pay to educate students

Summary: The House convened, completed roll call, approved the journal, and took up several Senate bills and one Senate concurrent resolution through motions to reconsider, return bills for reconsideration, and refer measures to additional Committee of the Whole sessions for further amendment. Early actions included returning SB 1175 and SB 1198 to the Senate for reconsideration, rescinding passage of SB 1336 so it could be reconsidered, and referring SB 1111 and SB 152 to an additional COW. The House also recognized Representative Travers for a personal privilege statement honoring National Women Veterans Recognition Day and recorded attendance. In Committee of the Whole, members adopted floor amendments and recommended passage for SB 1511, SB 1552, SB 1198, SB 1110, SB 1618, SB 1431, and SCR 1004, with some debate on SB 1110’s home-confinement/reentry program, SB 1618’s Military Affairs Commission changes, and SB 1431’s city and town authority over residential project standards and streetscapes. The House later adopted the COW reports and moved the measures to engrossing or third reading as appropriate. SB 1336 and SB 1519 were also advanced from committee, while SB 1004 was reconsidered and ultimately failed on reconsideration. On third or final reading, the House passed SB 1127, SB 1180, SB 1428, SB 1198, SB 1336, SB 1511, SCR 1004, SB 1552, HB 2104, HB 2105, HB 2114, HB 2311, HB 2729, and HB 4117. SB 1687, SB 1004, SB 1519, and SB 1502 failed. Members explained votes on several measures, including support for tax administration clarity in SB 1180, objections and support for the May primary proposal in SB 1687, concerns about sex offender monitoring in SB 1004, support for the Arizona Beef Council in SB 1198, and debate over the photo enforcement referral in SCR 1004. The session also included recesses for caucuses, lunch, and dinner, plus a brief technical outage of the live stream.

Transcript Highlights:

• On this March 1st, we are beginning the final third of our 60-day legislative session. legislative session
• House Memorial 47, introduced by Representatives Moya and Baca, requests the Legislative Education Study
• Education Study Committee to convene a task force to study the feasibility of making all educational
• reports and disclosures will be submitted to Legislative Finance or Higher Education on a quarterly
• to just be educated, but our education should be bettering our community.

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, higher education.
• Could you educate?
• Which is public education and higher education, but I look to chart number 18.
• . educational journey.
• Texas Southern University to drive their education. educational success.

Committee: House Higher Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Florida's education system.
• But here in this legislation, the Department of Education, the district...
• But here in this legislation, the Department of Education, the district, retains any financial responsibility
• And I think we're trying to change the kids into career education, which is already, create career education
• They lose control over education altogether.

Committee: Senate Education Pre-K - 12

Summary: The Senate Committee on Education Pre-K through 12 considered a series of education-related bills, many of them after adopting amendments. SB 1122 on Florida Virtual School was amended to remove virtual preschool provisions and then passed favorably, with the sponsor describing it as a clarifying bill about FLVS operations, revenue sources, reporting, and student access. SB 1374, on school district reporting requirements for educator arrests and misconduct, was also approved; it requires faster district action and reporting when instructional personnel are arrested for certain offenses and clarifies that self-reports are not admissions of guilt. SB 1402, on student enrollment and dropout retrieval programs, was amended and passed to broaden eligibility for dropout retrieval services and allow certain virtual providers to receive a school improvement rating instead of a school grade. SB 364, moving the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys from the Department of Education to Florida Memorial University, was amended and reported favorably. The committee also approved SB 772 on diabetes management in schools, which would allow districts to obtain and store glucagon for emergency use by trained school staff or nurses, with liability protections included. SB 1102 on school readiness programs for children with disabilities passed after testimony that it would expand identification of disabilities, require more training for providers, and direct special-needs funding toward better-supported classrooms. SB 1382, also on school readiness, was approved and would change the definition of economically disadvantaged families, adjust priority tiers, and update the waitlist and forecasting process for child care assistance. The most debated measure was SB 140, which was substantially rewritten by delete-all amendment to create “job engine charter schools,” allow municipalities to seek charter schools aimed at attracting industry, authorize parent votes for conversion of existing public schools, and set requirements for district five-year property plans and surplus property use, including affordable housing and charter school purposes. Supporters argued it could aid economic development and repurpose underused property, while opponents raised concerns about privatization, reduced stakeholder input, unclear voting procedures, and loss of district control over property. Despite extensive debate and multiple public speakers against it, the bill passed favorably. The committee also approved SB 430, a merged AED and cardiac emergency response bill requiring public schools to have a cardiac emergency plan, trained staff, and an operational AED in a publicized location, with reimbursement provisions and liability protections; it passed after supporters emphasized life-saving benefits and manageable training costs. The committee adjourned after recording additional members’ votes on selected bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• Education, or otherwise known as CDE.
• at Alameda County Office of Education or ACOE.
• I have worked in special education. at Alameda County Office of Education or ACOE.
• In response, ACOE is working to strengthen the special education workforce through support of para-educators
• The motion is due pass to Higher Education. Garcia? Aye. Higher Education. Garcia? Aye. Aye.

Summary: The Assembly Education Committee met without a quorum at first and began as a subcommittee, with the chair outlining hearing procedures and several bills on consent. The committee heard and advanced AB 1581, which would improve collection of tribal affiliation data for California students so Native students are more accurately counted and better served; supporters said current systems undercount Native students and erase their needs. AB 1586 also passed, requiring school resource officers who volunteer to carry naloxone to receive opioid overdose response training every two years; supporters emphasized student safety and the need for rapid response to overdoses on campus, while one school employees’ group raised concerns about retaliation protections for non-volunteers. Both bills were moved do pass as amended to Appropriations, with roll calls held open for absent votes. The committee then approved AB 1943, which updates school notices about secure firearm storage by making the information clearer, more visible, and more likely to reach families at key moments such as counseling or discipline interventions. Supporters from gun violence prevention groups, educators, and parents argued that many school shooters obtain guns from home and that plain-language, digital, and timely notices could help prevent child deaths and suicides; the author shared a personal story about a child accessing a gun at home. AB 1792 also advanced, directing the Instructional Quality Commission to consider updating health education to address digital safety issues such as deepfakes, extortion, grooming, and AI-generated exploitation; supporters said students need instruction that reflects modern online risks, while an opponent objected to language referencing LGBTQIA+ and gender-diverse students. AB 1653 passed as well, adding heat-illness guidance to the health framework after a young Girl Scout described students suffering during extreme heat and not recognizing symptoms. Later, the committee approved AB 1861, which would require the California Department of Education to create a public database of special education investigation reports with personal information redacted; supporters said families need better access to complaint outcomes and accountability, while an opposition witness warned of unintended consequences, misuse of incomplete information, and added burdens on districts. AB 1721 also moved forward, creating a stakeholder work group to review and streamline school safety plan requirements so plans remain practical and focused on emergency preparedness. AB 1631, which would make kindergarten mandatory, received mixed testimony: supporters argued it would help close achievement gaps and improve readiness, while opponents framed it as an intrusion on parental choice; the bill was held on call after a split vote. Finally, AB 1809, extending job order contracting authority for school and community college districts, was also held on call after opposition from contractors who argued project labor agreement requirements raise costs and reduce competition. The committee then began hearing AB 1659, aimed at improving transitions for court school students back to their home districts, with testimony describing re-enrollment barriers and the need for a designated district contact.

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome to the Joint Higher Education Committee.
• So Judy Warnick, 13th Legislative District.
• The Workforce Education Investment Account was established via House Bill 2158 during the 2019 legislative
• This was a pretty landmark piece of legislation in the higher education space and established a number
• This was a pretty landmark piece of legislation in the higher education space and established a number

Committee: Joint Joint Higher Education Committee

Summary: The Joint Higher Education Committee met with introductions from members and then held a work session on higher education and statewide accounting practices. OFM Deputy Director Sarah Rupp explained how state and university accounting/reporting differ, including current AFRS/SAM requirements and the transition to Workday/WAM, and described what higher education data are currently included in state reporting versus what will remain excluded, such as transaction-level detail and vendor payment information. University of Washington and Washington State University officials then described the complexity of their institutions’ financial structures, including multiple campuses, auxiliary enterprises, component units, hospitals, clinics, bonds, and other reporting obligations, and how they submit summarized data to the state while maintaining more detailed local accounting systems. The Education Research and Data Center also presented the public four-year finance dashboard created under Senate Bill 5512, emphasizing that the metrics are best used to examine trends within institutions rather than direct comparisons across schools; members asked about data availability and federal reporting delays, and ERDC said it was on track to update the dashboard with newer data and additional metrics. The committee then heard a presentation from the Washington Student Achievement Council on the Workforce Education Investment Account (WIA). Joel Anderson reviewed WIA’s creation under House Bill 2158, its revenue sources, and its intended purpose of supporting postsecondary attainment, high-demand fields, student aid, and workforce education. He said WIA revenue has grown substantially, especially after recent tax changes, and noted that most current appropriations go to higher education, including the Washington College Grant, community and four-year institutions, and some workforce-related programs. Members asked whether WIA supports apprenticeships and trades, and Anderson said it has in some cases, though nearly all current appropriations are now within higher education. Anderson also highlighted a major policy shift in the 2025-27 budget: WIA is now being used to supplant some general-fund higher education spending, especially a large transfer for University of Washington general operations. He said this has reduced the general fund share of higher education funding and increased the share from WIA, raising concerns about whether the account is still being used as originally intended. He also described how WIA is increasingly covering Washington College Grant caseload growth and faculty compensation costs, and said WSAC is working to improve public documentation of ongoing and carry-forward appropriations. The committee did not take any substantive votes on the presentation topics and then moved toward executive session and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><00:08:12.240><c> expenditures</c> relating to education fund expenditures relating to education fund
• . education. education.
• ,</c> in foster care, offering education, in foster care, offering education, counseling,<00:09:13.279
• ><c> members</c><00:10:46.000><c> of</c> These educators, all fellow members of These educators, all
• ,</c> their perspective on public education, their perspective on public education, to<00:10:55.920><

Transcript Highlights:

• at Texas Higher Education.
• The Education Coordinating Board, and Mr.
• I serve as a senior education advisor to the Fort Worth Mayor's Council and work in education with Tarrant
• of our higher education institutions.
• . education, and whether or not that investment is worth it.

Bills: SB1998 , SB646 , SB2786 , SB2076 , SB2615 , SB1961 , SB1418 , SB2647 , SB1322 , SB2788

Committees: Senate Education , Senate Education K-16