Transcript Highlights:

• I have hope that we can classroom.
• We did our best to try to keep that away from the classroom, but it's coming out of the classroom, folks
• We're kidding ourselves if we don't recognize that it's coming out of the classroom. Okay.
• I was very young, but I recognized that I was sitting in a classroom and felt pretty vulnerable.
• The bill put teachers in classrooms over bureaucrats and agencies.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• She said that tuition from three- and four-year-old classrooms is needed to help offset the cost of care
• for infant and toddler classrooms, where labor costs are greater.
• was a typical first-grade classroom.
• In fact, almost 65% of the girls interviewed were first pushed out of the classroom in third, fourth,
• Our young learners need more time in a classroom, not less, to catch up and get back on track, and that

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held its sixth public hearing and took testimony on a large slate of bills, with the chair moving H. 542/S. 341 on family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) child care to the top of the agenda so young constituents would not have to wait. Witnesses from labor, community organizations, and FFN providers strongly supported the bill, saying FFN care fills critical gaps for families working nonstandard hours, especially in low-income, immigrant, and BIPOC communities. Testimony emphasized that FFN providers are currently underpaid, often receive only about $24 per child per day, and should be guaranteed at least the state minimum wage. Witnesses also backed changes to the voucher system to allow families to combine formal and FFN care more flexibly, and they supported creating an FFN advisory council. Committee members asked about the difference between FFN and center-based care, registration requirements, fingerprinting/background checks, EEC’s ongoing study group, and the fiscal impact; witnesses said the current annual cost is about $1.8 million and could rise to about $6 million if all current FFN providers were paid minimum wage, still under 1% of the EEC budget. The committee then closed testimony on that bill. The committee next heard testimony on several preschool and universal pre-K bills, including H. 707 on public preschool facilities, H. 687/S. 339 on universal pre-K and mixed delivery, and related bills such as H. 606, H. 523, H. 618, H. 522, H. 510, and H. 615, many of which were later closed without additional witnesses. A Lowell school official testified that space and facilities funding are major barriers to expanding preschool and that the city has hundreds of children on voucher waitlists. Other witnesses and organizations, including the Early Care and Education Consortium and AFT Massachusetts, supported mixed-delivery universal pre-K and warned that public-school expansion should not undermine community-based providers, whose preschool tuition helps subsidize infant and toddler care. Several witnesses also urged stronger standards for preschool teachers, better staffing ratios, and more integrated special education and support services. The committee accepted written testimony on some bills and closed testimony on the others when no one else came forward. A major portion of the hearing focused on H. 541/S. 373, which would ban school exclusion in pre-K through third grade. Advocates from Massachusetts Advocates for Children, Mass Appleseed, Citizens for Juvenile Justice, AFT Massachusetts, and the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee argued that suspensions and expulsions at young ages harm learning, worsen inequities, and contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. They cited data showing disproportionate impacts on Black and Latinx students, students with disabilities, and low-income children, and described personal stories of children whose behavior improved when schools kept them in class and addressed underlying needs. Committee members asked for updated data on the number of students and districts affected, and witnesses said they would provide more detailed written information. After testimony on this and a few other bills, including S. 372, S. 357, and H. 275/S. 133, the committee closed testimony and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• They might do it in a different classroom, it might be in a section of the classroom, and somebody else
• They might do it in a different classroom, it might be in a section of the classroom, and somebody else
• They might do it in a different classroom, it might be in a section of the classroom, and somebody else
• Also, I was a classroom teacher.
• <01:25:40.040> teacher<01:25:40.480> and a classroom teacher and a classroom teacher

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint Committee on Education and Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs heard Senate Bill 422, which would authorize the Department of Education to award a high school diploma to qualified people whose schooling was interrupted by military service or wartime practices during World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War. The Department of Education testified in support, noting a prior law that created the Kono diploma program before it sunset in 2020. Several members of the public also testified in support. Both committees later recommended passage of SB 422 without amendments, and the recommendation was adopted by voice votes. The committees then heard Senate Bill 530 on Braille literacy. The bill would establish Braille literacy as state policy, require Braille-related literacy assessments for eligible blind and low-vision students, authorize DOE rulemaking, create a Braille Literacy Resource Center, and appropriate funds. DOE and the Department of Human Services supported the measure, as did the National Federation of the Blind, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, and a blind testifier who described the importance of early Braille instruction. The Attorney General’s office raised concerns about statutory language requiring yearly assessments and suggested revisions so annual decisions remain with IEP teams. The committees voted to pass SB 530 with amendments, including the Attorney General’s suggested changes, and adopted the recommendation. The next measure was Senate Bill 532, which would allow school staff and agents trained by a licensed clinician to volunteer to administer medication to students in public schools under certain conditions and clarify who may prescribe such medication. DOE and Department of Health testimony supported the bill. The Attorney General recommended replacing the term “licensed clinician” with the defined term “health care professional.” The Hawaii Academy of Physician Assistants supported the bill but asked that physician assistants be included among providers who may prescribe medications for school administration. After questions about current school health aide duties and field-trip medication procedures, the committees voted to pass SB 532 with amendments, including the Attorney General’s terminology change, and adopted the recommendation.

Transcript Highlights:

• permission to be in those classrooms. permission to be in those classrooms.
• <00:47:38.760> and of my time in the classroom and of my time in the classroom and priceless
• I And I sing in my classroom<01:08:49.759> until classroom until classroom until uh<01:08:51.240
• . classroom. classroom.
• Different pathways to getting teachers in the classroom, getting qualified teachers to the classroom.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we have to ask ourselves, when did we decide that tax payer funded classrooms should be places for
• . classrooms.
• It's more tied to the classroom.
• This. up the classroom day, it cleaned up the classroom year, and it cleaned up the textbook. books.
• One, inappropriate library and classroom books.

Bills: SB12, SB1565, SB13, SJR12, SB686, SB371, SB204, SB609, SB112, SB400, SB813, SB 12, SB 13

Keywords: parental rights, education, social transitioning, diversity, equity, inclusion, school policy, student clubs, school district, grievance procedure, public education, diversity and inclusion, funding penalties, school libraries, library advisory councils, library materials, educational content, challenging materials, constitutional amendment, school choice

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:13:26.639> two-story classrooms, uh two-story classrooms, uh two-story building,<00:13:29.279
• It's not just classrooms and what the students need.
• Well, I think the first year SFA opened 11 classrooms. The second year they opened 11 classrooms.
• This year I think it's scheduled to be 25 more classrooms will be open.
• to be 25 more classrooms will be open. to be 25 more classrooms will be open.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Education heard several advice-and-consent nominations to the School Facilities Authority. For GM779, Shelley Pa was introduced as a nominee for a term ending June 30, 2029. The Department of Education supported her nomination, citing her large-scale operations and stakeholder-engagement experience. In her testimony, Pa said she retired from community policing, wanted to give back to teachers and students, and believed her strengths were collaboration, listening to community input, and helping balance differing priorities. Committee members questioned her about the construction and infrastructure focus of the board, her lack of direct construction experience, and how she would handle disagreements and budget limits; she responded that she would rely on collaboration, ask questions, and keep decisions centered on students, teachers, and the community while staying within budget. The committee then heard GM777 and GM778 for Robert Davis, with terms ending June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2029. Davis described more than 30 years with the Department of Education, including roles as teacher, coach, counselor, vice principal, principal, and complex area superintendent, and said he had worked on major facilities projects and managed pandemic-era funding. He emphasized communication, transparency, and trust, and explained that his experience on the Early Learning Board helped him understand how to set policy, identify schools for pre-K, and use data and community factors in decision-making. Members asked how he would handle SFA’s growing pains, the need to balance DOE wishes with practical and budgetary limits, and the board’s role when the legislature controls funding; Davis said the board must keep communication open, include the right people, and make sensible decisions that move projects forward without stalling. For GM780, nominee Michael Unbasami was introduced for a term ending June 30, 2029. The Department of Education supported him, highlighting over five decades of public service and experience in facilities management, finance, and legislative affairs. Unbasami said he had recently retired after 31 years as associate vice president for administrative affairs for the community colleges and had extensive experience with facilities planning, construction, renovation, repairs, and working within budgets. He stated that the DOE should be treated as the SFA’s client because it knows student, teacher, and facility needs best, while SFA’s role is to implement construction work and collaborate on priorities. Committee members pressed him on how to balance DOE requests with practical project delivery, especially for teacher housing and other non-classroom needs, and he said the legislature funds the work, SFA must keep projects moving, and the workflow should involve collaboration but also realistic decisions that fit the budget and avoid delays.

Transcript Highlights:

• I find that to be somewhat problematic for a Jewish kid who would be in a classroom and would, even though
• be required to say the Lord's Prayer, that the Lord's Prayer could be announced and said by the classroom
• <00:09:33.360> and who would be in a in a classroom and who would be in a in a classroom and
• announced and said by the classroom announced and said by the classroom followed<00:09:40.279>
• <00:35:24.640> to Jews both online and in classrooms to Jews both online and in classrooms

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee first took up SB 19, which would require a daily moment of silence or reflection in Kentucky public schools and clarify that students may use the time as they choose without coercion or religious direction. The sponsor and supporters, including representatives of the Kentucky Jewish Council, argued the bill is nonsectarian, intended to promote calm and focus, and supported by research and prior bipartisan backing. Opponents from the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass said they supported the anti-coercion language but objected to making the moment of silence mandatory rather than permissive, citing concerns about the statute’s interaction with the Lord’s Prayer language already in law. After discussion, the committee voted to pass SB 19 unanimously with favorable expression. The committee then considered SB 83, which revises the KEES scholarship program so homeschool and non-certified school students can receive awards using an ACT-to-GPA conversion and be treated more comparably to public school students. The sponsor described the bill as a recurring measure and walked through how the award amounts would be calculated under the substitute. There was no opposition raised during the hearing, and the committee adopted the substitute and passed SB 83 unanimously with favorable expression. Finally, the committee heard Senate Joint Resolution 55, directing Kentucky public postsecondary institutions to combat anti-Semitism. The resolution would require campuses to adopt policies using the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, notify students of Title VI and state-law complaint rights, recognize Jewish organizations as community resources on the same basis as other religious organizations, take action against student groups supporting designated terrorist organizations, and collect and report campus anti-Semitism data. The presenters and supporters described a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents on campuses after October 7 and said schools have not responded adequately. The committee adopted the substitute and began hearing testimony on the resolution, but the transcript cuts off before any final vote on SJR 55.

Transcript Highlights:

• upon identified classroom needs. upon identified classroom needs.
• , of the classroom, of the classroom, and<00:31:37.360> even<00:31:38.440> years<00
• is when I tried out for the classroom is when I tried out for the middle<00:31:53.240> school
• <00:33:00.760> learning<00:33:01.160> with connects classroom learning with connects
• classroom learning with real-world<00:33:02.000> applications.

Bills: HR203, SB2802, SB3081, SB2902, SB2005, SB3252, SB2096, SB2095, SB2046, SB2999, SB3103, SB83, SB2041, SB3234, SB3156, SB3154, SB2146, SB2053, SB2010, SB2009, SB2667, SB3215, SB2698, SB2363, SB2372, SB2673, SB2948, SB2277, SB2057, SB3085, SB3025, SB2761

Keywords: H.R. 203, House Resolution, Hawaii education, teacher of the year, educator recognition, Jessica Canyon, Natsumi Yamasato, Jodi Kadoyama, Mānana Elementary School, National Blue Ribbon School, Teach For America Hawaiʻi, public education, K-12, elementary school, STEM education, literacy, teacher appreciation, school excellence, Hawaiʻi Legislature, keiki

Transcript Highlights:

• Those teachers need to be great and highly effective teachers in our classrooms.
• I also, we've got a big initiative called Classrooms to Careers. Let me tell you.
• We've got a big initiative called Classrooms to Careers. Let me tell you about it.
• It's a burden on the classroom and the other kids.
• It's a burden on the classroom and the other kids.

Summary: The subcommittee first heard an overview from Department of Education Chancellor Paul Burns on Florida’s K-12 governance structure and major divisions, including early learning, public schools, safe schools, school choice, and accountability. He highlighted school readiness and VPK, teacher preparation and licensure, school safety functions, scholarship and virtual/home education programs, and FAST progress monitoring. Burns also cited statewide gains such as higher mid-year reading performance, a record graduation rate of 89.7%, and record CTE enrollment, while members questioned the meaning of Florida’s “number one” education rankings, teacher pay, post-COVID learning loss, vacancies, and chronic absenteeism. St. Lucie County Superintendent John Prince then described the scale and responsibilities of a mid-sized district, emphasizing student safety, transportation, meals, hurricane shelter operations, career and technical education, teacher recruitment and retention, progress monitoring, remediation, and mental health supports. Members asked about school shelter construction standards, remediation funding, late school start times, attendance, and concordance scores; Prince argued for more flexibility for CTE pathways and noted that local districts use a mix of state and federal funds to support remediation and staffing. The committee then moved to an early warning systems panel. Burns explained that Florida law requires districts to use attendance, behavior/suspensions, course performance, FAST results, and other academic indicators to identify students needing support, with districts and families developing intervention plans. Superintendents from Putnam, St. Johns, and St. Lucie counties said chronic absenteeism is tied to achievement and NAEP decline, but causes vary by district, including poverty, transportation, daycare, family instability, travel, and student athletics. They described MTSS, PBIS, home visits, attendance letters, and community partnerships as responses. Members also discussed VPK access, full-day VPK funding, excused versus unexcused absences, and the need for earlier intervention in pre-K and K-2. Finally, Vice Chancellor Darren Norris outlined Florida’s post-Parkland school safety measures, including armed school officers, anonymous reporting, behavioral threat assessment teams, mental health training, panic alert systems, emergency drills, active assailant response policies, and firearm detection canines. Superintendents said compliance is costly and often requires shifting local funds, but they praised state grants for mental health, hardening, and mapping. They noted ongoing challenges with new mandates, capital costs, manual reporting burdens, and the need to balance safety requirements with classroom resources.

Transcript Highlights:

• to receive recommendations on how to increase educator participation in the process, specifically classroom
• Is it that they don't have someone in the administration or someone at the Outside of the classroom bases
• That was gathered, improved classroom instruction.
• Classrooms now reflect a more cohesive approach to literacy instruction, with teachers aligning their
• Support teachers to uplift linguistic assets in the classroom as building blocks for other learning,

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're displayed in the classroom. Pardon me? Yes, if they're displayed in the classroom.
• That are displayed in the classroom. Yes.
• If it's just hoisted or displayed on a pole in the classroom, no.
• the classroom.
• They're not in the classroom. with it being taught or not being taught, just posted or displayed.

Bills: SJR27, SJR39, SB22, SB33, SB34, SB37, SB209, SB310, SB326, SB505, SB605, SB618, SB732, SB762, SB769, SB783, SB819, SB825, SB870, SB964, SB1030, SB1080, SB1085, SB1099, SB1124, SB1208, SB1233, SB1314, SB1320, SB1333, SB1398, SB1405, SB1541, SB1567, SB1596, SB1598, SB1625, SB1646, SB1662, SB1750, SB1758, SB1791, SB1804, SB1810, SB1818, SB1838, SB1855, SB1869, SB1951, SB2024, SB2077, SB2078, SB2252, SB2253, SB2368, SB2411, SB2420, SB2425, SB2569

Keywords: judicial conduct, state commission, judicial misconduct, commission membership, constitutional amendment, veto override, legislature power, governor, Texas Constitution, Texas, moving image industry, incentive program, film production, grant funding, job creation, economic development, wildfire, wildfire mitigation, wildfire prevention, volunteer fire department

Transcript Highlights:

• Changes in this role, and as I stated before, impact staffing, classroom size, transportation, and after
• Changes in this role, and as I stated before, impact staffing, classroom size, transportation, and after
• We have 23,000 classrooms. That's basically half a student per classroom.
• Why does my child have to be moved to balance out the classrooms?
• Why is my child have to be moved to balance out the classrooms?

Summary: The Pre-K through 12 Budget Subcommittee met to review how Florida’s Education Finance Program (FEFP) works, receive an update from the Department of Education on the October 2024 FTE survey and third FEFP calculation, and hear from three county superintendents about forecasting enrollment and reconciling scholarship students. The chair explained that FEFP is funded by both state and local dollars, is recalculated multiple times during the year, and is now closely tied to school choice policy. Department staff said the third calculation was still being rerun but should be completed soon, and described the forecasting process as collaborative among districts, DOE, and the Education Estimating Conference. Superintendents from Polk, St. Lucie, and Hendry counties said enrollment shifts, especially students moving to Family Empowerment Scholarships, homeschooling, or private schools, make budgeting and staffing difficult. They said districts often must hold back funds to protect against midyear losses, which affects collective bargaining, staffing, transportation, and classroom organization. Several members raised concerns about duplicate counting, transparency, and whether students receiving scholarship funds can also remain in district classrooms. DOE said districts can access scholarship information through a secure portal and that scholarship funding organizations are paid quarterly, with a new process requiring certification and possible future payment adjustments to reduce duplication. The superintendents urged better real-time tracking of students through a statewide ID or student information system and suggested scholarship students should be funded separately from district FEFP calculations. Members also discussed whether more frequent or daily attendance-based calculations would improve accuracy, though some warned that daily attendance could create new problems for high-poverty districts. The committee also briefly discussed categoricals, including mental health and ESE funding, with DOE saying it evaluates programs through studies, reporting requirements, and legislative direction. No votes were taken; the meeting ended with a motion to rise and adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• administrators classroom administrators classroom teachers<01:14:04.760> uh<01:14:05.000>
• or the school coordinator to merge or group those students in with other classrooms so the classroom
• or the school coordinator to merge or group those students in with other classrooms so the classroom
• setting other classroom so the classroom setting other classroom so the classroom setting this<04
• , and the classroom setting.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The House Education Policy and Administration Committee heard testimony on House Bill 71, which would bar public elementary and secondary schools and higher education facilities from being used as shelters for certain non-citizens, with a stated exception for short-term emergency sheltering of up to 72 hours and for community-wide emergency use. Prime sponsor Rep. Juliet Harvey-Bolia said the bill was modeled on federal and out-of-state proposals and was prompted by examples in New York and Massachusetts where schools or other facilities were used as shelters, causing disruption. She argued the bill does not truly “ban” anything, but instead places a condition on receipt of state funds, and said the fiscal note’s projected loss of federal funding was unsupported and should have been described as undeterminable. Committee members questioned the bill’s scope and practical effects, including whether it would apply to vacant school-owned buildings, schools used during summer, charter schools, and situations where other states send people without advance notice. Harvey-Bolia said vacant buildings not functioning as schools would not be covered, and that the bill would still allow short-term emergency sheltering and community-wide use during weather events. She also said the bill would not prevent remote learning, and that its purpose was to avoid displacing students. Several members pressed her on the fiscal note and whether any federal or state program would actually be at risk; she said she found no evidence that funding would be lost and that DHHS had not identified a real threat. A witness from the New Hampshire Association of School Administrators, Jerry FW, raised practical concerns about who would determine eligibility at a shelter site, how the 72-hour limit would be enforced, and whether the bill would apply to charter schools. He also noted that remote learning is no longer an option in New Hampshire, making one of the bill’s stated concerns less relevant. The discussion also included clarification of the terms “refugee” and “asylum seeker,” with members and the sponsor debating the distinction and whether refugees are vetted. No vote or final committee action was taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• putting on a display that's pretty much at the level of a commercial display, so yes, it's the technology
• technology these days is very difficult technology these days is very difficult to<00:12:44.320> distinguish
• you would need to have an extremely high bar and also the ability to remove anybody from a child's classroom
• you would need to have an extremely high bar and also the ability to remove anybody from a child's classroom
• you would need to have an extremely high bar and also the ability to remove anybody from a child's classroom

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• suggesting that because some classrooms suggesting that because some classrooms have<00:04:08.079
• <00:19:50.400> and students back into classrooms and students back into classrooms and crippling
• It does not tell any teachers what they cannot put in their classroom.
• It does not tell any teachers what they cannot put in their classroom.
• <01:16:21.560> the the middle between the classroom the the middle between the classroom the

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We did our best to try to keep that away from the classroom, but it's coming out of the classroom, folks
• We did our best to try to keep that away from the classroom, but it's coming out of the classroom, folks
• the classroom. the classroom.
• <01:22:12.239> and that I was sitting in a classroom and that I was sitting in a classroom
• Um and directly in the classroom.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• The U.S. military uses solar and other renewable technologies at forward operating bases because it lowers
• at forward operating The U.S. military uses solar and other renewable technologies at forward operating
• Not only getting my kids, the group, outside of my classroom onto a bus, having them be gone for an hour
• , and then returning in that disruption is really just a major interruption for our classrooms and for
• House Bill 2311, amending Title 18, A.R.S., by adding Chapter 8, relating to information technology.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We can make investments directly into educational programs, better classrooms, modern technology, and
• We can make investments directly into educational programs, better classrooms, modern technology, and
• We can make investments directly into educational programs, better classrooms, modern technology, and

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Maximizing classroom time on academics is the key, or at least a key, to success.
• I want to thank you for passing the bill to keep cell phones out of classrooms.
• Cell phones in classrooms, I agree with you. Long overdue.
• We, you know, none of us are in the classroom teaching. They're in the classroom teaching.
• It is very hard to learn when you don't feel safe in a classroom.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• history books, you could say, that they are now having to hand out for people or individuals for their classroom
• ... ...you could say, that they are now having to hand out for people or individuals for their classroom
• So that limited funding contributes to challenges around our infrastructure, technology, facilities,
• work brings together four key perspectives: clinical practice, health insurance strategy, data and technology

Summary: The committee met at Spirit Lake Tribe and first heard welcoming remarks and introductions from tribal leaders and program directors. Chairwoman Street and other tribal representatives outlined a range of concerns and requests for state action, including taxation of reservation lands, support for non-beneficiary students at the tribal school, homelessness funding, Indian-managed health care, gaming and e-tabs, Feather Alert improvements, industrial farming near waterways, tourism, and better state-tribal consultation. Committee members responded that the meeting was intended to improve understanding and communication, and several members suggested future legislation or resolutions could be used to advance some of the issues. The tribe also offered to provide training on treaties, IHS 638, and compact services to legislators and staff. A major portion of the discussion focused on Spirit Lake fish and wildlife jurisdiction and the lake boundary. Tribal representatives asked for an MOU or co-stewardship agreement with the state to clarify hunting and fishing rights, recognize tribal licenses, and reduce recurring disputes over “gray areas” on the reservation and lake. Committee members discussed whether to draft a bill or resolution directing the executive branch and state agencies to negotiate such an agreement, and asked that North Dakota Game and Fish be invited to a future meeting. Related concerns included aquatic nuisance species prevention, with both sides agreeing that more aggressive boat inspection and cleaning measures would be beneficial. The committee also discussed taxation and county relations. Tribal leaders raised concerns about county resistance to fee-to-trust transfers and about property and vehicle taxation affecting members living on or near reservation lands. Committee members and tribal counsel reviewed federal treaty principles and court cases, and one member noted that the committee had previously taken no formal action on similar issues. Later, Benson County’s tax equalization director explained how the county values taxable land, handles inundated land applications, and tracks land coming off the tax rolls when the tribe repurchases acreage. The discussion ended with a presentation from the president of Sisseton Wahpeton College, who described the college’s programs, economic impact, and funding needs, followed by an HHS presentation on 1115 Medicaid waivers and the IMD exclusion as the committee moved to its next topic.