Video & Transcript Research : 'grading scale'
Page 13 of 375
AR
Arkansas 2026 1st Special Session
EDUCATION COMMITTEE - SENATE AND HOUSE Mar 9th, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- The GED is a test-based credential, and success requires a 9th through 12th grade reading level.
- Sometimes our research shows that a program works, and that can lead to scale-up and broad impact.
- This is not a small-scale issue. It is a statewide challenge.
- But they don't read at a grade-point level that allows them to pass that test.
- , and 69% in fourth through twelfth grades.
Summary:
The House and Senate Education Committee first approved minutes from February 2 and 3, then took up an interim study proposal on adult education and the Excel Center model. Representatives from Goodwill Industries of Arkansas, the Excel Center network, and the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities testified that roughly 300,000 Arkansans over age 19 lack a high school diploma or GED, and argued that the Excel Center provides a supported diploma pathway for adults who struggle with GED testing. Witnesses highlighted wraparound services such as free child care, transportation assistance, tutoring, life coaching, and career services, and cited outcomes including high retention, growing enrollment, and research showing higher employment and earnings and lower criminal justice involvement for graduates. Committee members raised questions about the state’s role, existing adult education programs, and how the study would be structured; the motion to adopt the ISP passed, though there was some procedural disagreement about when questions should have been taken.
The committee then heard a detailed adequacy funding overview from BLR staff Katie Walden and Adrian Beck on Arkansas K-12 education finance. They reviewed national funding principles and explained Arkansas’s system, including state and local revenue sources, the Public School Fund, the Educational Excellence Trust Fund, the Educational Adequacy Fund, and the Facilities Partnership Program. Staff said K-12 state and local revenues totaled $6.6 billion in 2025, with foundation funding making up the largest share of district and charter funding, followed by additional, categorical, and supplemental funds. They also explained the matrix-based foundation formula, the role of the uniform rate of tax, and how categorical and supplemental funds support areas such as alternative learning, English learners, special education high-cost cases, teacher salary equalization, declining enrollment, and student growth.
Members asked several follow-up questions about how specific funding categories are defined and used, including student support staff, instructional aides, special education high-cost occurrences, ALE funding, teacher salary equalization, and the inclusion of Excel Center amounts in state-local funding totals. Staff said some of those details would be addressed in a later presentation and offered to provide additional records, including district lists and historical information. The meeting ended after the funding overview, with no additional votes or actions beyond the ISP adoption and adjournment.
FL
Florida 2026 5th Special Session
Education Pre-K - 12 Oct 15th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- We have the capabilities through AI to do that at scale.
- I go over, engage in a conversation, and a young lady starts talking to me, probably in second grade.
- So, pre-K to seventh grade, under 13, no access to any generative AI. Hi.
- K to 7th grade, under 13, no access to any generative AI tools, Hillsborough County.
- So, as this is ever-emerging, for us, pre-K to seventh grade, no generative AI tools; eighth grade on
Summary:
The Committee on Education Pre-K through 12 held a panel discussion on artificial intelligence in K-12 education. Dr. Maya Israel of the University of Florida gave an overview of AI literacy, emphasizing that AI can support personalized learning, school operations, and teacher efficiency, but also raises concerns about data privacy, overreliance, mental health, and the need for human oversight. She described the Florida K-12 AI Task Force, which has produced guidance on policy, ethics, privacy, cybersecurity, classroom integration, and professional development, and is now working on district surveys, webinars, case studies, and teacher/family resources.
Superintendents Van Ayers of Hillsborough County and Kevin Hendrick of Pinellas County described district-level implementation. Hillsborough outlined a governance council, a district AI policy, and an implementation guide; it prohibits generative AI for students below eighth grade, allows limited use for older students with teacher permission and district-vetted tools, and uses models for classroom AI expectations. The district also reported growing student enrollment in AI courses, teacher training through summer academies and quick learns, and pilots with tools such as Magic School and Microsoft Copilot. Pinellas emphasized academic integrity, student data privacy, digital responsibility, and the importance of human interaction in learning; it said state assessments already limit technology use and that districts need clear governance and parent transparency.
Committee members asked about whether AI improves academic performance, the risk of student dependence, the possibility of returning to more paper-based testing, and who should set guardrails. Witnesses said reliable achievement data is still limited because the technology is new, though districts reported anecdotal gains in tutoring and early literacy. They also said there is no established statewide baseline for teacher AI training yet, so districts are using professional development, stipends, and partnerships with universities to build capacity. The committee also heard from Drew Andrew of FSU’s Inspire program, who argued that industry is moving faster than schools and that education should focus on teaching how AI works, building teacher confidence, and aligning training with workforce needs. No bills were considered and the meeting ended with a motion to adjourn, which was adopted.
ND
North Dakota 2026 1st Special Session
Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee Jun 16th, 2026 at 10:00 am
Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- These are really scaled-down versions of reactors that have been in operation for decades.
- Very similar technology to what exists in the gigawatt-scale reactors.
- I can comment on the large-scale reactors.
- And it's important to understand we use acre-feet to measure water, not gallons at this scale.
- It will be a large-scale industrial project that is going to need community acceptance.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Republican Caucus Members Present Bill Package Addressing Waste, Fraud and Abuse - 02/12/25
Minnesota Senate Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- It needs to be scaled to also include lesser degrees of offenses and create a process for referrals within
- It needs to be scaled to also include lesser degrees of offenses and create a process for referrals within
- It needs to be scaled to also include lesser degrees of offenses and create a process for referrals within
- It needs to be scaled to also include lesser degrees of offenses and create a process for referrals within
- Does not get very good grades as far as implementing.
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
Committee on Environment, Climate and Legacy - 04/03/25
Environment, Climate, and Legacy
Transcript Highlights:
- predict water availability at the scale predict water availability at the scale of<00:57:03.520>
- >
groundwater County scale geologic and groundwater County scale geologic and groundwater atlases - This includes the railroad grade section that crosses the Range River.
- So, that rail grade has been there for quite some time.
- :19:59.040>
largely <01:19:59.600>recovered grade has sunk and largely recovered grade
NH
Transcript Highlights:
- grade three in don't consider K grade grade three in the<00:56:54.960>
same <00:56:55.119> - at a grade level. at a grade level.
- scale which we sort scale was a sliding scale which we sort of<03:21:22.720>
have <03:21:22.960 - sixth grade, or even take that cohort and go down to second grade and first grade, track apples to apples
- We didn't know if the third grade.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
- level in our Texas public schools, and many of them were two grades behind.
- He was at least two to three years behind grade level.
- beginning of second grade, and writing on a first-grade level.
- He was at least two to three years behind grade level.
- beginning of second grade, and writing on a first-grade level.
Bills:
SB 2
FL
Transcript Highlights:
- But when we really started digging in and looking at the scope and scale of what was going to be needed
- to staff classrooms, again, from Pensacola, looking at the scope and scale of what was going to be needed
- Sometimes a kid who can’t read on grade level or do math on grade level, they’re not going to want to
- Have we heard back from where they're matching up grade level-wise, reading or math, when they hopefully
- Have we heard back from where they're matching up grade level-wise, reading or math, when they hopefully
Summary:
The committee heard a presentation from Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Eric Hall on the Florida Scholars Academy, a new unified education model for youth in residential commitment programs. He explained that the academy replaced the prior decentralized district-run system with a contracted model through Florida Virtual School, allowing individualized blended learning, real-time progress monitoring, expanded special education services, and a broader course catalog including dual enrollment, CTE, GED testing, and postsecondary pathways through the Florida Youth College partnership with Tallahassee State College. Hall said the department is using data to focus on academic achievement, workforce credentials, and peer-group change as strategies to reduce recidivism, and reported early results including 60 diplomas or GEDs, a 5.5% teacher vacancy rate, and progress-monitoring gains for most students.
Hall also reviewed implementation of House Bill 1181 on swift accountability and juvenile justice reforms. He said the law strengthened pre-arrest delinquency citation use, raised the target for eligible citations to 70%, required written justification for releasing youth charged with certain felony firearm offenses, and directed the department to develop a firearm-offending curriculum focused on avoidance and consequences. He described a new statewide graduated sanctions matrix for probation technical violations, intended to provide quicker and more consistent responses without overburdening courts. He said early data showed reductions in weapons/firearm offenses and auto theft, and that the department had conducted circuit-level outreach to law enforcement, courts, and providers to support implementation.
Members asked about the number of unauthorized alien children in detention or residential care, teacher vacancies and whether instruction continues when staff are absent, screen-time and supervision concerns with laptops, and whether students are reentering local schools with improved academic performance. Hall said he did not have data on immigration status, that FLVS and classroom staff provide continuity when teachers are absent, that devices are checked in and out and security has been tightened, and that the department is still early in implementation but is hearing positive anecdotal feedback from parents. Vice Chair Smith asked for more detail on the firearm curriculum, and Hall offered to provide it. The committee took no formal votes and adjourned after no public testimony was offered.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
- on grade level.
- grade level, and then at the does not meet grade level threshold.
- This is STAR meets grade level or above. This is for eighth grade.
- Eighth grade math, STAR meeting grade level or above, is down at 51%. Yes, sir.
- So these students are, what grade did you say? Junior? It's 11th grade. So they're in 11th grade.
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
House Finance Division II (03/07/2025)
Transcript Highlights:
- You know, they'll say, well, my child is in third grade, but they're doing fifth-grade work, so I'm fifth-grade
- You know, they'll say, well, my child is in third grade, but they're doing fifth-grade work, so I'm fifth-grade
- 25:07.680>
cat grade work so I'm fifth grade cat grade work so I'm fifth grade cat testing<04: - Grade four, grade five, grade seven, until they get to ninth grade, so they're just taking this money
- Grade four, grade five, grade seven, until they get to ninth grade, so they're just taking this money
Summary:
The Finance Division 2 work session first took up HB 506, a bill dealing with the return of seized firearms. Members discussed how the measure would shift background-check processing for firearm returns through the Department of Safety, while the physical firearms would still remain with local police unless State Police had taken custody. The department said the bill would change which cases come to it, and members clarified that the bill concerns the background-check decision rather than possession of the firearms. The committee then voted OTP on HB 506 FN by a 7-0 roll call.
The committee next discussed HB 671, establishing a kindergarten literacy readiness program. Department of Education staff explained that the bill grew out of a COVID-era Waterford contract that provided home-based early literacy support for families using federal relief funds, at a cost of about $600,000 per year, but that the program ended when those funds expired. Members raised concerns that the bill’s $1 appropriation was not realistic, that the prior program lacked sufficient outcome data, and that the references to ESSA tier-one benchmarks were unclear. The department said it was conducting a broader literacy needs assessment and updating the state literacy plan, including data from the zero-to-five range, K-5, and dyslexia-related work.
Waterford representatives described the program as an early-literacy, pre-K readiness service for children ages zero to five, originally designed to work in homes with computers and internet provided where needed, and later expanded in some settings such as daycares and pre-K classrooms. They said the program used assessments at the beginning and end, had served hundreds of children, and was intended to support family engagement and kindergarten readiness. Despite that testimony, members remained concerned about funding and the lack of clear results, and one member moved to retain the bill for more information. The discussion ended with the bill retained rather than advanced.
FL
Florida 2026 Regular Session
Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education Mar 24th, 2025
Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education
Transcript Highlights:
- Let's take up Tab 3, SB 1618, on pre-kindergarten through grade 12 education, by Senator Calatayud.
- The bill also repeals the Council for Early Grade Success after having served its purpose.
- The bill also repeals the Council for Early Grade Success after having served its purpose.
- to twelfth grade of embryological studies within health education.
- And the ESPs are kind of already low on the paying scale.
Summary:
The Appropriations Committee on Pre-K through 12 Education met with a quorum present and took up three bills. SB 1618, by Senator Calatayud, was presented as a broad education package affecting VPK through grade 12. It included changes to VPK enrollment flexibility, repeal of the Council for Early Grade Success, agriculture and financial literacy curriculum updates, reading intervention requirements, limits on certain public-school spending, corporal punishment consent, educator certification and screening provisions, and changes to the school recognition program. A late-filed technical amendment clarifying prior legislation for certain private schools in Brevard, Clay, Sarasota, and Bradford counties was adopted. Senator Osgood raised concerns about the bill’s school recognition provisions and the impact on paraprofessionals and other support staff, and the sponsor said she would continue those discussions. SB 1618, as amended, was reported favorably.
The committee then considered CS for SB 1058, which would update Florida references from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in state, district, and charter school materials beginning after July 1, 2025, without requiring existing materials to be changed. The bill was presented by Senator Calatayud on behalf of Senator Gruters and was reported favorably without amendment or opposition.
Next, the committee heard CS for SB 1470 on school safety, which would align school security guard training with guardian program requirements, refine locked campus and classroom rules, and improve panic alert and digital map coordination. Several amendments were adopted, including a late-filed amendment capping guardian training fees, creating a stakeholder work group for a Florida Institute of School Safety, adjusting locked-zone requirements and exceptions, requiring substitute teachers to receive safety protocol training, and a funding amendment providing $450,000 in recurring funds for a centralized panic alert and digital map system. Support was voiced by school district, sheriff, and safety representatives, and Senator Osgood praised the recurring funding as avoiding an unfunded mandate. The committee also passed SB 1472, linked to SB 1470, extending a public records exemption to school security guards’ records held by FDLE, with the exemption set to sunset in 2030 unless renewed. President Gaetz questioned the need for the exemption, and Senator Burgess responded that it was intended to protect school safety personnel from exposure of personal information after an incident. All three bills were reported favorably, and the committee adjourned.
TX
Texas 89th 2nd C.S.
S/C on Disease Prevention & Women's & Children's Health Mar 20th, 2025
S/C on Disease Prevention & Women's & Children's Health
Transcript Highlights:
- students depended on fine arts, CTE, and advanced academic elective opportunities starting in 8th grade
- We propose an alternative, shift the nutrition education requirements possibly to middle school, grades
- You know, I will say that if for, for large scale manufacturers in general, food included, your supply
- So I think there are considerations based on scale. Um, I, I'm not.
- I have a 5th grade and 7th grade kid, and I'm also the founder of Blazing Brains, which is a nutrition
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Education Finance Mar 5th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- The General Fund is protecting pre-K through 12th grade as intended, and it has stabilized in recent
- levels into the 2040s, before it really gets through the high school grades.
- But as you mentioned, there's economies of scale, right?
- As the bubble moves through the grade levels, there's an even larger dollar impact on school districts
- because the LCFF rates vary by grade span, right?
NM
New Mexico 2026 Regular Session
Senate Chamber Jan 29th, 2026 at 11:10 am
New Mexico Senate Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- Now, when I was in his grade, and the fourth grade is when I decided I wanted to run for Senate, so I
- Now, when I was in his grade and the fourth grade is when I decided I wanted to run for Senate, so I
- It starts at grade 6. It's grades, I think it starts at grade 6 or 7 all the way to high school.
- By the time it gets to 8th or 9th grade, it goes back up.
- We've required that from kindergarten through fifth grade.
AZ
Transcript Highlights:
- But what if there was a program or a series of programs set to do exactly this at scale?
- They have the same challenges we have, but at scale.
- federal grants, which is part of how we're funding the other parts of this program, we have a full-scale
- So we have this full-scale external evaluation by AIR, which is collecting that data right now.
- And I know myself going through a program like that, I was able to start teaching first grade, still
Summary:
The Education Committee began with a lengthy presentation from Dr. Victoria Dyson Homer on the Arizona Teacher Residency Program. She argued that Arizona faces a teacher shortage and high attrition, with many teachers uncertified or leaving early, and said research shows high-quality, practice-based residencies improve retention, teacher confidence, and student outcomes. She compared Arizona with Texas, described Arizona Teacher Residency’s structure as a year-long apprenticeship paired with coursework and mentorship, and said the program’s early data show strong retention and positive student feedback. Committee members asked about how the residency differs from traditional student teaching, its master’s-degree structure, and whether it should influence broader teacher-preparation and salary policies.
The committee then heard and debated SCR 1006, a ballot referral dealing with school restroom and pronoun policies. The measure would require schools to provide reasonable accommodations for students unwilling or unable to use sex-designated multi-occupancy restrooms or sleeping quarters, and would bar school employees from using pronouns or names inconsistent with a student’s biological sex without written parental permission. The sponsor framed it as a parental-rights and student-safety measure, while opponents from education, civil liberties, and mental health backgrounds called it discriminatory, unnecessary, and harmful to transgender and non-binary students. After public testimony and member debate, the committee approved SCR 1006 on a 7-5 vote.
The committee also considered SB 1126, which would require schools to provide certain student records and related information to Department of Child Safety caseworkers during abuse or neglect investigations and would prohibit schools from blocking staff from speaking directly with DCS. DCS testified neutrally, saying the bill could help resolve delays and improve information sharing, while members raised FERPA and guardianship concerns. The bill passed 10-0 with two members present.
Finally, the committee took up SB 1210, which requires certain out-of-state private postsecondary institutions offering fully online programs to Arizona residents to register with the state’s private postsecondary regulator and comply with tuition recovery fund requirements unless covered by reciprocity. Supporters said the bill closes a regulatory loophole and protects students financially; it passed 11-1. The committee then adjourned.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- , which was recently expanded to include mandatory pedestrian safety training for all students in grades
- , which was recently expanded to include mandatory pedestrian safety training for all students in grades
- <00:13:47.079>
K training for all students in grades K training for all students in grades - <00:13:55.000>
4 safety for all students in grades 4 safety for all students in grades 4 through - if it's non-descript or if it scale if it's non-descript or if it needs<00:20:52.280>
redacting
FL
Transcript Highlights:
- On the left, we do model testing as well as scale testing. The photo on the left is setting.
- Testing as well as scale testing.
- with the introduction of Algebra Nation, was the first time that we really went statewide to full scale
- available and to incentivize educators in participating, because we've seen some pretty tremendous scale
- Again, back to this timeline, a high-level look in terms of what we've been able to do, the scale that
Summary:
The Education Postsecondary Committee held its first meeting and focused on state university centers and institutes, with an overview from the Board of Governors on how the more than 500 centers and institutes across Florida’s public universities are categorized, overseen, and reported. The Board described three categories: state-level centers, legislatively established centers, and university-established centers. Members were told universities must maintain policies, notify the Board of changes, publish public inventories, and submit annual reports and compliance certifications. Senator Harrell asked about funding sources and whether underperforming centers are reviewed for elimination; the response was that funding varies by center and that universities decide whether to maintain or disband centers under their own policies, with annual reporting and audit findings shared with the Board.
Four university presentations followed. Florida Atlantic University highlighted its Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology, describing research in marine-derived drug discovery, genomics, imaging, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and ocean sustainability, along with spin-off institutes and partnerships that have generated significant grant and contract support. FIU presented its Center of Excellence for Hurricane Damage Mitigation and Product Development, emphasizing the Wall of Wind facility, hurricane and water intrusion testing, code and product innovation, insurance modeling, and future expansion toward higher wind speeds and flood simulation. Florida State University’s High-Performance Materials Institute described work in advanced materials, aerospace composites, sensors, nanocomposites, and AI-enabled materials development, along with patents, industry partnerships, and new facilities tied to economic development. The University of Florida’s Lastinger Center for Learning outlined its work on teacher professional learning, literacy, New Worlds Reading, tutoring, and mathematics supports, including microcredentials, statewide book distribution, and early results showing improved reading confidence and growth.
Members generally praised the centers for their research, commercialization, workforce development, and education impacts. Senator Jones and Senator Harrell commended the Lastinger Center’s literacy work and the broader return on investment from these programs, while Senator Berman noted the value of the synergies across institutions. The chair emphasized that future funding requests should clearly show measurable success, commercialization, and statewide impact. The committee then adjourned without any formal votes on legislation.
TX
Texas 89th 2nd C.S.
89th Legislative Session - Second Called Session Aug 26th, 2025
Texas House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- Are you aware, let's start with third grade because I know it's different for every grade.
- So you're saying that schools will be graded?
- Chairman Buckley: ...of grading.
- grades for schools?
- 3rd grade takes certain tests, 4th grade takes certain tests, has any of that changed?
Keywords:
HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- That’s what the law says: they have to be able to read at grade level by grade three.
- <00:44:43.440>
so <00:44:43.760>fourth grade level by grade three so fourth grade level - Kindergarten first second third grade Kindergarten first second third grade learning<00:45:23.280
- investment it can be delivered at scale investment it can be delivered at scale and<01:00:43.359
- <01:02:47.520>
losing grades really many grades we're losing grades really many grades we're
NM
New Mexico 2026 Regular Session
House - Chamber Meeting Feb 15th, 2026 at 01:58 pm
New Mexico House Floor Meeting
Bills:
HB145, HR1, HB80, SB29, SB37, HB206, SB193, SB58, SB64, HB153, HB195, HB234, HB248, HB255, HB279, HB287, HB292, HB303, HB309, HB371, SB30, SB35, SB40, SB43, SB48, SB96, SB143, HJM1, HM7, HM17, HM4, HM22, HM23, HM24, HM26, HM2, HM16, HM32, HM13, HM47, HM20, HM51, HM1, HM31, HM35, HM36, HM46, HM53, HM54, HM39, HM29, HM43, HM59, HM11, HM14, HM21, HM34, HM50
Keywords:
high-wage jobs, tax credit, job creation, New Mexico, economic development, House Resolution 1, HR1, House investigatory subcommittee, special committee, legislative investigation, subpoena power, public corruption, criminal activity, Zorro ranch, Santa Fe County, public accountability, government oversight, impeachment power, children and vulnerable persons, public funds