Transcript Highlights:

• “Article two is education innovation.
• “Article two is education innovation.
• Representative Bennett continued: “Article two is education innovation.
• There’s a section on the educator licensing board, which is even more concerning.
• </c> there's a section on the educator there's a section on the educator licensing<00:16:29.120><c> board

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> for students, including those educated for students, including those educated at<05:06:51.000><c
• </c> students pursue higher education. students pursue higher education.
• </c> educations at a competitive cost. educations at a competitive cost. But<05:15:45.440><c> H.R.
• High costs associated with education in states not only limit educational opportunities for students
• in states not by not ability education in states not by not ability limit<05:20:52.400><c> educational

Transcript Highlights:

• and in their education.
• As a thing that has helped them in their programs to become educators and in their education programs
• So I think there is a very clear statement to educators and education students across the state that
• So I think there is a very clear statement to educators and education students across the state that
• Education to Oklahoma students. We are adjourned.

Summary: The Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Education met to consider two education-related bills. Senate Bill 706, presented by Chairman Lowe on behalf of the State Department of Education, would support a grow-your-own educator initiative by providing funds for coursework and alternative certification costs to help prospective teachers become certified. An untimely PCS on SB 706 and SB 1546 was adopted without objection before the bills were heard. Senate Bill 1546, presented by Chairman Caldwell, would rename the Inspired to Teach Program as the Next Ed program and clarify that the program may accept private donations. Members discussed the value of changing the program’s name, concerns about stability and name recognition, how private donations would be collected through the State Regents, and whether donations might supplement or offset state funding. The sponsor said the change was intended to preserve the program’s function while opening it to private support. SB 706 passed the committee 7-0 with no abstentions. SB 1546 passed 7-2. The chair then noted the meeting was likely the subcommittee’s final education meeting and adjourned, thanking members for their service to Oklahoma students.

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome to the first interim meeting of the Legislative Education Study Committee, April. 30th.
• So with legislation on page 19 is the education budget.
• Early childhood education, American education Just if we can start taking a deeper examination into the
• Language around education budget issues ought to include the education committees, not after it leaves
• Commission, so they serve as their own local education agency.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:02:06.240><c> and</c> alums who are dedicated to education and alums who are dedicated to education
• The Senate Education public schools.
• Our educators deserve better, and the people of Hawaii deserve a Department of Education that leads with
• </c><00:07:29.680><c> Our</c><00:07:30.160><c> educators</c><00:07:31.039><c> deserve</c> Mr.
• Our educators deserve Mr. President.

Bills: SB2347 , SB2911 , SB2033 , SB2158 , SB2993 , SB2778 , SB2672 , SB2014 , SB3144 , SB3096 , SB3097 , SB2968 , SB2363 , SB3154 , SB2400 , SB3313 , SB2896 , SB3279 , SB2614 , SB2687 , SB2754 , SB2549 , SB3325 , SB2658 , SB2659 , SB2602 , SB2611 , SB2877 , SB3063 , SB2615 , SB3232 , SB2875 , SB3272 , SB2854 , SB3203 , SB2803 , SB2804 , SB3302 , SB3229 , SB2969 , SB2412 , SB2657 , SB2880 , SB2540 , SB2414 , SB3142 , SB3202 , SB2281 , SB2852 , SB2272 , SB2479 , SB2589 , SB2936 , SB2720 , SB2730 , SB2749 , SB2688 , SB2798 , SB3040 , SB3107 , SB3010 , SB3109 , SB3140 , SB3187 , SB2057 , SB2377 , SB3048 , SB3083 , SB3182

Transcript Highlights:

• , I really want to talk briefly about our role with higher education.
• So just to name a few, we have... ...into the DOC and provide education services.
• So what's as robust as education, in my opinion, is our program.
• You know, education programs.
• So it's really kind of educating the entire system of how to best treat individuals.

Summary: The commission met with a new member from Prisoners’ Legal Services and approved the July 11 minutes. The main presentation came from Department of Correction Commissioner Sean Jenkins and Deputy Commissioner Mitzie Peterson, who gave an overview of DOC facilities, population trends, and the department’s broad mission, including sentenced prisoners, pretrial detainees, civil commitments, Bridgewater State Hospital, and the Section 35 program. They noted the custody population has fallen from about 10,000 in 2016 to roughly 6,000–6,600, while the share serving first- or second-degree sentences has increased. They also reviewed the department’s facility footprint, including Souza-Baranowski, MCI Norfolk, MCI Framingham, Bridgewater, and the planned transfer of the Section 35 program to Health and Human Services by the end of 2026. A large portion of the discussion focused on programming, education, health care, and reentry. DOC described tablet access for all incarcerated people, free phone calls, email, and more than 330,000 hours of educational, vocational, and reentry use. They highlighted partnerships with colleges and universities such as Tufts, Boston College, Emerson, and others, along with HiSET completion, vocational training, and programs like The Last Mile and Persevere. Health care spending was discussed in detail, including a total annual health-related contract cost of about $300 million, with separate contracts for prison health care, Bridgewater State Hospital, MassAQC, and MAT services. DOC said it has nearly eradicated Hep C and MRSA and now offers all three FDA-approved MAT medications, including long-acting injectables when clinically indicated. Commissioners also asked about specialized programming, language and disability access on tablets, and how programming is distributed across facilities. DOC explained that nothing is mandatory, but program participation is encouraged and can affect parole consideration. Staff described assessments using COMPAS, criminal thinking interventions, trauma-related treatment, and specialized units for emerging adults, mental health, and substance use. The department said programming costs were about $101 million in fiscal year 2025, or roughly 12% of the operating budget, excluding health care. Members praised the elimination of restrictive housing and the rollout of body-worn cameras, while DOC said the cameras required new policy and union negotiations but are now used for training, accountability, and de-escalation. The meeting ended with a plan for DOC to return in September with more detailed information on SAUs, programming statistics, and facility structure, and the commission voted to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so there is a request in the health education budget to expand 15 graduate medical education and
• And so there is a request in the health education budget to expand 15 graduate medical education and
• Establish a health education director.
• If not, it's gonna be with the Board of Education.
• The Department of Education and the Board of Education statutorily both should be doing the same thing

Summary: The meeting focused first on a legislative working group report created under House Bill 368 from the prior session on medical education in Idaho. The presenter described Idaho’s physician shortage, noting the state ranks 50th per capita in physicians and would need roughly 1,400 additional physicians to reach the national average. The group’s unanimous recommendations included maintaining current state-supported medical school seats, adding 10 new non-WAMI seats this year, expanding graduate medical education by 15 seats, prioritizing in-state training, and creating a dedicated health education coordination role to manage undergraduate and graduate placements, clinical sites, and data. Members discussed whether WAMI should also expand, the quality of WAMI graduates, the need for more clinical preceptors and residency sites, rural recruitment incentives, and whether the plan should include other health professions such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The presenter said the plan includes benchmarks and timelines, and estimated costs of about $350,000 for coordination, $350,000 to $485,000 for 10 new UME seats depending on placement, and $900,000 for the GME request. The committee then heard from Legislative Audit Division Manager April Renfro on the state’s 2024 single audit and related accountability work. She reported $5.4 billion in federal assistance audited, 21 major federal programs across 15 agencies, 45 findings, seven repeat findings, $2.4 million in known questioned costs, and $2 million in projected questioned costs. Major issues were concentrated at the Department of Health and Welfare, including Medicaid findings involving delayed health and safety surveys, managed care provider eligibility and roster controls, and capitation payments tied to ineligible members; Child Care and Development Fund reporting and cost-allocation errors; and repeat issues in vocational rehabilitation and low-income home energy programs. She also noted Department of Environmental Quality problems with indirect cost proposals and a duplicate grant draw, while Transportation had no findings. Members asked about accountability for repeat findings, the role of Luma in reporting errors, fraud detection, and how to prioritize corrective action; Renfro said agencies, federal management decisions, and legislative oversight all play a role, and she planned to send a prioritized list of key findings to the co-chairs. A later presentation by budget analyst Brooke Dupree introduced front-end reports in the legislative budget book, explaining state government structure, the constitutional limit of 20 executive departments, and how the Legislature uses decision units to build appropriations. She walked through the original appropriation, reappropriations, supplemental appropriations, and how those pieces roll into the current-year total appropriation, with members asking brief questions about departmental divisions and the budget model.

Transcript Highlights:

• , Equity and Education Coalition.
• Would enable us to expand our work to include education data.
• I don't know education data.
• We invited Equity in Education to work with us.
• The second thing that they were required to do is sanitize the education data. The education...

Summary: The hearing concerned a Legislative Ethics Board complaint against Representative Tara Simmons in Washington State OAH Docket 401-645. The judge outlined the process, the two issues on appeal—whether Simmons violated RCW 42.52.020 and RCW 42.52.070, and, if so, what penalty should apply—and admitted a number of exhibits by stipulation or prior ruling, while taking one exhibit under advisement pending an offer of proof. The board also moved to sequester witnesses, which was granted, and the judge deferred ruling on a motion to exclude three defense witnesses until after hearing the board staff’s case. Opening statements followed, with staff alleging Simmons used her position to benefit an outside organization and to secure special privileges, and the defense arguing the conduct was lawful, technical in nature, and consistent with prior ethics guidance. Board staff then called Kimberly Gordon, an attorney and founding board member/treasurer of American Equity and Justice Group (AEJG), as its first witness. Gordon testified that AEJG used data dashboards to make justice-system data more accessible, received state proviso funding sponsored by Simmons, and also received two donations from Simmons—$10,000 and $40,000. She said the first donation was intended to help hire Antoine Coleman, whom Simmons had recommended and who was later identified as Simmons’s romantic partner, and that AEJG returned the $10,000 and declined the $40,000 after concluding there was a potential conflict of interest. Gordon also testified that AEJG believed Simmons’s involvement in the organization and her communications about Coleman created ethical concerns. Gordon further testified about a second proviso intended to expand AEJG’s work into education data and its subcontract with Equity in Education Coalition (EEC). She said EEC did not perform the expected deliverables, prompting repeated communications with the Administrative Office of the Courts and a meeting involving Chris Stanley, where AEJG raised concerns that EEC was not complying and that Simmons had intervened in the dispute. According to Gordon, Stanley ultimately directed the parties to rewrite the subcontract and continue, but AEJG later moved forward largely without EEC’s assistance. The board staff introduced AEJG’s complaint and related timeline exhibits during her testimony. After direct examination, the hearing recessed for lunch, and cross-examination by Simmons’s counsel began when the hearing resumed.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm sure that educators in our schools.
• </c> end educational inequity. end educational inequity.
• </c> for educational equity. for educational equity.
• The trend to root out DEI from public education continues.
• </c> students into STEM and STEM education students into STEM and STEM education fields<00:46:06.800>

Summary: The subcommittee met without a quorum and did not approve minutes, but heard testimony on budget line items for Data Seam and Teach for America. Andrew McNeel of Kentucky Free and representatives from the Commonwealth Policy Center argued that both programs rely heavily on recurring taxpayer support and should be re-evaluated. McNeel cited a 2020 Office of Policy and Audit examination of Data Seam, saying the program had received more than $30 million in state support since 2006, including $3.5 million in the current budget, and that the audit raised concerns about administrative overhead, alleged threats to districts, and the use of line-item language to justify sole-source contracting. He recommended suspending Data Seam funding this biennium, directing a new special audit, and requiring reimbursement of audit costs. The witnesses also urged the committee to withhold funding for Teach for America, saying the organization’s materials and history showed a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion that they opposed. They pointed to past statements, leadership titles, and program language as evidence that DEI concepts remained embedded in the organization, and suggested any funding should be redirected directly to school districts instead. Mike Harmon and Richard Nelson echoed those concerns, while also saying long-running programs should be periodically reviewed for efficiency. Teach for America Appalachia representatives then testified in support of the program. Executive director C.D. Morton described the organization as a teacher-preparation and leadership-development program serving rural eastern Kentucky, saying it had recruited and supported more than 325 teachers since 2011, with about 30 current core members in several counties and roughly 2,800 students impacted daily. He said the program helps fill hard-to-staff vacancies, that about 80% of teachers stay for a third year, and that many alumni remain in education. In response to questions from Representative Bojanowski about retention and cost, Morton said more than 60% of alumni are still in education, but he could not give a precise classroom-teacher retention number beyond the program’s broader alumni data.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:17.799><c> the</c> and intergenerational education the and intergenerational education the
• </c> 2350 people attended our 12 educational 2350 people attended our 12 educational workshops<00:04:
• </c> digital Gallery shows educational digital Gallery shows educational retooling<00:05:07.320><c> and
• My name is Adriana Gordo, and I am a Latina artist, poet, and Spanish educator.
• </c> Minnesota if our cultural education Minnesota if our cultural education program<01:25:03.360><c>

Committee: Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy

Transcript Highlights:

• I feel like the testing has, in a lot of ways, ruined education. And I know so many educators.
• I am very grateful to know so many educators.
• I'm on two education committees, and this testing thing is really a problem in education, not just in
• So I came back here, and I met with the Commissioner of Education.
• So I came back here, and I met with the Commissioner of Education.

Committee: House Education & Employment Committee

Summary: The Education and Employment Committee heard and passed HB 921, which adds cursive writing to required instruction for grades 2 through 5 and requires students to demonstrate proficiency by the end of fifth grade. The bill sponsor argued cursive is important for historical literacy, everyday signatures, and possible early identification of learning differences. Opponents and several members supported teaching cursive but objected to the testing/proficiency requirement, saying students and teachers are already overburdened and that reading cursive is not currently part of the standards. Some members also raised concerns about fairness to charter schools and the bill’s application only to public schools. Despite those concerns, the bill passed 21-0 and was reported favorable. The committee then took up PCS for HB 1405, a major rewrite of Florida’s juvenile prevention and truancy statutes in Chapter 984, covering children in need of services/families in need of services. The bill updates definitions and procedures, strengthens truancy intervention, requires earlier and more detailed school reporting, adds parent involvement through child study teams, allows virtual participation, and sets review timelines for shelter placement. Sponsors said the goal is prevention and family support rather than punishment, with court involvement only after school-based intervention. Members asked about school compliance, court capacity, parent accountability, and whether all counties have child study teams; the sponsors said the bill expects CSTs in every school and can escalate cases to court and, if needed, to prosecutors for noncompliant parents. Public testimony on the juvenile justice bill was supportive, including from the Department of Juvenile Justice, youth services groups, and juvenile justice advocates. In debate, members praised the modernization effort and the emphasis on early intervention and family participation, while also noting the bill’s size and suggesting further attention to attendance thresholds. The PCS for HB 1405 was then approved unanimously and reported favorable. The committee adjourned after completing its agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• Education is key in making sure that the past is remembered and learned from.
• We must continue to advocate for education and remembrance. Thank you.
• Justice and education are vital to preventing this from occurring.
• He's a man of many talents, and he's a champion for bilingual education.
• Senator Menendez: ...was a champion for bilingual education.

Bills: SJR36 , SR8 , SR14 , SR15 , SR17 , HCR54

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c> economy. those factors, education, economy. those factors, education, workforce<00:43:56.640><c
• </c> education. Uh families just get it. education. Uh families just get it.
• </c> jobs change faster than education jobs change faster than education pathways<01:30:23.840><c> and
• </c> level, SHERM has launched the education level, SHERM has launched the education to<01:33:21.199>
• </c> a question for you, our education a question for you, our education person.<01:35:48.560><c> So,

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> education here in Minnesota. education here in Minnesota.
• </c> It has created an education crisis. It has created an education crisis.
• </c> prioritizing survival over education. prioritizing survival over education.
• </c> pursue an education is not a crime. pursue an education is not a crime.
• </c> educated workforce is in healthcare. educated workforce is in healthcare.

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Summary: The committee adopted the minutes from its February 24, 2026 meeting after a motion by Vice Chair Coulter. The hearing then focused on the impact of federal immigration enforcement, referred to throughout as Operation Metro Surge, on Minnesota college campuses. The chair said the purpose was to document alleged abuses, campus fear, and racial discrimination, and to hear from testifiers about effects on students, faculty, and staff. Representative Novotny briefly objected to the framing, saying the committee should be finding facts rather than making a predetermined presentation, and the chair responded that members should remain respectful and that questions would be held until after all presenters testified. Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow described what he called relentless and unprecedented disruption, including student stops and interrogations, family separations, and an ICE operation on campus in which armed masked agents allegedly detained a student without a warrant and pointed weapons at students and staff. He said the campus received bomb threats afterward, increased virtual learning options, and saw spikes in student support needs, housing assistance, and leaves of absence. Jenna Chernega of the Inter Faculty Organization said faculty across Minnesota State universities reported widespread student and colleague stress, increased workload, disappearing students, and a need for clearer sensitive-location protections and academic freedom guidance. Mark Grant of Minnesota State College Faculty said community conditions inevitably affect classrooms, that campuses have not yet had an ICE incident but are bracing for one, and that faculty want to support students and may need financial help if enrollment declines. Jennifer Irwin of AFSCME said fear from ICE activity extends beyond campus boundaries and is affecting attendance, work, and daily life for staff and students; she cited a member detained in St. Paul while trying to prove legal status. Student testifiers Brendan Frazier of Concordia University, St. Paul, Jonathan Fitzgerald of Minnesota State Mankato, Sudi Adow of Lead MN, and Will Luther of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities described panic, reduced attendance, food insecurity, disrupted classes, and fear of leaving home or commuting to campus. They urged stronger student privacy protections, support for international and immigrant students, emergency aid, and policies to keep campuses safe. No further committee action or votes were taken after the minutes approval.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> and that is that we educate and that is that we educate 270,000<00:03:31.599><c> students</c><00
• </c> that's just not an open educational that's just not an open educational resource<00:14:58.000><c
• <00:40:39.760><c> and</c><00:40:39.960><c> Industry</c> education and Industry education and Industry
• </c> program's role in making education program's role in making education accessible<00:41:12.000><c
• Department of Education.

Summary: Minnesota State Colleges and Universities presented an overview of the system and several budget riders. Board Chair George Soul described the system’s structure, noting 26 colleges and seven universities governed by a 15-member board, and emphasized that Minnesota State serves about 270,000 students annually, including many students of color, adult learners, Pell-eligible students, first-generation students, and veterans. He highlighted the system’s workforce role, saying it offers more than 4,000 programs, extensive employer partnerships, and that 86% of graduates find jobs in their field or a related field. He then turned the presentation over to system staff to discuss specific funding requests. Associate Vice Chancellor Kim Lynch focused on the Z-degree textbook program, which supports zero-textbook-cost courses and degrees. She said prior legislative support has produced about $3.1 million in savings in academic year 2024 and more than $12.6 million in aggregate savings, with 10 colleges now offering Z degrees and 12 more on track or exploring implementation. She described the program’s use of open educational resources, instructional design support, and library resources to fill gaps where free materials are not available, and said students save roughly $7 to $10 for every $1 invested. Members praised the program and asked about its expansion. Associate Vice Chancellor Paul Shepard discussed student support funding, including a centralized basic needs resource hub, the Mantra Health mental health platform, and the emergency grant program. He said student surveys showed significant food, housing, and homelessness insecurity, and that the basic needs hub has served over 2,400 students with a 97% positive response rate. He said Mantra provides telecounseling, peer support, self-paced courses, and crisis support, and clarified in response to questions that it is not AI-driven and does not sell student data; general usage data is collected, and follow-up with campus counselors occurs only at the student’s request. He also said the emergency grant program has distributed over $3 million to more than 4,800 students, with grants averaging just under $700, and that campuses use application review and recordkeeping to manage repeat requests. Members asked about counselor staffing, data privacy, and grant safeguards. The final item addressed sexual assault reporting and prevention funding. System staff said the appropriation supports technology infrastructure for statutory reporting, case management for investigations, campus prevention training, and professional development for Title IX coordinators and related staff. They noted that the statutory student training requirement is funded by individual colleges and universities, not by this appropriation. No formal votes were taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• >> Chair Burgess: THE COMMITTEE ON PRE-K-12 EDUCATION WILL COME TO ORDER, AMANDA PLEASE CALL THE ROLL
• TAB THREE, SB 1618 ON PREKINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE 12 EDUCATION BY SENATOR CALATAYUD, YOU ARE RECOGNIZED
• SENATE BILL 1618 STRENGTHENS FLORIDA'S VPK-12 EDUCATION SYSTEM BY ENHANCING ACADEMIC INSTRUCTION AND
• ENSURING RESPONSIBLE USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS AND EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS.
• PROHIBITS EXEMPTIONS FOR BACKGROUND SCREENINGS FOR EDUCATORS CERTIFICATION.

Transcript Highlights:

• Of course, I'm going to start with education.
• I’m good with higher education now based on your responses.
• I'm good with higher education now based on your responses.
• And my other concern has to do with the education system.
• to conform to the proposed higher education budget.

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then moved to the conference report on House Bill 501E, the General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026-27. Budget chairs presented the major spending areas, describing a $114.5 billion overall budget that they said was fiscally responsible and below the prior year’s spending. Highlights included pay increases and retirement adjustments for public safety employees, education funding for K-12, higher education, health and human services, criminal justice, transportation, environmental programs, and agriculture/regulatory agencies. Members then questioned chairs on several items. In education, senators discussed K-12 declining enrollment funding, teacher salary set-asides, private school scholarship spending, mental health funding, preeminence funding for universities, the Hamilton Center at UF, and charter school PICO funding. In health and human services, questions focused on the iBudget waiver waitlist, provider rates, ADAP/HIV funding and the return of Biktarvy to the formulary, KidCare, rural health funding, SNAP-related IT and error reduction efforts, and the IDD managed care program. In criminal justice, senators asked about correctional officer pay, prison staffing and infrastructure, air conditioning in prisons, juvenile justice facilities, law enforcement recruitment, and court system funding. Environmental and transportation questions covered Florida Forever, water quality, state parks, water projects, housing, elections funding, and emergency management. Several specific actions and explanations were given during debate: the budget includes $8.8 million for state attorney competitive area differentials but no funding for public defender CAD requests; assistant state attorneys will start at $70,000 and assistant public defenders at $65,000; the battery disposal issue was described as a temporary study/preemption approach; and the Senate said the budget does not fund Medicaid expansion, preeminence funding, or the SunBucks Summer EBT state share. Senators also noted that some proposals discussed in committee did not make it into the final budget. The transcript ends with debate statements from members praising the budget process and Chair Hooper, while also expressing concerns about public schools, health care access, affordability, and the lack of funding for certain priorities.

Transcript Highlights:

• There should not be any cuts that disrupt this essential part of education.
• Remember, we want to make for education as put for our students deserve an education.
• I am a business education IT Academy teacher testifying in opposition.
• That happens because of belief in public education.
• That happens because of belief in public education.

Summary: The committee held a public hearing on the Senate operating budget proposal, beginning with a staff briefing from James Kettle. He described the budget as built on relatively flat revenue after multiple forecast updates, with substantial mandatory cost growth, especially in Health Care Authority, DSHS, and DCYF. He highlighted major policy-level additions and savings, including large tort liability costs, continued support for long-term services, reductions tied to child care and K-12 items, several assumed revenue bills, and major transfers from reserves and other accounts. Kettle also noted the four-year outlook remained positive overall, with about $1 billion ending fund balance in the final year and roughly $3 billion in total reserves. A committee member asked about a diagram showing the loss of federal funds, and staff said they would follow up. Public testimony then focused first on K-12 education, where school leaders, teachers, OSPI, PTA, and rural district representatives largely opposed the proposed cuts to local effort assistance, transition to kindergarten, bus depreciation, and related school funding items. Many argued the reductions would disproportionately harm rural and property-poor districts and weaken early learning access, while several students and educators spoke in favor of career and technical education and IT Academy funding. The committee also heard support for wildfire prevention funding from the Commissioner of Public Lands, who thanked the Senate for restoring those dollars but raised concerns about recreation program reductions. Higher education testimony was mixed but generally supportive of the Senate proposal compared with the governor’s budget. Community and technical college leaders warned that the budget still shifts compensation costs to tuition and reduces Running Start funding, while university representatives from Western, Eastern, Central, WSU, and UW thanked the committee for avoiding deeper cuts. Private vocational college students and administrators urged extension of Washington College Grant eligibility for students already enrolled, and others asked to preserve IT Academy and related certification funding. In early learning, child care and advocacy groups praised the decision not to cap Working Connections Child Care but warned that child care and transition to kindergarten still bear a disproportionate share of cuts; they also requested continued support for Dolly Parton Imagination Library and Pierce County early childhood programs, including Family Connects. The hearing continued with testimony on employee compensation, mental health, and human services. State employee and retiree groups supported the budget’s COLA and wildfire funding but objected to cuts in retiree health benefits. Behavioral health and public safety advocates supported mentoring, Trueblood-related funding, crisis stabilization, and the Recovery Navigator Program, while others opposed reductions to those programs and to community-based recovery services. In human services, witnesses thanked the committee for funding victim services, child welfare supports, health homes, adult day care, community health centers, energy assistance, and disability services, while urging the committee to avoid further reductions to skilled nursing, case management, and recovery navigation. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• education students within the DOC and those pursuing other types of educational programming, but we
• education students within the DOC and those pursuing other types of educational programming, but we
• education students within the DOC and those pursuing other types of educational programming, but we
• education students within the DOC and those pursuing other types of educational programming, but we
• education students within the DOC and those pursuing other types of educational programming, but we

Bills: HF3006 , HF2130 , HF1290

Committee: House Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• Speaker, if I know that many home education families believe that current home education requirements
• Speaker, if I know that many home education families believe that current home education requirements
• Representative Hall said that many home education families believe current home education requirements
• </c> even in cases of manifest educational even in cases of manifest educational hardship,<01:04:40.760
• </c> for educators remain significant. for educators remain significant.