Transcript Highlights:

• SO, AAA I THINK JUST HAD SOME LEARNING CURVE ISSUES TO DEAL WITH GETTING THEY HAVE A LOT MORE SCHOLARSHIPS
• ADDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.
• WE HAVE MADE THE STATUTORY REQUIRED PAYMENTS TO THE SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS, THE SCHOLARSHIP
• HAVE PREPARED A MATCH FOR A STUDENT SCHEDULED TO RECEIVE A SCHOLARSHIP PAYMENT, WE ARE ASKING SCHOLARSHIP
• AND WE HAVE LEARNED A LOT.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then finally early learnings pro early Learning Programs Estimating Conference address is 2 programs
• scholarship funding organizations by recent conference practice.
• The the scholarships are going to continue to grow during that The the scholarships are going to continue
• That's a forecast on scholarship numbers as well.
• So what kind of forecasts in in line with the scholarships.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is about 69% of the early learning budget vpk 25% and so forth.
• But a total of about 1.7 billion dollar budget for early learning.
• The family's engaged with my first thought in mind is is any sort of early childhood early learning.
• We also have the division of early learning.
• And the early learning coalitions located throughout our state to also inform early edge, early learning

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> minimum of one teaching and learning minimum of one teaching and learning career<00:09:46.640><c
• uh pathway as the teaching and learning uh pathway as early<00:20:05.360><c> as</c><00:20:05.520><c>
• ><c> about</c> learning about pedigogy, learning about learning about pedigogy, learning about best<00
• Up next, Senator Thomas. scholarship. So, um, that's I I think I scholarship.
• </c> to work and and work-based learning. to work and and work-based learning.

Committee: Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• to read; after the third grade, they're reading to learn.
• And so if you never properly learn how to read, how can you read to learn?
• You're learning how to encode and decode language. You're learning what sounds letters make when...
• Learning how to read. You're learning how to encode and decode language.
• How can you even go about learning when you don't know how to read?

Committee: House A&B Education Subcommittee

Transcript Highlights:

• The speaker then asked, so no scholarships?
• The question was what scholarships the federal government gives away.
• This is not about scholarships. This isn't about Pell.
• This is not about scholarships. This isn't about Pell.
• I don't... maybe scholarships." "I believe you did say that.

Committee: House Higher Education and Workforce Development

Summary: The Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development heard two bills. House Bill 3221, sponsored by Rep. Castile, would bar state funds from supporting higher education degree programs that the federal government designates as low-earning, with the Coordinating Board for Higher Education reviewing the federal list and reporting impacts. The sponsor framed it as taxpayer accountability and return on investment, while many committee members and witnesses argued it was premature, lacked data, and could harm essential but lower-paid fields such as education, social work, early childhood education, counseling, and the arts. Supporters said the bill would mirror federal policy and affect only a small number of programs; opponents warned it could discourage universities from offering needed programs and would not account for long-term career outcomes or transferable skills. No vote was taken, and the sponsor said the bill was still a work in progress. Testimony in support of HB 3221 came from a lobbyist for FGA Action and others who said federal law is already moving in this direction and cited a small number of affected programs. Opposition came from representatives of independent colleges, community colleges, and other witnesses who said the federal rules are still being developed, the earnings test is based on a limited snapshot, and some low-wage programs serve important workforce needs or lead to later advancement. Several members asked for more information on the federal list, the number and demographics of affected students, and possible unintended consequences for rural schools and workforce development. The committee then heard House Bill 3416, sponsored by Rep. Bosley, which would create the Strengthening HBCUs Fund and direct a portion of gaming and classroom trust revenues to Lincoln University and Harris-Stowe State University for capital improvements and related support. The sponsor said the bill is intended to address historic underfunding of HBCUs and align Missouri with similar efforts in other states and at the federal level. Lincoln University President John Mosley testified in support, describing recent growth, major campus projects, and the need for additional infrastructure funding without increasing debt. Committee members asked about the funding amounts, whether Lincoln receives any special state support, and how the money would be distributed. No opposition testimony was heard, and the committee adjourned after the HB 3416 hearing without taking a vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• Scholarship granting organizations would then distribute the scholarships to families for a number of
• ><c> available</c><01:02:26.960><c> for</c> The scholarships would be available for The scholarships
• </c><01:08:52.719><c> tax</c> cover with these scholarship tax cover with these scholarship tax credits
• </c> find someone to create a scholarship find someone to create a scholarship granting<01:09:58.480>
• The scholarship granting organizations set their own parameters as far as the scholarships that will

Summary: The House convened with an invocation and pledge, established a quorum, approved the prior journal, and received committee reports on several bills. Reported measures included House Bills 1 and 2 from Appropriations and Revenue, along with bills on animal control officers, emergency services revenue, postsecondary education, proactive postsecondary admission, vehicle lights, motor vehicle operation, motor vehicle dealers, and machine gun conversion devices. The chamber also took up Senate Bills 52 and 124 for concurrence, and House Bill 1 was moved from rules to the orders of the day for immediate action. The House then considered House Bill 568, which would regulate public adjusters by prohibiting new licenses, allowing renewals for current licensees, imposing conflict-of-interest and contract requirements, capping fees at 5%, and barring adjusters from negotiating claims. Supporters described it as a consumer-protection measure responding to complaints and investigations, especially after recent storm-related exploitation. The bill passed overwhelmingly, 95-1. The House next debated House Bill 1, which would opt Kentucky into the federal education freedom tax credit program and authorize the Secretary of State to administer the state’s participation without using state general funds. Supporters argued it would bring federal scholarship dollars into Kentucky for K-12 students, including public school students, and could generate significant private donations for scholarship-granting organizations. Opponents raised concerns about shifting resources away from public education, the speed of the process, and a proposed waiver of Eleventh Amendment immunity. A motion to table the bill failed by a wide margin, and members continued debating the bill and its implications for public schools and state sovereignty.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair, Representative Brown, virtual learning obviously has a Mr.
• Chair, this is a lesson learned from COVID. Okay, very good.
• And then lower on G, early childhood education, ADM, or early childhood education, M-EM, means full-time
• equivalent students approved early-time.
• 12 learning program, you can't offer fifth grade next year.

Bills: HB253 , HB153 , HB255 , HB287 , HB371 , SB151 , HB8 , SB177

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Keywords: distance learning, virtual instruction, public education, student enrollment, school funding, education standards, pandemic education response, low-carbon construction, construction materials, rebate, environmental product declaration, EPD, embodied carbon, carbon intensity, greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonization, industrial incentives, clean manufacturing, cement, concrete

Transcript Highlights:

• And so, you know, as I'm learning more about this, I'm certainly welcoming the opportunity to kind of
• I mean, he's really—he made an entire day or two out of, let's learn everything we can about what we.
• We made an entire day or two out of, let's learn everything we can about what we... so we can be surgical

Bills: SB151 , HB8 , SB177 , HB253 , HB153 , HB255 , HB287 , HB371 , SB151 , HB8 , SB177

Committees: Senate Senate Finance , Senate House Appropriations & Finance

Keywords: corporate income tax, franchise tax, gross receipts tax, tax credit, tax deduction, controlled foreign corporation, CFC, bonus depreciation, interest expense, apportionment, unitary group, high-wage jobs tax credit, local journalism, news media, newspaper printer, physician incentive, health care workforce, affordable housing, multifamily housing, construction materials

Transcript Highlights:

• So I would just want to learn more about that and the rest of these aspects of it because I think there
• and the stress and the depression that they're seeing and feeling and how that's impacting their learning

Bills: HB2073 , HB2403 , HB2587 , HB2607 , HB1170 , HB1570 , HB1710 , HB1750 , HB1834 , HB2441

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: health insurance, premium assistance, funding, healthcare, subsidies, failure to register, criminal justice, registration requirements, public safety, law enforcement, nonprofit, grant funding, pilot program, financial support, community development, child care, childcare, subsidy rates, rate regions, market rate survey

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm not going to be as learned as these other people.
• In early May 2019, our church received letters from the Dallas Central Appraisal District inquiring about

Bills: SB456 , SB826 , SB872 , SB957 , SB993 , SB1660 , SB2017 , SB2611 , SB2785 , SB2794 , SB442

Committee: House Criminal Jurisprudence

Keywords: human organs, criminal penalties, physician license, medical ethics, illegal trade, SB 826, Texas, DWI, driving while intoxicated, intoxicated driving, school crossing zone, school zone, reduced speed limit, traffic safety, child safety, pedestrian safety, felony DWI, state jail felony, Penal Code Section 49.04, Transportation Code Section 541.302

Bills: HB207 , HB235 , HB324 , HB449 , HB463 , HB502 , HB 1121 , HB1445 , HB1465 , HB1778 , HB1977 , HB2000 , HB2066 , HB2596 , HB207 , HB235

Committee: House Criminal Jurisprudence

Keywords: child protection, sexual offenses, obscenity laws, visual material, anatomically correct dolls, mannequins, robots, criminal offenses, sexually explicit material, minors, artificial intelligence, sexually explicit, doll, mannequin, robot, law enforcement, healthcare, insurance, affordable care, access

Transcript Highlights:

• During the course of the investigation, what they learned was that he had also raped his other sister
• And here's what I learned: the primary intent was to ignore.
• But then they got older and they learned, no, this was bad, it shouldn't happen.
• I know we're ready to conclude the hearing kind of early today for a criminal jurisprudence hearing to
• I think we all learned a lot about the issues. I agree, and I did as well. Thank you, Chairman.

Bills: HB207 , HB235 , HB324 , HB449 , HB463 , HB502 , HB 1121 , HB1445 , HB1465 , HB1778 , HB1977 , HB2000 , HB2066 , HB2596 , HB207 , HB235

Committee: House Criminal Jurisprudence

Keywords: child protection, sexual offenses, obscenity laws, visual material, anatomically correct dolls, mannequins, robots, criminal offenses, sexually explicit material, minors, artificial intelligence, sexually explicit, doll, mannequin, robot, law enforcement, healthcare, insurance, affordable care, access

Transcript Highlights:

• Would you learn to tell us your new credentials over there? Credentials?
• There is a current ballot measure being proposed to attack the scholarship funds and confiscate the scholarship
• We don't know if they're learning or not. We can guess.
• I think we need to ensure that they're learning.
• And if they're learning, that's a different conversation.

Bills: HCR2048

Committee: Senate Appropriations, Transportation and Technology

Transcript Highlights:

• So students who attend those colleges seek out that scholarship.
• So students who attend those colleges seek out that scholarship.
• learning, pre-K through 12, and mostly in higher education.
• learning pre-K through 12 and mostly in higher education.
• We had our kickoff meeting in early November, which was excellent.

Summary: The committee held a work session on the state of Washington’s community and technical college system with State Board executive director Nate Humphrey and Tacoma Community College president Ivan Harrell. They described the system’s open-access mission, 34 colleges serving more than 307,000 students, relatively low tuition, enrollment growth over 12 consecutive quarters, and strong outcomes such as more than 46,000 credentials awarded last year. They also highlighted system initiatives including guided pathways, I-BEST, dual enrollment, tribal partnerships, a new program search tool, and six colleges named Aspen Prize finalists. At the same time, they emphasized major challenges: high rates of student food, housing, and homelessness insecurity; sharply rising emergency aid requests; and federal funding disruptions affecting TANF, BFET, adult basic education, Carl Perkins, NOAA-related tribal work, and several federal grants. Members asked about SNAP impacts, declining high school graduates, and how BFET and TANF interact with other aid programs. The presenters also discussed system priorities such as AI, Workforce Pell, capital planning, nursing accreditation alignment, and the Washington College Grant. The committee then heard testimony from AFT Washington and the Washington Association of Higher Education on faculty and staff conditions in the community and technical college system. Jackie Kane and Suzanne Sutherland argued that classified staff, professional staff, and contingent faculty are essential to student success but face low pay, instability, and weak retention, and they urged lawmakers to protect existing funding and avoid further cuts. They said working conditions for faculty and staff are student learning conditions, and that underfunding leads to reduced services, shortened advising, and program instability. Marina Parr of the Workforce Board presented on federal H.R. 1’s new Workforce Pell provisions and the updated Career Bridge website. She explained that Workforce Pell would allow federal aid for short-term training programs of 8 to 15 weeks, with high completion, employment, and earnings thresholds and a requirement that credentials be stackable and portable. She said Washington is well positioned to implement the program because of its existing eligible training provider evaluation system and Career Bridge, which now has a redesigned public portal, digital portfolios, multilingual access, and performance data on programs. Members asked about rulemaking, possible gaps in state services, and how the wage and completion standards would be applied. The Washington Student Achievement Council then briefed the committee on the new Washington Completes FAFSA campaign created by executive order. Staff described an advisory board with statewide representation, a pilot that used microgrants and other supports at 25 priority schools, and a new goal of 46,000 FAFSA or WASFA completions this year. They reported that completion rates were tracking slightly ahead of last year, with 24% of high school seniors having completed a FAFSA by the end of November, and they showcased a public dashboard with subgroup data and a WIAA-based leaderboard. Members asked about outreach to rural and homeschool students, legislative communications, Pierce County representation, and barriers to FAFSA completion, and staff said they would provide toolkits and continue expanding outreach. The committee then began hearing from student presenters about affordability, access, equity, and student experience.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we've learned from that.
• So we've learned from that.
• , which is what the state of Texas has learned from.
• Society of Sisters in the early 1920s, the U.S.
• Now, as we look at the scholarship amounts, back when I was a kid, the scholarship I received was only

Bills: SB 2

Committees: Senate Education K-16 , Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Grants or scholarships for lower-earning degrees. So no scholarships?
• So, no scholarships? I mean, that's the conversation we're having, yeah.
• This is not about scholarships. This isn't about Pell.
• We're not talking about scholarships. We're not talking about loans. I don't—maybe scholarships.
• And I think, you know, where early childhood is concerned, it's different than Where early childhood

Committee: House Higher Education and Workforce Development

Transcript Highlights:

• She learns better when she comes back.
• Early school starts undercut this momentum.
• And question on the scholarships: Are these all funded by the state of Texas, the scholarships, or are
• after scholarship after scholarship, knowing that when I read toward the bottom of the requirements,
• Doe as a young lawyer in the early '70s.

Bills: SB1798 , SB1835 , SB1319 , SB2942 , SB2928 , SB784 , SB1049

Committees: Senate Education , Senate Education K-16

Summary: The committee heard several education bills, with most of the discussion focused on Senate Bill 1835, Senate Bill 784, Senate Bill 1049, Senate Bill 2942, and Senate Bill 2928. SB 1835 would raise from 5% to 20% the cap on nonresident students who can receive resident tuition and fees through competitive scholarships at certain regional universities in slower-growing workforce development areas, provided the schools have capacity as determined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Supporters, including West Texas A&M University, said the bill would help fill underused capacity, attract students who may stay and work in Texas, and support regional workforce needs. SB 784 would strengthen a prior law allowing peace officers’ children to transfer between public school districts for safety reasons by requiring both districts’ approval, making clear that districts of innovation are not exempt, and prohibiting tuition charges. SB 1049 would require districts and open-enrollment charters to excuse students, at a parent’s request, for religious release-time instruction for up to one hour per day and five hours per week; witnesses said the program is constitutional, voluntary, and already operating in other states and some Texas districts. Each of these bills was left pending after testimony, with no public witnesses opposing them. SB 2942 would expand and adjust the state’s adult charter high school pilot program. Senator Creighton said the bill is intended to help the estimated 7 million Texas adults without a high school diploma by removing barriers to expansion, aligning legal protections with ISDs, changing TEA’s disapproval window for expansion amendments to a 30-day period after receipt, and updating funding to reflect part-year attendance. A committee substitute kept the upper enrollment age at 50 and removed a proposed testing change. Testimony from New Heights students and leadership described the program as life-changing, emphasizing that it combines diplomas with career credentials, childcare, transportation, and other supports to help adults stabilize their families and enter better-paying work. TEA witnesses explained the expansion process and said adult charter schools are overseen by the commissioner rather than the SBOE. The committee substitute was adopted, public testimony closed, and the bill was left pending. SB 2928 would set a uniform school start date for public school districts at the third Wednesday in August, while preserving existing district-of-innovation flexibility for current DOI districts and allowing year-round systems to continue. Senator Creighton argued the bill would reduce the patchwork created by DOI exemptions, support students and families, and preserve summer employment and tourism revenue. A committee substitute was adopted. Testimony came largely from tourism, hospitality, and recreation interests, including hotel, water park, zoo, chamber of commerce, and camp representatives, who said later start dates would extend the summer travel season, improve staffing and revenue, and give students more opportunities for summer jobs and camps. Several witnesses cited large economic impacts from tourism and said early school starts reduce August business. Some senators raised concerns about charter schools being excluded and about year-round calendars, but the bill was left pending after testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• So they can see on the front end early enough in the process who is going to be receiving a scholarship
• scholarship.
• Scholarship.
• That scholarship program.
• scholarship.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> on our success open up our scholarship on our success open up our scholarship to<00:12:48.560><c
• My name is Keenan Jones. learning with the hopkins public schools learning with the hopkins public schools
• I would like to have teachers that look like me so I can learn about my history and learn about their
• about my history like me so i can learn about my history and<00:29:46.960><c> learn</c><00:29:47.200
• </c><00:29:53.600><c> about</c> to learn about to learn about our<00:29:55.360><c> culture</c><00:29:

Committee: House Education Finance

Summary: The Education Finance Committee met remotely on February 16, 2022, with a quorum present and approved the minutes from the previous day by voice vote. Chair Dabney said the committee was spending the week on public school staffing shortages, especially efforts to increase and retain BIPOC teachers, and introduced testimony on the Collaborative Urban and Greater Minnesota Educators of Color Grant Program (CUGMEC) and the broader Increasing Teachers of Color Act. Testifiers from St. Thomas, Augsburg, and Hopkins described the history and impact of the legacy educator-of-color programs. Kathleen Campbell said the original Q program was created to address underrepresentation, remove financial barriers, and provide mentorship and culturally relevant support; she argued that when the grant became competitive in 2017 without additional funding, support was spread too thin and student capacity dropped. Audrey Lensmeyer described Augsburg’s East African Student-to-Teacher Program, rooted in community advocacy in Cedar-Riverside, and said it has produced strong completion and licensure outcomes. Keenan Jones shared his path from paraprofessional to teacher and district leader, emphasizing the importance of scholarships, mentorship, and outreach to high school students, including a statewide co-enrollment Intro to Teaching course. Representative Hassan then presented House File 3079, saying the bill aims to attract, prepare, complete, and retain more teachers of color and American Indian teachers through several grant and program changes, including Closing the Educational Opportunity Gap grants, Cook Mac funding, teacher mentorship and retention updates, and revisions to CUGMEC. He said the bill responds to a severe shortage of BIPOC teachers and that the requested investment is small relative to the state surplus. Student and educator testimony followed, including a third-grade student from Crookston and Ava Roots, both of whom described the importance of having teachers who reflect students’ cultures and experiences. Natalia Benjamin, the 2021 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, also testified about retention challenges for educators of color and racialized workplace treatment. The committee indicated it intended to lay over HF 3079 for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill, and Representative Richardson moved the bill to be laid over for further consideration.