Transcript Highlights:

• We did not see universal early childhood education.
• So I want to first talk about the education budget.
• Florida choose what education they want for their children, and 80% of those parents What education they
• We're not educating people like they should be.
• Authorizes the State Board of Education and Board of Governors to amend the list of general education

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Lawrence definitely shows up for education and early education.
• Department of Education, reckless withholding of federal education funding, firing of our federal education
• I know that I am blessed to have been born to parents that were both educators.
• education.
• And so when folks keep coming saying, hey, this is education, education, education, it is, you're having

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Ways and Means

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The hearing was a Joint Committee on Ways and Means budget session held in Lawrence focused on the governor’s proposed FY27 education and local aid budget, with remarks from legislative co-chairs, local officials, and education agency leaders. Acting Mayor Giovanni Rodriguez and Superintendent Ralph Carrero emphasized Lawrence’s high-need student population, the importance of Chapter 70 and Student Opportunity Act funding, and the impact of state aid on schools serving many English learners and low-income families. Carrero highlighted Lawrence High School programs such as early college, dual degrees, career pathways, and early childhood classrooms embedded in the high school, while lawmakers introduced themselves and noted the importance of the hearing to their districts. Acting Secretary of Education Amy Kershaw, Commissioner of Higher Education Noi Ortega, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Pedro Martinez, and Commissioner of Early Education and Care Amy Kershaw outlined the administration’s FY27 priorities. They described investments in literacy initiatives, universal school meals, student mental health, early college and career pathways, higher education affordability, community college and university student-success supports, preschool expansion, child care subsidies, and workforce supports for early educators. The commissioners also discussed federal funding threats, equity gaps, and the administration’s efforts to improve outcomes for Black and brown students, multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and low-income students. Members questioned the panel about the local contribution formula study, the final year of Student Opportunity Act implementation, and the need to revisit Chapter 70 funding to better address rising costs such as special education, transportation, and health care. Officials said the local contribution study report is expected by the end of June, with a draft to be shared after data analysis and public comment. Commissioner Martinez said the Student Opportunity Act narrowed funding gaps but more work is needed, and he pointed to a proposed Accelerating Achievement Initiative to support the highest-need schools. Senator Oliveira also raised concerns about Chapter 70 disparities and asked about partnerships with libraries to support literacy, prompting discussion of broader early literacy collaboration.

Transcript Highlights:

• It doesn't tell parents what diapers to choose.
• Today, parents are often left... I'm seeding my time, John. Okay.
• Parents know what's in their baby food. They should know what's in their child's diaper.
• As a parent, thank you, author. There is a major policy intern with Ms.
• When I asked parents that same question, they say 10 to 20%.

Committee: Senate Environmental Quality

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is the Idaho Student Safety and Educator Disclosure Act.
• This will probably go to the Education Committee, most likely.
• You see just definitional things about parents on page three.
• And so the parents say, no, you can't treat my child.
• And some minors do get parental consent, and I think we can all agree that's ideal.

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Summary: The Senate State Affairs Committee heard several print hearings and gubernatorial appointments, with most early legislation advancing without opposition. RS 33743, the Idaho Student Safety and Educator Disclosure Act, would require school applicants to disclose past investigations or disciplinary actions and require prior employers to respond; RS 33744 would move certain federally qualified and rural health center scope-of-practice rate changes into code; RS 33721 would extend certain state endowment land commercial leases from 49 to 99 years; and RS 33660 would expand disclosure requirements for paid signature gatherers and paid candidate advocates. All four RS measures were sent to print. The committee also heard from and later resumed testimony on several gubernatorial reappointments, including Jerry Doppie to the Endowment Fund Investment Board, Skip Smeiser to the Lottery Commission, and Nicaela Black Abrams to the Racing Commission; those votes were deferred to a later meeting. House Bill 674, which would remove the Public Utilities Commission’s role in reviewing certain telecommunications service discontinuances and rely on the FCC process instead, drew significant testimony. The sponsor and telecom representatives said it would eliminate a duplicative state process and speed broadband and infrastructure investment while preserving FCC protections. Opponents, including former telecom workers and a trial lawyers representative, warned it could leave rural copper-line customers and emergency users without adequate service or local oversight. After questions about the federal language and whether the bill might invert the current review process, the committee voted to hold HB 674 subject to the call of the chair. The committee also advanced Senate Bill 1391, a technical fix preserving lawful entry authority for publicly employed land surveyors, and Senate Bill 1389, which would provide liability protection for churches, grange halls, and other property owners who voluntarily serve as polling places. HB 860, revising the medical parental rights law and related emergency treatment and hotline provisions, received supportive testimony from the Idaho Medical Association, a teen advocate, and the 988 crisis hotline director, and was sent to the 14th order for possible amendment. HB 549, which would remove property-owner signatures from petitions to dissolve hospital taxing districts, drew divided testimony: supporters said the current process is unworkable in places like McCall, while the Idaho Hospital Association urged a higher threshold and warned of inconsistency with other district laws. The committee voted to send HB 549 to the 14th order for possible amendment.

Transcript Highlights:

• We started our public hearing in the Joint Committee on Education.
• I'm the founder and leader of Parent Data Force.
• I'm the founder and leader of Parent Data Force.
• Um, Joey Ford, founder and leader of Parent Data Force.
• Joey Ford, founder and leader of Parent Data Force.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Education

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held a public hearing on H.5171, an act relative to safer schools, and H.3895, which would expand career and technical education opportunities for Lynn students. The chair outlined short testimony limits and noted the hearing was livestreamed. Most of the discussion centered on H.5171 and the role of school resource officers (SROs) in schools. Witnesses from the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee and the CPCS Education Law Project supported H.5171, arguing it would limit SRO involvement to serious criminal conduct, reduce school-to-prison-pipeline harms, and encourage restorative justice, de-escalation, and anti-bias practices. They described examples of students with disabilities being arrested or disciplined in ways they said reflected misunderstandings of disability-related behavior. Committee members asked about real-world school safety concerns, including gang activity and weapons in schools, and the witnesses responded that the bill would not eliminate SROs but would better define their role and improve training. A parent advocate, Joey Ford, testified neutrally on H.5171, saying over-criminalization in schools often stems from district discipline practices, restraint and seclusion, and inconsistent DESE oversight, not only from SROs. On H.3895, Ford spoke in favor of expanding CTE, saying such programs helped him succeed and stay engaged in school. After testimony concluded, the committee closed testimony on both bills and then adjourned without taking any votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're talking education today, obviously.
• We're talking education today, obviously.
• So these special needs kids are being basically educated by their parents, and it is saving the state
• In the OPE study, it said they surveyed the parents, and 73% of the parents admitted they would not be
• In the OPE study, it said they surveyed the parents, and 73% of the parents admitted they would not be

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee first approved a technical correction to the Health and Welfare Division of Licensing and Certification budget, restoring 2 FTP that had been cut in error while leaving funding intact. The committee then adopted language extending the deadline for Medicaid’s state plan amendments and waivers related to the move to comprehensive managed care, after discussion of delays tied to the MMIS procurement and litigation. Both items received do-pass recommendations. The committee next considered Public School Support, beginning with a FY 2026 supplemental for the Division of Student Support to add $7.8 million in federal spending authority so schools can access full federal grant allocations. That supplemental passed. For FY 2027, members debated several competing motions on the Student Support Division budget, including proposals to reduce classified staff funding, add health insurance funding, and cut virtual school-related funding. After multiple failed motions, the committee ultimately approved a motion reducing the general fund by $14,751,600, including a $3 million reduction to virtual school discretionary funding, and adopted related language. Additional language was also approved to require reporting on virtual enrollments, shift English learner funding from central services to direct LEA distribution, modify technology curriculum contract requirements, require special education expenditure reporting, and reduce transportation funding by $7.5 million by undoing a prior statutory change. The committee then turned to the Idaho Digital Learning Academy. After extensive debate over alleged double-funding, rural access, and the absence of a policy bill, members rejected a larger $15 million reduction and then approved a smaller $13,500 reduction tied to the pending policy bill’s fiscal note. They also adopted language restricting PCIF access, requiring compliance reporting on DEI-related courses, and requesting a detailed report on IDLA expenditures, enrollments, and usage, including synchronous versus asynchronous instruction and course-level data by LEA. The meeting ended with notice that the committee would next take up the Secretary of State budget and trailer bills, with an additional 7:30 a.m. meeting before the Monday session.

Transcript Highlights:

• Another parent described the loss of her son.
• I wish I could read aloud every one of the over 80 letters that I've received from parents.
• I also want to welcome and thank all the parents who are with us this very day.
• Your heartbreaking witnesses this morning, mothers and parents who've lost a kid.
• Office of the Department of Related Substances Abuse Education and best practices on this education in

Bills: SB331

Committee: Senate Senate Judiciary

Keywords: fentanyl, controlled substances, drug trafficking, public health, research regulations, law enforcement, S-331, Halt All Lethal Trafficking and Fentanyl Act, fentanyl crisis, public testimony, drug legislation, bipartisan support

Summary: In this committee meeting, the focus was primarily on S-331, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking and Fentanyl Act, aimed at addressing the fentanyl crisis. The bill's key components include making permanent the class scheduling of fentanyl-related substances, confirming existing sentencing penalties, and easing registration requirements for scientific research on Schedule I substances. Numerous parents shared heartbreaking testimonies about their losses due to fentanyl, which fueled an urgent call to pass the legislation without alterations. The committee members engaged in passionate discussions highlighting the urgency of the situation as overdoses continue to claim American lives.

Transcript Highlights:

• And I know we're trying to bring parents in education, but I think this is a really good start, and I
• I really feel bad that it's all about education.
• And so this also is such a parental responsibility, and we've got to get parents involved.
• We've got to start making parents responsible and finding the parents if their child isn't obeying the
• These parents have never been on a bike before.

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Which one do parents believe? Do they believe the ACIP, which you're taking out?
• Parents need to understand you are not getting the full story from the state of New Mexico, Mr.
• President, this bill does not change any exemption that parents can apply for.
• The man, the myth, the physical education teacher is what we called him.
• When we talk about the boarding school era, those are my parents.

Transcript Highlights:

• 84,000 educators.
• in Education proposal.
• </c><01:31:23.920><c> education</c> will share equitably an educ education will share equitably an educ
• benefits and therefore further assure all Minnesota pupils and their parents freedom of choice in education
• benefits and therefore further assure all Minnesota pupils and their parents freedom of choice in education

Committee: House Education Finance

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Considering, you know, the way in which education is a protective factor.
• I didn't get the right education they needed.
• world with low education and expected to be perfect people of society.
• And then we also, many courts access educational advocates.
• Parents and guardians are in the workforce, and it's strengthening our economy.

Summary: The committee began with a work session on juvenile rehabilitation institution capacity, services, and staffing. DCYF Assistant Secretary Jennifer Redmond described overcrowding at Green Hill School and Echo Glen, driven by longer adult-style sentences extending past age 25, limited community placements, and small facility sizes. She said Green Hill remains above safe operating capacity, but staffing, injuries, large-scale aggression, and use-of-force incidents have improved over the past year. She also discussed Harbor Heights, a new 46-bed flex facility that had opened with 22 youth and would expand once a medical trailer arrives, as well as community transition services, vocational programming, behavior management reforms, and a request for more resources for mental health-focused facilities and staffing. Members asked about success metrics, developmental disability screening and supports, college access at Echo Glen, Mission Creek planning, and gender-responsive programming; Redmond said JR uses assessments, family involvement, and specialized living units, and that some requested funding had already been secured for returning a girls’ program at Echo Glen. The committee then heard from Team Child and the Youth Action Coalition. Greta Schultz said youth perspectives should guide system reforms and identified key concerns: overuse of sentence extensions, underuse of community transition services, continued criminal referrals from Green Hill to Lewis County, limited family contact, inadequate mental health access, and unequal education opportunities, especially for young women at Echo Glen. Justella Gonzalez, a former system-involved youth, said her time in county and state facilities was harmful, with staff mistreatment, poor education, limited therapy access, and humiliating restraint practices; she also said girls at Echo Glen lacked the same college opportunities as boys at Green Hill. Committee members asked for follow-up on county versus state experiences and on telehealth mental health services. The next presentation covered county-level services for youth involved or at risk of involvement with the justice system, led by juvenile court administrators Christine Simon-Smeyer and Judge Rachel Anderson. They outlined the juvenile court continuum from prevention and truancy work through diversion, detention alternatives, community supervision, and disposition alternatives, emphasizing evidence-based, trauma-informed, and restorative practices. Clark County was used as an example of a court that partners closely with schools and community providers, uses risk assessments and wraparound behavioral health probation, and offers detention alternatives without electronic home monitoring. They said most courts do not use detention for status offenses, but instead use court involvement to connect youth to services. They also described funding, noting that courts rely on a mix of state block grant and local dollars, and that recent cuts to early intervention funding reduced programming and staff hours. Members asked about detention for truancy, developmental disability identification, restorative justice practices, and the juvenile block grant. Finally, DCYF Assistant Secretary Nicole Rose and Katie Warren of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECAP discussed child care and early learning impacts from recent policy and budget changes. Rose said Fair Start for Kids investments had increased child care access, provider participation, and kindergarten readiness, with more than 60,000 children in Working Connections care and rising ECAP enrollment and provider capacity. She said recent reductions will raise most family copays in 2026, delay eligibility expansions, eliminate some expanded eligibility categories, reduce ECAP slots by about 3,000, delay entitlement timelines, and cut provider supports such as rate increases for centers, complex-needs grants, trauma-informed and dual-language incentives, and infant/early childhood mental health consultation. Warren emphasized ECAP’s role in family stability, workforce participation, and reducing poverty, and noted its two-generation approach to supporting both children and parents.

Transcript Highlights:

• I didn't elaborate earlier, but I briefly mentioned Innovate and Educate.
• Education services. So they certainly could be eligible for all of those services.
• teens, so they'll be taking care of both the moms and parents and the babies.
• They have counselors and they do education and different activities through APS.
• But there's also lots of education that happens throughout the evening in addition to that.

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Training and education.
• And no parent in this world...
• It's the difference between education and none at all.
• cost for a special education student was $13,825.
• special education transportation.

Bills: S2743 , S2861 , S3021

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

Keywords: domestic violence, police training, suspicious deaths, homicide investigation, victim support, school bus safety, commission, student safety, operator training, safety standards, Legislative oversight, public health, student transportation, school bus, school pupil transportation, pupil transport, child passenger safety, school van, transportation contractor, motor vehicle safety

Transcript Highlights:

• I too am a parent to a 24-year-old. I'm going to call them my... I am a parent to a 24-year-old.
• is involved in parents.
• So those parents obviously fall into that category.
• So those parents obviously fall into that category.
• Parents who are otherwise good parents are leaving drugs around.

Keywords: 970, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> from</c><00:22:54.080><c> Executive</c> education, House Bill 90 from Executive education, House
• </c> just talked about, special education just talked about, special education services.<00:32:40.640
• ><c> system</c><00:33:38.399><c> the</c> and the educational system the and the educational system the
• </c> scores on professional education scores on professional education assessments.<00:45:15.200><c>
• They don't educational specialists.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It is fair and only fair to a parent to be able to have that right.
• As part of my work, I represent parents in dependency cases.
• This child is thriving in her parents' care.
• Parents are accused of abuse and presumed guilty.
• But this bill gives parents a chance to correct that.

Transcript Highlights:

• Licensed physicians and nurses must complete a one-time, two-hour board-approved continuing education
• of children and parents alike.
• Senate Bill 606, drowning prevention education, which passed unanimously through all of its assigned
• educators.
• It tasks the Florida Department of Health with developing... ...birthing educators.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and observed a moment of silence for former Senator Charlie Dean. The chamber also received several introductions, including guests from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and visiting Polk County students. After routine business, the Senate took up a special order calendar, temporarily postponing several bills including measures on Citizens Property Insurance, artificial intelligence, public records, and data centers. The Senate then passed a series of bills, most by unanimous or near-unanimous votes. Approved measures included SB 198/HB 505 on virtual currency kiosks, which creates registration, disclosure, transaction-limit, warning, receipt, and fraud-refund requirements; SB 382 on electric bicycles, which adds pedestrian-yield rules, speed limits near pedestrians, and creates a micro-mobility safety task force; SB 844 on sickle cell disease continuing education for certain health professionals; and SB 1014 on municipal utility service, which bars cities from denying water or wastewater service outside city limits solely because the owner refuses annexation. Each of these bills was explained by the sponsoring senator, amended as needed, and passed on recorded votes. The Senate also passed SB 428, expanding the state swimming lesson voucher program from ages 0-4 to ages 1-7 and adding drowning-prevention education for new parents through a merged amendment with related language; senators from both parties spoke in support, emphasizing child safety and autism-related drowning risks. Additional bills passed included SB 540 on Office of Financial Regulation cybersecurity and oversight changes, SB 1440 on related public-records and cybersecurity exemptions, and SB 1594 to protect veterans’ benefits received on behalf of foster children by directing those funds toward post-secondary education or aftercare rather than agency reimbursement. Final votes were largely 36-0 or 37-0, with SB 1440 passing 35-1. At the end of the session, the Rules Chair moved to waive rules so all bills passed that day would be immediately certified to the House and all temporarily postponed bills would remain on the special order calendar. The Senate then adjourned until the next morning for committee meetings and other business.

Transcript Highlights:

• User education by social media services related to the new requirements in the bill.
• And the problem we are trying to solve is not to shut down parents from being able to post their kids
• to monetize access to your children on the internet. ...a parent to monetize access to your children
• ' rights to post pictures of their children... ...big fight between parents' rights to post pictures
• I am somebody who has felt the impact of a parent who has passed away far too soon from lung cancer.

Bills: HB2439 , HB2483 , HB2400

Committee: House Consumer Protection & Business

Keywords: public health, tobacco regulation, smoking cessation, vapor products, health policy, youth prevention, data broker, registry, consumer protection, privacy, data regulation, social media, content creation, online platforms, digital marketing, user-generated content, 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• line 24, which says, including care, education, and... ...line 24, which says, including care, education
• The education aspect of it is very troublesome to me.
• If these are not qualified educators that are in there or trained educators, to me, that raises some
• What happened to the parental impact on that child's life?
• Senate Education will meet in Room 311 at 9 o'clock tomorrow.

Summary: The Senate debated and passed Senate Bill 241, a child care assistance measure. Opponents raised concerns about the bill’s education requirements, residency definitions, sustainability if oil and gas revenues decline, fraud and misuse of funds, staffing needs for unannounced inspections, liability insurance, and whether the state would be left covering costs in a shortfall. Supporters argued the bill reflects the reality of working families, would expand access to child care, and includes guardrails and a five-year funding plan. After debate, the Senate passed the Senate Finance Committee substitute for SB 241, as amended, by a vote of 25-15. The chamber then received House messages announcing passage of several House bills and referred them to committees: HB 63 on water project funding to Senate Conservation, HB 64 on appropriations to Senate Finance, HB 165 on industrial revenue bond lease assessments to Senate Tax, Business and Transportation, HB 285 on disabled veteran property tax exemptions to Senate Tax, Business and Transportation, HB 184 on the Conservation Legacy Permanent Fund to Senate Finance, and HB 291 on a range of tax and revenue changes to Senate Tax, Business and Transportation. Senate Memorial 30, requesting a study of safety and maintenance issues on U.S. Highway 491, was introduced and referred to Senate Rules. During announcements, members outlined upcoming committee meetings, including Rules, Tax, Business and Transportation, Education, Finance, Conservation, and others. The Senate also discussed the upcoming 100th Bill Party and related social events. The body then recessed until 11 a.m. the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• The law today states that a parent Oh, a second. It's out of you here.
• States that the parent—I was not a parent that signed on for him to have this motorcycle.
• No driver education now for an auto—you have to do in 2006 they increased the driver education from 30
• Ten of those hours a parent has to be directly involved.
• they increased the driver education from uh 30 hours to 70 hours 10 of those hours a parent has to be

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Transportation

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Transportation held a hybrid hearing on 41 bills covering accessibility, motorcycles, vehicle operation, and water transportation. The chair and vice chair outlined the hearing process and noted the committee members present. Testimony was taken in person and remotely, with written testimony accepted throughout the hearing. Several bills drew testimony in support. Representative Lee Davis supported H. 4130, which would renew and expand the accelerated bridge program, arguing it would speed repairs to structurally deficient bridges, especially in rural areas, and reduce long-term costs. Testimony also supported H. 4402 and S. 2639, which would authorize automated curb enforcement and improve parking violation procedures; witnesses said automated curb management could reduce double parking, improve safety and traffic flow, and should include privacy protections and local opt-in authority. The committee also heard strong testimony for S. 2611, which would require motor coach passengers to wear seatbelts, with witnesses from Sarah’s Wish Foundation citing a fatal crash involving their daughter and low seatbelt usage on buses. Senator O’Connor and Vincent DeAndrea testified for S. 2430, which would tighten motorcycle permit rules for drivers under 18 by requiring rider training, a junior operator’s license, and a clean driving record; they cited teen crash risks and Mr. DeAndrea’s son’s death in a motorcycle crash. The hearing ended after a brief recess and a final request to report out another bill concerning breakdown lanes and fines, followed by a motion to adjourn.