Transcript Highlights:

• to school.
• schools.
• schools.
• schools.
• schools.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• schools within the district.
• seeking employment in schools.
• school experience.
• And they say, you're not the only school. There's a bunch of schools without counselors.
• They go to a school or big schools, but we have to take care of those that are.

Summary: The Education Administration Subcommittee heard and advanced six bills. The first, PCS/HB 1073 by Rep. Koster, would give individual school board members timely, free access to district documents and budget information, require agendas and supporting materials to be kept as public records, and prohibit school districts from requiring or incentivizing nondisclosure agreements. Testimony from a Volusia County school board member and a former educator described difficulty obtaining records and concerns about NDAs; some members raised chain-of-command concerns, while others argued the bill was needed for transparency. The bill passed 15-3. The committee then approved HB 4049, a local bill for Jacksonville/Duval County that changes how the Duval County School Board’s attorney is selected, and OGSR/HB 7021, which extends and clarifies the public-records exemption for education examination and assessment instruments through 2031. HB 4049 passed 17-1 after debate over whether the board should use the city’s general counsel process; HB 7021 passed unanimously with no debate. Members also approved CS/HB 753 on school counselors, which removes certain certification barriers while keeping degree and counseling requirements in place and allows districts to choose whether to require the removed certificates. Supporters said the bill could help address counselor shortages and free counselors to focus on students; it passed 18-0. Finally, HB 157 created a School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program for D- and F-rated schools, using high-performing current or retired teachers as mentors with stipends funded from an existing allocation. Members discussed mentor limits, funding, and oversight, but the bill passed unanimously, 18-0. The meeting adjourned after committee members recognized visiting officials and students.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, what inspired me was, as a school board member, Representative Lopez, and you know as a school
• Such and such a date, I graduated from Lato High School, Alonso High School, or Sickles High School.
• As far as having a school nurse, I've worked in the school system for over 21 years as a teacher and
• to school district.
• School starts at 7:30.

Summary: The Pre-K through 12 Budget Subcommittee met during Budget Week and first considered three member bills. House Bill 1111, by Rep. Valdes, would eliminate the option for students to leave high school with a certificate of completion instead of a standard diploma. Valdes said the bill was inspired by students who met credit requirements but could not pass a required assessment, and argued the certificate does not provide access to college, trade school, or military service. The bill passed unanimously, 15-0. CS for House Bill 127, by Rep. Kendall, would support students with disabilities by using existing Florida Department of Education curriculum to create micro-credentials and coordinating with the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities and OSHA on workplace safety. Goodwill, the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, Florida PTA, and others supported the bill, which also passed unanimously, 15-0. House Bill 1367, by Rep. Booth, addressed chronic absenteeism by requiring statewide definitions and more uniform attendance reporting, along with rules for excused and unexcused absences and early identification of chronically absent students. Testimony emphasized inconsistent district policies and the need for clearer data and interventions. The bill passed 13-0, with some members noting concerns about implementation details and future rulemaking. The committee then took up PCB-P-PKB-2501, the proposed conforming bill for the fiscal year 2025-2026 Pre-K through 12 budget. The chair said the bill was designed to align statutes with budget and scholarship funding procedures, especially around the Florida Education Finance Program and scholarship payments. The PCB would require Florida student ID numbers for scholarship students, standardize cross-checking against FTE survey data, set quarterly payment dates, and use one data source for both reporting and withholding scholarship-related FFP amounts. It also would reduce certain add-on weights by 50%, remove the budget stabilization program, and repeal the educational enrollment stabilization program. Several members raised concerns that the add-on weight reductions could hurt career and technical education, AICE, IB, and CAPE programs, while the sponsor argued the data showed too much spending in an “other” category and that the reductions were aimed at aligning funding with actual program costs. Public testimony was mixed: some supported tighter accountability and clearer payment rules, while others warned against undermining expensive career-readiness programs. The PCB passed 11-2. After the conforming bill, the chair presented the proposed fiscal year 2025-2026 Pre-K through 12 budget, totaling just under $21 billion, about $400 million below the current year. She said the budget reflects a need to slow spending growth and includes $20 million for New Worlds Scholarship Accounts, $7 million for security grants at Jewish day schools and preschools, $14 million for public school transportation stipends, an overall FEFP increase of about $747.7 million, $100 million for teacher salary increases, and increases in the base student allocation and funds per student. The committee did not vote on the budget recommendation at this meeting; it was distributed for review and will move to the Budget Committee next week.

Transcript Highlights:

• schools serving grades K through 12.
• How are we doing in our schools?
• the operations of their schools.
• I know we have some high schools, or some school districts, that have a zero-fail policy.
• charter schools, and virtual schools.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The committee heard a lengthy presentation on the K-12 public school support budget, including how support units, career ladder funding, health insurance, discretionary funding, transportation, facilities, and the Public Education Stabilization Fund (PSIF) work. Legislative Services explained that FY 2026 support units were revised downward, creating a $22.3 million ongoing general fund reduction, and walked through the FY 2027 agency request and governor’s recommendation. The governor recommended no increase for population forecast adjustments, but did recommend some statutory and policy changes, including shifting certain interest earnings to the general fund and reducing funding for some virtual school and IDLA-related items. The agency request also included one-time proposals for a high-needs special education fund and a regional service model for related services. Members asked extensive questions about how career ladder dollars are distributed, how health insurance and discretionary funds interact, why the health insurance increase in the budget differed from current plan estimates, and how facilities money under House Bill 292 is used. There were also questions about the size and use of the Idaho Career Ready Students fund, the maintenance-of-effort implications of special education funding, and whether some special education costs are being used for student housing or other noninstructional expenses. The superintendent and budget staff emphasized that many of the budget lines are formula-driven or statutorily required, that local districts determine actual staffing and spending within those formulas, and that special education costs continue to outpace available funding. Superintendent Debbie Critchfield then framed the budget request around enrollment trends, shifting demographics, and the need for more flexibility in how districts use existing dollars. She highlighted proposed categorical flexibility for some funds, changes to digital content and curriculum distribution, continued literacy gains, growth in career technical education programs funded through Idaho Career Ready Students, and the importance of endowment and Millennium Fund support. She also described the special education proposals as a temporary bridge while the state considers larger formula changes and noted a near $100 million gap between special education spending and funding. She further outlined planned federal waiver requests on assessments and flexibility, and said the department is seeking more state control over testing and reporting requirements. The committee did not take final action on the budget during this portion of the meeting. Members raised concerns about interest transfers from dedicated funds, the complexity of the funding formula, special education accountability, and whether the state should revisit the overall school funding model. Several follow-up data requests were made, including information on health insurance participation, regional special education service needs, and school contingency fund balances.

Transcript Highlights:

• , private school.
• And again, these out-of-school time programs fund programs at schools, so before and after school programming
• charter schools.
• And again, it's a mix of school district, charter schools who may be applying for out-of-school time
• school district or charter school.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> our schools and are in our school our schools and are in our school communities<01:25:20.000><c>
• </c><04:28:40.040><c> I</c> school and going to a public school I school and going to a public school
• schools or private schools or home education and back into the school sometimes moving back and forth
• or school.
• :39.958><c> school</c> anything before the school TR the school anything before the school TR the school

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first addressed House Bill 415, which would remove the requirement that schools provide menstrual products. Members supporting an ITL said the mandate was unfunded, had been in place since 2019, and was already working without complaints from districts. Other members opposed the bill, arguing menstrual products are essential and that the requirement helps students, especially those with fewer resources. The committee voted ITL on HB 415 by a roll call of 17 yeas, 0 nays. The committee then took up House Bill 388, concerning public reports on special education. Supporters of ITL said they agreed with the goal of transparency but were concerned about student privacy, especially in small districts, and thought the bill’s information requests went too far. They noted that related issues could potentially be addressed in another bill, HB 557. The committee voted ITL on HB 388, 17-0. House Bill 730, which would require schools and some colleges to provide information on adoption, was also moved ITL. The sponsor said adoption is personally important to him but that the bill was not the right vehicle and involved entities such as colleges and the Attorney General unnecessarily; he said related ideas might be folded into other bills later. The committee agreed and voted ITL, 17-0. The committee then discussed House Bill 671, a preschool/early literacy proposal involving a statewide nonprofit digital program, likely Waterford. Members raised questions about who would be covered, data privacy, prior use of federal ESSER funds, whether the program had measurable results, and whether the bill’s nonprofit requirement was too restrictive. Department of Education witness Melissa White said the state had spent $400,000 in FY22 and $600,000 in FY23 on a Waterford contract using ARP ESSER funds, but she did not have participant counts and said the department could not measure literacy gains for that population. She also said the bill’s funding level would likely require an RFP and that, if enacted as written, the program would probably still be Waterford-based. The discussion continued without a final vote in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• school employee.
• , private school, charter school, pre-K, church school, doesn't matter.
• to leave and go to other public schools, open enrollment, or school choice to private schools. ...and
• , charter school, ESAs?
• What medical school are you all in medical school here, UT?

Bills: HB4, HB20

Keywords: district composition, congressional election, Texas, legislature, voting districts, fraudulent solicitation, disaster relief, nonprofit organizations, criminal penalties, consumer protection, fraud prevention, charitable donations

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 2853, which would allow the UT System Board of Regents to adjust the University of Texas at El Paso student union fee above the current statutory cap, subject to student approval, to help fund a new student union building. Senator Blanco explained the bill and the committee substitute, there were no questions or witnesses, public testimony was closed, and the committee adopted the substitute and left the bill pending subject to the call of the chair. The committee then heard House Bill 610, which would limit severance payments for terminated independent school district superintendents to six months’ salary and benefits. Senator Paxton described large severance payouts and said the bill had passed the House overwhelmingly. There were no witnesses, public testimony was closed, and the bill was left pending. A lengthy hearing followed on House Bill 4623, which would waive school district immunity in certain cases involving negligent hiring, supervision, or employment of professional school employees who commit abuse or related misconduct against students. Senator Paxton and several witnesses, including survivors and parents, argued the bill was needed to address cover-ups, delayed reporting, and repeated failures to remove dangerous employees; some members raised concerns about liability caps, litigation, and how the bill would interact with the Tort Claims Act. The committee also heard from TEA staff and employee-group witnesses who discussed possible injunctions and stronger no-hire protections. Public testimony was then closed and the bill was left pending. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 4, an accountability and assessment bill that would restore A-F ratings, change the state testing system, and replace STAAR with shorter, more instructionally useful assessments. Senator Bettencourt explained the committee substitute, including annual ratings, limits on taxpayer-funded lawsuits, and a phased-in testing redesign with beginning, middle, and end-of-year assessments. Testimony was generally supportive from education and business groups, though some witnesses favored norm-referenced testing while others emphasized criterion-referenced, TEKS-aligned assessments; one witness noted social studies assessments were restored in the bill. The hearing concluded with additional invited testimony and no final vote reported in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• We will not be talking about the actual schools, school districts, charter schools, tribal contract schools
• We will not be talking about the actual schools, school districts, charter schools, tribal contract schools
• um school districts actual schools um school districts Charter<00:13:27.079><c> Schools</c><00:13:27.360
• schools Charter Schools tribal contract schools any<00:13:28.680><c> of</c><00:13:28.839><c> that</c
• It was established to assist in supporting school boards, districts, school sites, and charter schools

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> schools established under RSA 194-B. schools established under RSA 194-B.
• all of our charter schools, chartered public schools here in New Hampshire.
• </c> step back, this is our 14th school year. step back, this is our 14th school year.
• It just said public schools and not chartered public schools.
• </c> schools as well. schools as well.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I go to school in Parma, Idaho, at Parma High School.
• So students in our school will read the Federalist Papers in middle school, and Students in our school
• Hillsdale member schools scored about 200 points higher on average than the average public school, on
• That's a kindergartner, probably in October or November, after starting the school off a public-school
• We're old-school literacy at our school.

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We're not grading schools.
• and charter schools.
• district or charter school.
• The direct mission of this is for school districts and charter schools.
• district or charter school.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:40:34.160><c> Uh</c> school f uh uh school facilities. Uh school f uh uh school facilities.
• school, a private school, student in any school, a private school, a<01:18:29.520><c> charter</c><01
• to</c> decision for a school uh school board to decision for a school uh school board to take.<01:50:
• . school. school.
• </c> public school. public school.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• School District.
• We have many school districts already elect their school board members by district.
• how school boards operate.
• Well, I have all small schools, except one, and the 11th biggest school district in the state. school
• see a school district fail.

Summary: The committee held public hearings on several education bills. SB 6078 would provide pre-licensing supports for prospective child care providers through DCYF, fire protection consultations, and a licensing resource guide; the sponsor, DCYF, and a community nonprofit all supported it, emphasizing that it would reduce fragmented permitting barriers and help expand child care access, while a senator raised the possibility of overlap with existing early learning facilities support. SB 6089 would create a public-private partnership account to support coordination across the P-20W system and fund a public-facing data dashboard; the sponsor and many advocates supported it as a way to align early learning through workforce systems and improve transparency, while some testifiers urged stronger public oversight, caution about private influence, and explicit inclusion of early learning. SB 5859 would expand competency-based assessments as graduation pathway options; supporters said it would better reflect how students learn and provide flexibility, while the State Board of Education and school principals urged caution and suggested waiting for the board’s broader Future Ready graduation review. SB 5861 would require more school board directors to be elected from director districts in larger districts; supporters said it would improve community representation, while some districts and WSSDA warned about local control, added costs, and governance disruption. SB 6065 would allow districts in binding conditions or under enhanced financial oversight to use transportation vehicle funds for temporary loans or transfers with OSPI approval; supporters said it could help districts recover financially without harming transportation needs. After the hearings, the committee moved into executive session and acted on two bills. It adopted a proposed substitute to SB 5956, which restricts certain automated decision systems, surveillance technologies, biometric data, and facial recognition uses in student discipline and school safety decisions, and then advanced the bill with a do-pass recommendation to Rules. It also adopted a proposed substitute to SB 5901, which concerns state funding for on-base school construction, and advanced that bill with a do-pass recommendation to Ways and Means. Both measures were reported out subject to signatures.

Transcript Highlights:

• School should be fun and we should want to go to school, and life shouldn’t be that complicated.
• district, schools, teachers.
• We established these D and F schools. Hopefully we don't have any more D and F schools.
• We established these D&F schools. Hopefully we don't have any more D&S schools.
• the 25 school year.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Being in the schools, being in school districts throughout the state of California, and being on a school
• Unified School District, Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, Newark Unified School District
• schools.
• School choice should be a right of every public school family.
• to school.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• schools.
• Our high school school uh 77 minutes.
• high school.
• schools.
• versus a middle school versus a high school?

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Kelly McCashee, school board member from Pleasanton Unified School District, delegate assembly.
• School board member from Pleasanton Unified School District, Delegate Assembly from the California School
• by school.
• Our member school districts...
• And while school... ...and it's especially straining in small school districts like mine.

Summary: The hearing opened with several procedural announcements and then took up AB 2148, which would prohibit artificial intelligence from replacing education workers. The author and supporters from the California Federation of Teachers and California School Employees Association argued the bill was a modest first step to protect human educators, students’ social-emotional development, and teacher agency in classroom technology decisions. Public support came from labor and education groups, while some school administrator and county office representatives said they were moving to neutral or awaiting the printed amendments. The committee discussed teacher shortages and the role of AI as a supplement rather than a replacement, then passed AB 2148 as amended to Higher Education on a 5-0 vote. The committee then heard AB 2202, which would create a Closing the Achievement Gap Commission to advise the State Board of Education. The author and sponsors said the commission would improve coordination between state and local education leaders and help the state better support local efforts to close achievement gaps. Support came from CSBA, CFT, charter schools, and many district leaders. Members raised questions about early childhood representation on the commission, and the author said he would discuss that with the sponsor. The bill passed as amended to Appropriations on a 5-0 vote. The consent calendar, including AB 1569, AB 2071, AB 2206, AB 2298, AB 2467, AB 2580, AB 2652, and AB 2726, was also approved. AB 2555 was then heard as a special order bill to reform English learner reclassification. The author said the current system is outdated, inconsistent, and too subjective, and proposed a more automatic, transparent process with stronger parent involvement and post-reclassification monitoring. Testimony in support emphasized personal experiences of delayed reclassification and the need to recognize biliteracy; there was no opposition. The bill passed as amended to Appropriations on a 6-0 vote. The committee also approved AB 1860, which would extend design-build authority to county offices of education while preserving prevailing wage, apprenticeship, and skilled workforce requirements; opposition from county superintendent and facilities groups was removed after amendments, and the bill passed 6-0 to Appropriations. Later, the committee passed AB 2514, which would create a State of Achievement Gap Dashboard to track state-level progress in closing achievement gaps, and AB 2149, which would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to publicly assess the state’s progress and recommend actions. Both bills were presented as part of a broader package to improve state accountability for student outcomes, and both passed as amended to Appropriations on 7-0 votes. Finally, AB 2490 was heard, proposing to allow longer-term substitute assignments with added training, mentorship, and parent notification to address teacher shortages and classroom instability. Supporters said it would reduce “subchurn” and help maintain continuity, especially in special education; opponents, including CTA, Public Advocates, and CTC staff, argued the bill was unnecessary given existing rulemaking and could create legal and training concerns. The transcript cuts off during committee discussion of AB 2490, so no final vote is shown for that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• And they alleged that the state wasn't funding schools, especially rural schools, properly, and that
• and the school had sunk one side.
• money to finish an elementary school, or had significant safety issues in their schools.
• This history led Camas County School District to apply for the Idaho Public School Facilities Grant,
• and our large urban schools.

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from February 9th without objection. It then introduced RS 32974, which would set a uniform school start date of the Tuesday after Labor Day. Supporters said it would create consistency for families and help tourism, while members raised concerns about impacts on rural districts, harvest schedules, fairs, and finishing the school year before Christmas break. The committee also introduced RS 33138C1, an apprenticeship-style option for filling principal and superintendent vacancies in rural areas, and RS 33325, which would create a voluntary high school civics seal and related district endorsement for students meeting civics and volunteerism requirements. The committee then heard House Bill 608, a clarification bill for the public school facilities cooperative fund. Sponsors explained that the bill would clean up eligibility rules, repayment terms, and priority criteria for districts seeking grant money for school facilities, especially where safety needs exist or a bond has failed. Testimony from Camas County and Middleton School District supported the changes, saying the current law can force districts to run repeated bonds even when grant amounts are smaller than prior bond requests, creating confusion and eroding public trust. Members discussed how the bill differs from other school facilities funding laws and how it is intended to help districts with urgent needs and limited bonding capacity. HB 608 was moved to the floor with a do-pass recommendation and approved. Finally, the committee considered House Bill 636, which would allow school districts to use remaining school district facilities fund dollars for lease-purchase agreements and related long-term facility investments after required bond and levy obligations are met. The sponsor and a West Ada superintendent said the bill would give districts more flexibility to address growth, aging buildings, and debt repayment without increasing property taxes, while still preserving local control. Members asked about the size and funding source of the facilities fund and noted concerns about disparities between rural and urban districts. HB 636 was also sent to the floor with a do-pass recommendation, and the committee adjourned after announcing its next meeting location.

Transcript Highlights:

• Another project we did involved adopting a school called the Wilson School in a neighborhood near our
• schools have adopted this philosophy and which schools have not.
• How many schools have you taught in? I've taught at the law school.
• Now, unless, let's say, the school—the school... Engaging in athletics.
• I said appropriation school safety program. 1583 is a school safety interoperability money.

Summary: The Senate Education Committee heard a presentation from Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne on school safety, academic improvement, career and technical education, ESA oversight, and teacher pay. Horne argued that students cannot learn if schools are unsafe and urged more funding for school police officers, described efforts to expand Project Momentum and tutoring, supported keeping cell phones out of classrooms, promoted the Student Industry Partnership, and called for renewing Proposition 123 with more money directed to teacher raises. In response to a question, he said the department is using AI tools, residency checks, and investigators to monitor ESA fraud and abuse. The committee then considered SB 1074, which would require written certification from a principal or administrator before a student removed for discipline could return to class. Horne and the sponsor said the bill would support teachers and improve accountability, while the Arizona Education Association opposed it as unnecessary, punitive, and potentially inconsistent with existing practice and FERPA concerns. After debate, the committee voted 4-3 to give SB 1074 a do pass recommendation. Members also heard SB 1327, as amended, requiring public universities to adopt and post research security policies and report on foreign grants and security practices. ABOR and a national security advocate supported the measure as a way to strengthen protections against foreign adversary influence, and the committee adopted the strike-everything amendment and advanced the bill 5-2. The committee then approved SB 1475, which bars students convicted of certain serious offenses from participating in school-sponsored interscholastic activities, 4-3 after discussion about second chances, counseling, and whether the bill was too punitive. Finally, the committee advanced SB 1582 and SB 1583, both related to school safety interoperability funding and fund administration, with technical discussion about correcting bill language and returning unspent monies to the fund. It also approved SB 1598, which appropriates $500,000 for grants to school districts and charter schools to create community gardens; supporters described the gardens as hands-on learning spaces that teach science, nutrition, and teamwork and can also serve as calming spaces for students. The committee adjourned after the last vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• Public schools.
• Some schools have closed.
• When I was in school, it was woodshop and baseball that got me to school.
• So we moved her into middle school. She did the same thing in middle school.
• one school.