Transcript Highlights:

• for on-base schools.
• But the school district...
• Public Schools District.
• school.
• I'm a high school senior at Shorewood High School in the city of Shoreline.

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 5901, which would change the school construction assistance program so that instructional space on military bases is excluded from a district’s available space inventory when calculating state construction aid. Staff explained the bill would also require state assistance to equal approved project cost minus federal funding received. Senator Christian said the measure is intended to prevent military-base facilities from unfairly reducing districts’ ability to modernize or build schools. Testimony in support came from OSPI, Clover Park School District, and Medical Lake School District, which said the current formula penalizes districts serving military families and can leave them unable to secure needed renovation funding. No opposition was heard, and the bill was later described as having an indeterminate fiscal impact. The committee then took up Senate Bill 5860 on school board compensation. The bill would raise director pay from $50 to $100 per day, increase the annual cap, allow child care expenses to be reimbursed, require OFM to periodically adjust compensation, and direct WASDA to develop finance training for school directors. Senator Cortez said the changes are needed to broaden who can serve on school boards and to help working families participate. Supporters from OSPI, WASDA, and South Sound superintendents said compensation could improve diversity and help recruit and retain board members, though WASDA noted concerns about diverting district funds and said its members do not have consensus on mandatory training. Opponents argued the bill would misuse levy funds and that child care and other expenses should not be paid from local education levies. The committee also heard Senate Bill 5956 on artificial intelligence, student discipline, and surveillance in schools, which would bar automated systems from being the sole basis for discipline decisions, prohibit risk scores and biometric surveillance, require OSPI guidance updates, and direct WASDA to create model policy. Senator Nobles and supporters said the bill is needed to protect students from discriminatory and inaccurate AI-driven decisions; no vote was taken in the hearing. Finally, the committee heard a proposed substitute for Senate Bill 5574, which would require districts to include instruction on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Latino American, and Black American history in required social studies courses during the regular curriculum review cycle, with reporting beginning in 2030. Senator Nobles said the bill is meant to address exclusion and bias in history education and to help students see themselves reflected in the curriculum. Testifiers from education, student, parent, and community groups overwhelmingly supported the measure, saying it would improve belonging, reduce bullying, and build on existing curriculum resources without creating a new course or major new cost. The hearing ended without a vote or other formal action on SB 5956 or SB 5574.

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.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> board</c> local school district local school board local school district local school board does
• <c> because</c> high school suspend from school because high school suspend from school because you're
• </c> School principal not the high school School principal not the high school principal<01:32:50.719
• school district and running the school school district and the<03:17:37.640><c> school</c><03:17:37.920
• </c> school that didn't have whole school school that didn't have whole school Title<03:36:19.600><c>

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on HB 129, which would redefine “evidence-based” in public education to require objective, science-based evidence for pedagogical methods. The prime sponsor said the bill is a verbatim reintroduction from the prior session and argued that current federal definitions are too vague, allowing subjective surveys and other weak evidence to justify teaching methods. He said the bill is limited to pedagogy, not subject matter, and is intended to improve student outcomes, reduce fad-driven practices, and potentially save money by limiting unnecessary retraining and new materials. Members asked repeatedly about the bill’s scope, including whether it would affect classroom teachers, curriculum content, and existing instructional approaches such as phonics versus whole language or queuing. The sponsor said the bill applies to state and local education bodies and educator training policies, not individual teachers in their classrooms, and that teachers would retain flexibility. He also said standardized testing could be part of a scientific study but is not itself a study, and that textbook providers could be asked to furnish the studies supporting instructional guidance included in their materials. Several members raised concerns about the fiscal note and possible cost shifts to local districts and taxpayers. The sponsor disputed the idea that the bill would necessarily create major new costs or require additional staff, saying any costs would likely be limited and that the department is already applying federal evidence-based rules. He also said if some current methods are not science-based, updating them would be justified even if there were some initial expense. No vote or final action was taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• school even started.
• Public schools are really suffering. All our schools are suffering.
• Public schools are really suffering. All our schools are suffering.
• And you represent a school association, sir? There's private schools.
• out of public schools or have behavior problems, inner-city schools.

Summary: The Senate Appropriations Committee on Pre-K-12 Education met for its first meeting of the 2025 session to hear the Auditor General’s operational audit on 2024-25 school funding accountability challenges, focused largely on the Family Empowerment Scholarship and its interaction with the FEFP. Deputy Auditor General Matthew Tracy described rapid growth in scholarship enrollment, timing mismatches between scholarship payments and public-school funding calculations, delayed membership survey processing, weak cross-check and recoupment procedures, inconsistent handling of parent survey responses, and limited documentation for withholding and returning funds. The audit said these issues contributed to funding inequities, duplicate-payment risks, and an unexpected draw on state education funds, and it recommended separating scholarship funding from the FEFP, aligning application windows with budget timing, strengthening controls and staffing, and creating clearer, documented recoupment and balance-limit processes. Committee members questioned whether current law gives the department and scholarship funding organizations enough authority and whether the system is effectively a pay-and-chase model. Several senators expressed concern about the lack of timely reconciliation, the size of the funds involved, and the absence of clear records showing how money was recovered or withheld. Adam Emerson, executive director of the Office of School Choice, said the department is working more closely with school districts and scholarship funding organizations, including pausing payments when districts identify students still enrolled in public schools, and said the office wants to improve the process. President Gates then previewed legislation he said would address the audit’s findings by funding Family Empowerment Scholarships as a separate FEFP categorical, expanding the Education Stabilization Fund, setting clearer application and acceptance deadlines, moving to monthly payments with eligibility verification before each payment, assigning student IDs for scholarship assistance, lowering SFO management fees, requiring annual audits, and requiring prompt return of audit-related funds. Public comment included a private-school attorney describing losses from unpaid scholarship amounts. Members generally supported the need for reform, with several senators saying the program should be preserved but better structured and more accountable. The committee adjourned after the discussion, with no vote taken on the legislation.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill requires school districts, charter schools, state tribal education compact schools, and public
• The bill requires school districts, charter schools, state tribal education compact schools, and public
• The bill requires school districts, charter schools, state tribal education compact schools, and public
• High School.
• I'm with Edmonds School District, Mountlake Terrace High School, and the Washington School Counselor

Summary: The Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee heard three bills. Senate Bill 6052 would create a statewide digital transcript data-sharing environment for K-12 and postsecondary institutions, with student or parent permission required for disclosure. Supporters from universities, OSPI, school districts, counselors, and education groups said the bill would reduce paper handling, staff time, errors, and delays in admissions and enrollment, while improving security and student access; members asked about alignment with the High School and Beyond Plan, FERPA, apprenticeships, and out-of-state transfer issues. Senate Bill 6051 would allow local school boards to grant waivers or partial waivers of certain state laws and rules to individual schools, while excluding health and safety, civil rights, parental rights, basic education, and other protected areas. The sponsor said the bill is intended to give districts flexibility and surface recurring regulatory burdens, but OSPI, the State Board of Education, WEA, and school board groups raised concerns about broad scope, lack of definitions, possible impacts on special education and basic education compliance, and added complexity or legal costs. Some district representatives supported the idea of flexibility and relief from unfunded mandates, but suggested the bill needed more work. Senate Bill 5907 would expand ECEAP access for military families with incomes below 60% of state median income and prioritize children with deployed or single custodial military parents. The sponsor and supporters from ESDs, school districts, Head Start/ECEAP, child advocacy groups, and veterans organizations said military families face frequent moves, deployments, child care instability, and related stress, and that the bill would provide a modest, cost-effective benefit without state fiscal impact. In executive session, the committee adopted a proposed substitute and passed SB 5860 to Ways and Means, and adopted a proposed substitute and passed SB 5574 to Rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• School is just so much more fun, I guess, than school back home.
• school year, Moundsby High School 2324 school year, Moundsby High School implemented<01:34:50.800><c>
• </c> the school day. the school day.
• </c> My school stop has a number of elementary school and middle school students. They are Mr.
• ><c> charter</c><02:07:27.599><c> schools</c> school districts charter schools school districts charter

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But, yeah, so schools are... But, yeah, so schools are coming to...
• We established these DNF schools. Hopefully we don't have any more DNF schools.
• But schools know, right?
• the 2025 school year.
• the 25 school year.

Summary: The committee first approved the March 9 and 10 minutes, then heard a presentation from the Arkansas Excellence in Teaching Fellowship Program featuring three third-grade teachers from Poyen, Drew Central, and Cabot, along with Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva. The teachers described the fellowship as a year-long collaboration among 23 merit-pay recipients from across the state, focused on sharing classroom strategies, data use, and professional support. Members asked about teacher experience, how the fellowship information is shared locally, the role of merit pay, and how teachers are addressing third-grade reading and retention concerns under the ATLAS assessment system. The teachers emphasized early intervention, relationships with students, small-group instruction, progress monitoring, and communication with families; they also described community supports such as churches, food backpacks, and local donations. Several members raised broader questions about poverty, trauma, social services, DHS involvement, and whether similar professional learning should be expanded to more teachers. Secretary Oliva said the fellowship is a small subset of a larger merit-pay program, that participation was voluntary, and that the state is working to improve literacy supports, clarity, and alignment across grades. He also said ATLAS results are now available to schools and families much faster than in the past, often within 24 to 72 hours, and that the state is using the data to identify at-risk students earlier and support intervention before retention decisions are made. The committee then moved to the adequacy/resource allocation presentation from the Bureau of Legislative Research. Staff explained that the report is part of the statutory adequacy review and focuses on state funding sources beyond foundation aid, including categorical and supplemental funds. They noted that districts and charters spent more than $7 billion in the 2025 school year, with roughly 49% from foundation funding and 51% from other sources over the last three years. The presentation outlined the four categorical funds—Alternative Learning Environment, English Learners, Enhanced Student Achievement, and Professional Development—describing their restricted uses, student-based funding formulas, and the ability of districts to transfer some money among categoricals while keeping it within allowable purposes. Staff said categorical funds account for about 4% of total spending, or less than $300 million, and reviewed superintendent feedback on whether those funds met district needs, with responses varying by category and district.

Transcript Highlights:

• judicial warrant, and that we want to preserve school attendance and school funding for our school districts
• demand from school families and parents who want to be in those schools.
• We saw in our own school district, Power Unified School District, where we had a school that was in significant
• Our schools and school district solvent.
• It moves kids from school A to school B and school C to school B more than it brings kids in, simply

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance met for its annual Proposition 98 overview, with Chair Alvarez outlining the committee’s focus on K-12 funding, student outcomes, and use of one-time funds. Superintendent Tony Thurmond gave an update on education issues, including wildfire recovery support for affected school communities, ongoing concerns about federal threats to education funding and immigration enforcement, progress on literacy and math, dual-language immersion, educator housing, and support for dual enrollment. Members broadly expressed support for these priorities, while also raising concerns about implementation, funding stability, and the need for schools to remain safe places for students. The committee then reviewed the Governor’s Proposition 98 proposal. The Department of Finance said the 2025-26 Proposition 98 guarantee is projected at $118.9 billion, with higher revenues and TK-related rebenching driving the increase. The LAO said the budget adds about $7.5 billion over two years and discussed the volatility of the guarantee, especially in 2024-25, when changes in revenue could have an outsized effect on school funding. Members questioned the proposed $1.6 billion delayed settle-up payment, the legal basis for delaying it, and the impact of possible federal funding freezes. The LAO presented alternatives such as a reserve deposit or delayed disbursement, while Finance said the proposal is intended to manage uncertainty. Members also raised concerns that ethnic studies implementation was not funded in the January budget, and Finance said the administration was not proposing funding for it. The committee next heard on the Proposition 98 rainy day fund and education deferrals. Finance said the reserve would receive a mandatory deposit of about $1.2 billion in 2024-25 and a discretionary deposit of $376 million in 2025-26, leaving a balance of about $1.5 billion. The LAO supported rebuilding the reserve as a way to manage volatility. On deferrals, Finance described the Governor’s plan to eliminate remaining deferrals by 2025-26, and the LAO said paying them off improves cash flow and budget resilience. Members generally supported eliminating deferrals and rebuilding reserves, though some asked about acting earlier if revenues allow. The committee also reviewed the proposed $1.8 billion student support and professional development block grant; Finance said it would fund professional development, recruitment and retention, and dual enrollment, while the LAO recommended clearer language on local discretion and use for one-time costs. Members were divided, with some supporting flexibility and others warning that one-time block grants can create instability and confusion for districts.

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, Brian Easter, Superintendent of the Maple School District and school board member for the
• School board member from Pleasanton Unified School District, Delegate Assembly from the California School
• It goes school by school. There's no way to see a district is making progress collectively.
• school by school.
• navigate school success.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• school social workers, and school psychologists.
• school social workers, and school psychologists.
• </c> the schools. the schools.
• 33.920><c> high</c><01:35:34.159><c> school</c> Primarily middle school and high school Wyoming students
• . school. school.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Our job is not to take away money from public schools to give it to private schools.
• About work in high school.
• Public schools, private schools, charter schools, virtual schools, homeschool, I want the parents to
• This is a charter school, which is a public school.
• I have three daughters who are in grade school in public schools.

Keywords: educational reform, federal grants, bureaucracy, wealth disparity, public testimony

Summary: The committee meeting engaged in discussions focused primarily on educational reform, the influence of federal grants on local education systems, and the growing disparities in wealth and access to quality education. Members expressed concerns about the bureaucracy surrounding federal funding that hampers schools' ability to obtain necessary resources for improvement. Several members highlighted personal anecdotes from constituents, emphasizing the urgent need for reform to help students succeed in both K-12 and higher education environments. The meeting included public testimonies that provided insights into various community perspectives on these pressing issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:01:30.840><c> the</c><00:01:30.960><c> burden</c> school schools and who bear the burden school
• I currently serve as the chair of the school board for Farmington Area Public Schools, Independent School
• :41:43.079><c> Independent</c><00:41:43.520><c> School</c> Public Schools Independent School Public Schools
• My school is an ALC high school that serves grades 9 through 12.
• c> is</c><01:02:47.000><c> an</c> County School District my school is an County School District my school

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• from my school.
• </c> Cambridge-Isanti Schools. Cambridge-Isanti Schools.
• </c> the school navigate through this issue. the school navigate through this issue.
• of everyone in the school.
• </c> schools to be able to do this. schools to be able to do this.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I absolutely agree with you that whole school climate and whole school supports, and making sure schools
• Middle school, we had middle school kids there.
• a school?
• If allocation-based awards are extended to schools, Um, such as school districts, charter schools, BIE
• , the school for the blind and the school for the deaf.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> the number one uh state with schools the number one uh state with schools located<00:04:27.919><
• 00:15:24.399><c> district</c><00:15:24.759><c> does</c> schools but if a school district does schools
• High School.
• high school graduation ceremony.
• within the school.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• . school district, school, etc. school district, school, etc.
• </c> it says the school board of each school it says the school board of each school district<00:26:18.240
• </c> to the school principal or other school to the school principal or other school personnel<00:27:
• </c> phones in school during the school day. phones in school during the school day.
• . school. school.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a school safety bill.
• There are some schools and some school districts who have already implemented this policy.
• Not every school is the same. Not every school is the same.
• A school of 2,000 students or 4,000 students is not the same as a school of 200 students.
• It will be provided to school districts, school boards, and charter schools through the department's

Summary: The Education Administration Subcommittee heard and approved four bills focused on school safety, student health, and classroom environment. HB 1403, Safety of Students, would expand Guardian program participation to child care facilities, require substitute teachers to receive campus safety protocols, and allow limited exceptions for certain CTE classrooms; it drew supportive testimony from school safety and education groups and passed 16-0. PCS for HB 907, the Sunshine Genetics Act, would create the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases at FSU and launch an opt-in newborn whole-genome screening program funded with $20 million; supporters said it could speed diagnosis, save lives, and reduce health care costs, and it passed 17-0. HB 949 would prohibit student use of wireless communication devices during the full school day, while allowing districts flexibility in implementation and medical exceptions; supporters cited distraction and bullying data, and the bill passed 17-0. The committee also approved HB 723, the Type 1 Diabetes Early Detection Program, which requires the Department of Health to provide school-based informational materials to parents and guardians about early warning signs, risk factors, and screening for type 1 diabetes. An amendment broadened the notification to include voluntary pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade and shifted the annual notice to September 30. Testimony in support came from diabetes advocates and pediatric groups, and members spoke about personal experiences with diabetes and the value of earlier education. The bill passed 17-0 after the amendment was adopted. Across the meeting, members from both parties generally praised the bills as bipartisan efforts to improve student safety, health, and learning conditions. Several members raised questions or concerns about implementation details, including school guardian tracking, cell phone pouches and emergency access, and how the diabetes notice would be distributed, but no bill faced opposition in committee. All four measures were reported favorably.

Transcript Highlights:

• Charter schools are free public schools.
• For example, my charter school, in our charter school, we sometimes have it where we go to school for
• For example, my charter school, in our charter school, we sometimes have it where we go to school for
• My charter school, in our charter school, we sometimes have it where we go to school for more than the
• Currently, my son attends Stevenson Elementary School, which is a Purple Star School.

Summary: The Senate Education Committee heard two bills. Senate Bill 1358, presented by Sen. Harris, would amend Idaho’s career ladder rules so superintendents and principals who return to classroom teaching can count qualifying administrative experience toward career ladder advancement, rather than restarting at their prior teacher-ladder placement. Testimony from a remote superintendent and the Idaho Association of School Administrators supported the bill as a fairness and retention measure, noting that administrators can face large pay cuts when returning to teaching and that the bill still requires proficient-or-higher evaluations. After brief discussion, the committee voted to send SB 1358 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The committee then considered House Bill 762, presented by Sen. Woodward, which would give charter schools the option to prioritize enrollment for children of active-duty or active-reserve military members and for foster children who already have a sibling in the school. A long line of testimony from military spouses, veterans, charter school leaders, and military children described frequent relocations, waitlists, and the difficulty of finding stable school placements, arguing the bill would improve access and support military readiness without creating new schools or changing accountability. One witness also noted the bill’s flexibility for charter schools and its limited, targeted nature. The committee voted to send HB 762 to the floor with a due pass recommendation and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Funding in public schools is on a per-pupil formula, so funding would go with schools.
• Funding in public schools is on a per-pupil formula, so funding would go with schools.
• </c> baker so funding in in public schools baker so funding in in public schools are<00:05:11.759><c>
• </c> funding would um would go with schools funding would um would go with schools if<00:05:17.240><c
• And then just in regards to the uniformity of schools, we have independent school districts throughout

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• School, Kawai High School, Baldwin High School, Seabury Hall, Lunalilo?
• School, and Kaimuki High School.
• <c> School</c> Kawai High School Baldwin High School Kawai High School Baldwin High School Seabury<00
• school puno school university laboratory school puno school and<00:19:53.159><c> Kaimuki</c><00:19:53.679
• High and Elementary School, an alumna of the school.

Keywords: 910, house, all