Transcript Highlights:

• On your computer, you said it was a legacy system. How old is that?
• Also, a computer refresh is on the horizon for us.
• that barriers such as limited mental health access, cultural stigma, and low health and technology literacy

Bills: SB1, SB 1

Keywords: appropriations, budget, state funding, education, healthcare, infrastructure, campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But we need to continue our focus on early literacy interventions to accelerate this literacy growth.
• The implementation of a literacy plan, the implementation of literacy coaches, and the implementation
• You know, the 5% increase in literacy, we have this disciplinary literacy and model support schools.
• We see that with literacy.
• They're part of the literacy; it's part of the overall literacy score.

Transcript Highlights:

• The department is committed to expanding financial literacy education and has convened a literacy task
• The department is committed to expanding financial literacy education and has convened a literacy task
• um some drafted financial literacy um some drafted financial literacy standards<00:49:19.119>
• it appears that um financial literacy it appears that um financial literacy having<00:55:22.880>
• literacy and many schools I think you literacy and many schools I think you know<00:55:59.280> are

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House Bill 110, HD1, which would clarify local food purchase goals for the Department of Education. DOE said it supports the measure and will work toward the 30% local food mandate by 2030. The Department of Agriculture also supported the bill, and outside advocates from the Hawaii Public Health Institute and Hawaii Farm to School Network strongly backed it as consistent with prior farm-to-school laws and helpful for measuring progress toward the goal. The committee then took up House Bill 293, which would exempt certain DOE purchases of local edible produce and packaged food products from electronic procurement rules and allow written-quote purchasing thresholds, including a lower quote requirement for some rural schools. DOE, the Department of Agriculture, the State Procurement Office, and the Hawaii Farm Bureau all supported the measure, describing it as a tool to help the department test and add local products and meet the 30% goal. However, members pressed DOE on the bill’s purpose and mechanics, questioning why the department could not simply add products to vendor lists or use existing procurement flexibility. DOE explained it was trying to test new local products, including products not yet on the USDA-approved list, and said the bill would allow limited pilot purchases while it works through USDA approval and vendor-list updates. Members also raised concerns about whether the bill was being used to bypass procurement and whether small farmers or aggregators could realistically supply the needed volume. House Bill 1069, which would add two voting members representing DOE and the Board of Education to the School Facilities Authority, also drew support from DOE and the Board of Education. Supporters said the change would improve accountability, strategic input, and communication on school facilities matters. SFA testified that it has already increased coordination with DOE through regular meetings and that recent discussions have been more robust. Committee members questioned whether voting seats were necessary given that DOE and BOE could already attend meetings and receive updates, and they raised concerns about how a voting representative would report back and whether the measure would actually solve communication problems. No votes or final actions were taken on the measures during the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• She achieved in literacy, reading, language arts, early and middle childhood. Congratulations.
• Speaker and gentlelady, that she focuses on literacy, reading, and language arts, absolutely essential
• He is currently studying computer science, but comes from a long medical family, and we could always

Bills: HM3, HM11, HM14, HM15, HM18, HM21, HB10, HB11, HB12, HB13, HB14, HB31, HB50

Keywords: nurses, health care workers, healthcare workers, frontline workers, hospital staff, clinicians, allied health professionals, support staff, public health, workforce shortage, nursing shortage, safe staffing, patient safety, rural health care, frontier communities, behavioral health, mental health, substance use disorder, substance abuse, health care memorial

Transcript Highlights:

• This cut that has been proposed will affect kids who are in their formative stages of literacy.
• prioritized academic programs that expand workforce-aligned degrees: nursing, public health, business, computer
• specifically offer collections of Braille books, if anyone chooses to read that, although Braille literacy

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance met to review CSU and State Library budget issues, enrollment trends, the Capital Fellows program, and a Title IX update. Chair David Alvarez opened by stressing that CSU faces serious financial pressure, including a systemwide deficit and proposed cuts that he and several members said were too large and likely to harm access, course offerings, and student services. Public comment focused heavily on the Braille Institute Library, with patrons, staff, veterans, and advocates urging restoration of funding and warning that the proposed cut would severely affect blind and visually impaired Californians across Southern California. Several CSU faculty, staff, and union representatives also opposed the proposed reductions and warned of larger class sizes, fewer sections, and layoffs. On the CSU core operations item, the Department of Finance explained the Governor’s proposal to reduce ongoing General Fund support by about $375 million and defer a 5% base increase, while the LAO said CSU core funding would be roughly flat once tuition and targeted augmentations were considered, but warned that rising costs and prior shortfalls would still force campuses to cut spending. CSU’s Chancellor’s Office said the proposed cut would deepen existing problems, citing prior-year budget gaps, job losses, reduced course sections, and student-service reductions. Members pressed Finance and the LAO on whether cuts could be made more surgically, especially at the Chancellor’s Office or in institutional support rather than in instruction, and the LAO said the Legislature has flexibility to target cuts more specifically. CSU also described ongoing consolidation efforts, including shared services among campuses and the planned Cal Maritime/Cal Poly San Luis Obispo integration, while cautioning that savings are not yet fully known. The committee then discussed CSU enrollment. The LAO recommended holding enrollment targets flat because the budget does not add new funding, while CSU reported strong recent growth, including more California residents, record first-year enrollment, and expanded direct admissions and transfer pathways. Members questioned why some campuses with high demand turn away many applicants while others continue to lose enrollment, and CSU said it is shifting resources from campuses with sustained declines to those with demand, using a 10% below-target threshold. The committee also discussed whether enrollment declines mirror local population trends, how to improve marketing and program alignment, and whether lessons from Cal Poly Humboldt’s conversion could inform other campuses such as Sonoma State. The Capital Fellows item drew a Finance proposal for a salary increase and an LAO counterproposal for a smaller raise plus future COLA language; the committee kept the item open. Finally, CSU reported progress on Title IX compliance, saying it has completed most State Auditor recommendations, expanded civil rights staffing, and increased training, prevention, and case-management efforts, though members asked how proposed budget cuts might affect those services.

Transcript Highlights:

• LITERACY ACHIEVEMENT GAPS AND THEY NEED EXTRA SUPPORT.
• OUR REGIONAL LITERACY TEAMS ARE MADE UP OF 30 STATE LITERACY DIRECTORS ACROSS THE 20 REGIONS OF THE STATE
• THE STATE REGIONAL LITERACY DIRECTORS ARE COMMUNICATING ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT LITERACY BASED PRACTICES
• ALSO, OUR STATE LITERACY DIRECTORS ALSO FACILITATE ONE OF THE TWO STATE APPROVED LITERACY COACH ENDORSEMENT
• THEY ARE AGAIN TRAINING OUR LITERACY COACHES THAT ARE IN THOSE SCHOOLS THEY ARE AGAIN TRAINING OUR LITERACY

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Unlike literacy, where you have that large $14 million appropriation for literacy and in the Summer Literacy
• Unlike literacy where you have that large $14 million appropriation for literacy and in the Summer Literacy
• It’s titled Literacy Instruction and Support. It’s titled Literacy Instruction and Support.
• Chair, is we have literacy coaches. Can we add, as needed, by literacy coaches too? Thank you, Mr.
• Because oral literacy has both... And written literacy has both reading and writing.

Summary: The committee first heard a detailed staff presentation on the LESC FY27 public school support recommendation. Staff reviewed the budget structure and explained that, despite a downward revision in state revenue estimates, the recommendation still relied on recurring and non-recurring revenue to support educator compensation, insurance, transportation, literacy, math, special education, and other school programs. Major recurring items included a 3% compensation increase, funding for an 80-20 health insurance cost share, insurance premium growth, and transportation adequacy funding. Staff also flagged a possible supplemental need of up to $35 million for virtual education tied to rapid enrollment growth in Chama and Santa Rosa, and members raised concerns about the quality, accountability, and funding model for virtual programs. Members asked questions about transportation for rural districts, the Martinez-Yazzie lawsuit fees, the treatment of enrollment declines in the school funding formula, and whether the word “average” in salary language should remain in the budget. Staff explained that the SEG should remain whole, that the insurance and transportation recommendations applied to all public school employees but not contractors, and that the budget included multiple math-related investments spread across several lines rather than one single appropriation. There was also discussion of out-of-school learning grants, school meals, literacy center operations, special education training, and the Public Education Reform Fund, including the use of multi-year, evaluation-based appropriations for high-impact tutoring and community schools. After discussion, the committee adopted the LESC budget recommendation. The committee then moved to endorsed legislation proposals. It endorsed a bill allowing the secretary to suspend an individual school board member, with notice and appeal procedures clarified, and a bill creating an 80-20 health insurance cost-share requirement for public school employees, along with a study of the sustainability of public school insurance programs. It also endorsed a bill on attendance provisions for students with severe medical conditions, which would keep those students from being classified as excessively absent. Finally, the committee discussed a teacher residency bill that would raise stipend levels, allow residents to complete service anywhere in New Mexico, and remove the requirement that sponsoring schools must hire them, though the bill did not include an appropriation. Members also raised questions about bilingual, Hispanic, and Black education funding, cultural and linguistic supports in teacher preparation, and where various programs should be placed in the budget or PERF framework.

Transcript Highlights:

• PED actually just released literacy results.
• literacy initiative.
• We already have with literacy.
• Literacy Center, we are putting $5 million into operations for a Literacy Center.
• to structured literacy.

Transcript Highlights:

• cover the remote access of technologies via network connections, including the internet or cloud computing
• <03:09:07.680> HR2683 computing services. HR2683 computing services.
• and avoid bankruptcy a second literacy and avoid bankruptcy a second time.<03:56:26.800> Nationwide
• <05:47:33.040> and<05:47:33.360> lower with declining female literacy and lower with
• declining female literacy and lower school<05:47:34.000> enrollment<05:47:34.718> rates

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, January 12, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• To facilitate children's literacy learning and progress, structured literacy is characterized by the
• literacy lead.
• regional literacy Network so it's our regional literacy Network so it's our staff<00:49:53.319> in
• Literacy is very important.
• literacy Network and then those literacy literacy Network and then those literacy leads<00:52:01.520

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• > required<00:30:34.559> for Literacy competency will be required for Literacy competency
• the literacy um necessarily the literacy um uh<00:38:52.000> content<00:38:52.800> and
• about district language and literacy about district language and literacy plan. plan. plan.
• And then again, an and literacy.
• allow for local control in literacy allow for local control in literacy again. again. again.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• What it is, it's an early literacy experience.
• What it is, it's an early early literacy What it is, it's an early early literacy experience.<00
• The only way you can do teach literacy.
• And I can only think back when literacy.
• both literacy and veterans. both literacy and veterans.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The House received a message from the Senate returning House File 4492, an act relating to veterans, with amendments and requesting concurrence. Representative Bliss moved to concur, and members discussed the bill as a combination of veterans-related provisions and changes to Minnesota’s READ Act and literacy law. Representative Mueller and Representative Clardy explained that the bill includes technical READ Act changes, expanded disability access language to better serve deaf and hard-of-hearing students, revisions involving dyslexia-related language, transparency in ongoing literacy material review, and a timeline adjustment after the Department of Education did not complete phase two work on time. Clardy described the literacy provisions as requiring universities to develop programs to better prepare teacher candidates to teach reading using science-based methods. Representative Jordan added that the bill also provides high school diplomas to veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars who did not previously receive one because of their service. The House approved concurrence, then took up third reading of the bill as amended by the Senate. After further brief remarks urging a green vote, the roll was called and the bill passed unanimously, 134 ayes and 0 nays. The bill was repassed as amended by the Senate, its title was agreed to, and the House then adopted a recess motion to the call of the speaker.

Transcript Highlights:

• I actually have that on my computer.
• And then $125,000 for Structured Literacy Coordinators since they do have an Educator Preparation Program

Transcript Highlights:

• Just recently, Tribal Council approved the purchase of a computer for each household on the reservation
• My work involves collaborating with state epidemiologists to ensure equity and literacy of epidemiological

Transcript Highlights:

• Brown School of Engineering and Computing.
• that sort of thing. not remove the current requirement that student athletes complete a financial literacy

Bills: HJR5, HB39, HB 102, HB 126, HB290, HB300, HB1330, HB2110, HB2143, HCR64, HCR101

Keywords: education funding, Texas State Technical College System, constitutional amendment, capital projects, workforce education, military education, early registration, ROTC, corps of cadets, higher education, military academy, student athletes, name image likeness, compensation, intercollegiate athletics, representation, tuition assistance, military, Texas State Guard, education

Transcript Highlights:

• Put your computers down; there's no need for them right now.
• Chair, Senator Tobiasson, the adult education program could focus on anything from literacy through GED

Transcript Highlights:

• Unlike literacy, where you have that large 14 million appropriation for literacy and the Summer Literacy
• It would require all literacy instruction for kindergarten through third grade students and literacy
• and long-term literacy.
• Chair, is we have literacy coaches. Can we add, as needed, bi-literacy coaches too? Thank you, Mr.
• Has both listening and speaking and written literacy.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They will never receive that high school financial literacy.
• Tax literacy is extremely low.
• I had no financial literacy, and I had no lawyers.
• And there's also other mechanisms for financial literacy.
• Financial literacy is not a luxury for athletes like me.

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing on name, image, and likeness (NIL) and financial literacy for student athletes, with members framing California as a national leader on NIL but emphasizing the need for stronger protections and more consistent education. The chair and witnesses discussed how NIL opportunities now include both third-party endorsement deals and school revenue-sharing arrangements, and how the current landscape varies widely by institution, leaving athletes with a patchwork of rules and support. Several witnesses argued that student athletes, especially younger ones and those from low-income or first-generation backgrounds, are vulnerable to predatory contracts, tax problems, and pressure from family, agents, or lenders. The first panel featured Tyree Dillingham and Brandon Copeland, who called for standardized financial literacy, better guardrails against predatory NIL advances, and a player-led association or similar collective voice for athletes. They described examples of athletes not understanding paychecks, taxes, or contract terms, and warned that some schools and collectives blur the line between education and marketing. Copeland also argued that college athletics now functions like a professional business and that athletes need representation and a standard contract structure to protect them. The second panel focused on lived experience, including testimony from attorney Anthony Coronae and student athlete Mikey Williams. Coronae described reviewing a contract that he said functioned like a predatory loan disguised as marketing support, with the company taking exclusive rights to Williams’ NIL and requiring repayment far beyond the advance. Williams testified that he signed without a lawyer, later lost endorsements, scholarship, and housing stability, and only later learned the contract’s consequences. He said a required financial literacy course at Sacramento State helped him begin to understand budgeting, taxes, and contracts, and he urged the legislature to require legal review or stronger safeguards for athletes. The third panel, from San Diego State University, highlighted a more structured institutional model. Athletic director Brendan Hill described a mandatory four-year life-skills program that includes financial literacy, resume workshops, internships, and branding education, while student athlete Sloan Benchoff said the program helped her manage money and prepare for post-college life. Witnesses agreed that support is uneven across schools, that some agents and lenders are exploiting athletes, and that California should consider standardized financial education and agent regulation while also being careful not to create rules that unintentionally restrict athlete rights. No formal vote or bill action was taken at the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Throughout the bill, we make it clear that literacy is learning, that local control is innovation, and
• We all have heard that we have a shared goal and a shared priority of literacy.
• We all have heard that we have a shared goal and a shared priority of literacy.
• We all have heard that we have a shared goal and a shared priority of literacy.
• Let me just be blunt: literacy is learning. This isn't a partisan issue.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee heard presentation on House File 6, an education omnibus-style bill advanced by Representative Peggy Bennett and other Republican members. Bennett said the bill reflects caucus priorities around literacy, parental engagement, local control, and school flexibility. She described three articles: Article 1 on revisions to the READ Act and the science of reading; Article 2 on education innovation and parent-friendly school information; and Article 3 on funding flexibility and temporary relief from several new mandates enacted in recent biennia. On Article 3, Bennett said school boards would be allowed to transfer certain funds and delay implementation of specified mandates through the 2028-29 school year, including provisions tied to recent early childhood and education omnibus laws as well as paid family and medical leave and earned sick and safe time. She framed this as giving districts time to implement requirements carefully and with fidelity, and said such decisions would be made by local school boards in public meetings. She also argued the bill would reduce the burden of new mandates and preserve local decision-making. Representative Mueller then presented Article 1, saying it strengthens the state’s commitment to the science of reading, ends the Department of Education’s partnership with CAREI, repeals some 2024 requirements she said were ideological, and restores expectations for teacher preparation and assessment. Representative Bakeberg presented Article 2, which would require a more user-friendly school performance report, consolidate certain innovation-related programs into a new chapter, and replace the Department’s equity/diversity/inclusion center with an Office of Achievement and Innovation focused on academic achievement. He said the office’s guidance would be advisory only and that local districts would retain final authority. The chair then laid House File 6 over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill and further consideration at a later date.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are full state closing literacy gaps.
• resources to creating early literacy resources to creating early literacy opportunities<00:10:00.080
• Literacy is such an issue for people who are incarcerated.
• Literacy is such an issue for people who are incarcerated.
• And it's just so important that we start emphasizing literacy and reading.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: Senate Joint Resolution 54, sponsored by Senator Cassie Chambers Armstrong, was heard in committee on expanding Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Kentucky. Testimony came from Libby Settles, Bill Shy, and Lindsay Westerfield, who described the program’s impact on early literacy and family reading habits, and outlined ways to increase enrollment. Proposed expansion ideas included automatic enrollment for children in foster care, outreach through WIC and health departments, and exploring enrollment through the birth certificate process. Witnesses also highlighted related efforts such as bilingual books, Braille Tales, and a prison-based reading space program tied to Imagination Library books. Supporters emphasized the program’s low cost and broad educational benefits, citing statewide coverage, 52% enrollment of eligible children ages birth to five, and a goal of reaching 65%. Members asked about sustaining local matching funds and handling children who move between counties. Witnesses said local partners use a five-year cost estimator, diversify funding through grants and foundations, and rely on postal change-of-address systems to transfer enrollments seamlessly. Senator Chambers Armstrong also noted that about 2,200 foster children eligible for the program were not enrolled and said the resolution would help address that gap while protecting confidentiality. The committee adopted a small oral amendment removing the word “is” from line 19 on page two, then approved the resolution as amended on a 10-0 vote with favorable expression. Members spoke in support of the measure, praising the program’s literacy benefits and bipartisan history, and the committee then voted to roll the amendment into the committee report. The resolution was reported favorably and was said to be expected to pass the Senate floor.