Transcript Highlights:

• is... ...an online student or an on-campus student.
• an online student.
• to put a student in, start funding based on the student and having to put a student in a particular
• North Dakota students. 28,000 students of our 45 were taking online.
• over $2 from those students. those students are, you know, we're getting over $2 from those students

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Higher Education Funding Committee met to discuss possible changes to North Dakota’s higher education funding formula, with a particular focus on separating the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences MD program from the general formula. Dr. Jenkins outlined several options for the MD program, including a fixed-funding model, a hybrid model, or keeping it in the formula, and emphasized the need to preserve strong support for medical education while making future funding clearer. He also discussed efforts to increase the share of North Dakota students in the MD program through ND85, expanded recruiting, early acceptance pathways, MCAT prep, a four-plus-one program, and the Primary Care Accelerated Track, along with future cost pressures such as AI licensing and residency growth. The committee then reviewed a simplified funding model from the University System Office that would base funding more heavily on student FTE, credentials awarded, and a few incentive factors such as small institution and research adjustments. Members questioned the use of placeholder numbers, the lack of a clear methodology for the small institution and research factors, and whether the model would adequately account for differences among institutions, high-cost programs, and graduate education. Several members raised concerns that arbitrary factors would be hard to defend politically and could distort funding or create competition between schools, while others said the exercise was useful as a starting point for discussion. Alex presented a second alternative that kept the current SIP-code structure but increased CTE weighting, added a progressive economic size factor, and separated out the MD program. His model also added an on-campus face-to-face headcount component and a credentials component, with the intent of rewarding in-person enrollment and completions. Members questioned the use of headcount instead of FTE, how hybrid, online, dual-credit, and off-campus students would be treated, and why face-to-face enrollment was weighted more heavily than completion. No formal votes or final actions were taken; the committee instead continued discussion and asked members to provide direction on which elements, if any, should be developed further.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> individualized support to her students individualized support to her students and<00:03:27.959><
• </c> the classroom too one of our students the classroom too one of our students who<00:04:01.239><c>
• Roxan has built relationships with students, and Math Corps has done wonders for their students.
• I am Lar Claru, a student that attends Johnson High School and student of Miss Zar.
• I am Lar Claru, a student that attends Johnson High School and student of Miss Zar.

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> students and communities effectively. students and communities effectively.
• are Minnesota students.
• staff</c> student safety.
• Our students and staff student safety.
• </c> offer to Minnesota students. offer to Minnesota students.

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And every day, our undergraduate and graduate students, so many of them first-generation college students
• And every day, our undergraduate and graduate students, so many of them first-generation college students
• I'm a student at UC Santa Cruz, and I'm also representing the University of California Student Association
• I'm a graduate student researcher at UC Berkeley.
• I'm a graduate student researcher at UC Berkeley.

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> the for the students. the for the students.
• that's the need of the student.
• </c> students are going to go. students are going to go.
• </c> Uh a lot of the students don't love it. Uh a lot of the students don't love it.
• </c> students are going to be. students are going to be.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Budget Review Subcommittee on Education met for an overview of the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE). After approving the prior meeting minutes, staff from CPE explained that the council was reconstituted in 1997 and serves as Kentucky’s statewide coordinating body for higher education, with responsibilities including advising the General Assembly and governor, coordinating the postsecondary system, supporting budget and performance funding work, and using data to track outcomes. They described Kentucky’s governance structure, including the KCTCS governing board, independent boards at public universities, and CPE’s role in licensing private institutions and overseeing transfer, closed-school records, and tuition approval. CPE staff emphasized statewide strategic planning and the “60 by 30” goal of having 60% of working-age Kentuckians hold a meaningful credential by 2030. They said the agency uses dashboards, KPIs, and peer comparisons to set targets for institutions and monitor enrollment, retention, and graduation. They also highlighted the Kentucky Graduate Profile, a voluntary effort to embed 10 essential workforce skills into general education and major programs, and noted ongoing work on academic program approval, performance funding, and a biennial budget request. The presentation also focused on student support and workforce alignment initiatives. Staff described the Kentucky Advising Academy, the Commonwealth Education Continuum, and the Kentucky Student Success Collaborative, which work with K-12 partners and campuses to improve advising, transfer, wraparound supports, and career planning. They also discussed GEAR UP, the Futurity career-planning platform, and efforts to connect education pathways to workforce needs, including healthcare, veterans, and other adult learners. CPE reported that student debt at graduation has fallen to $10,168 at public institutions and that six in ten Kentucky undergraduates graduate debt free.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> past principal saw a lot of students past principal saw a lot of students like<00:37:44.160><c>
• </c> year for that particular student. year for that particular student.
• </c> we did it by individually by student. we did it by individually by student.
• </c><01:39:39.199><c> some</c><01:39:39.520><c> students</c> So, there are some student some students
• </c> for those students? for those students?

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The commission to study the cost of special education met, confirmed a quorum, introduced members and guests, and approved the minutes from the October 29 meeting. Members noted the commission’s mandate under Senate Bill 57 and emphasized the need to focus on recommendations and findings by July 1, 2026. The chair also distributed additional handouts, including materials related to the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program and administrative rules tied to differentiated aid and disability determinations. The main discussion centered on how students qualify for differentiated aid under the EFA program. Matt Sutherton of the Children’s Scholarship Fund explained that the organization, which contracts with the state to administer EFAs, accepts either school-district/IEP documentation or a medical certification of disability (MCD) from a licensed medical professional. Members questioned how this process relates to the state’s special education rules and whether the school-district examiner standards in ED 107/1107.04 apply to EFAs. Sutherton said the MCD form, created with the department, requires the medical professional to sign that they are qualified to make the determination and to identify the disability. Several members expressed concern that the EFA process is less rigorous than the school-district IEP process and may be inflating disability counts. One member argued that the administrative rules cited are primarily for school districts, not EFAs, and said the Department of Education may not know how many of the roughly 890 EFA students receiving differentiated aid came through school-district documentation versus the MCD pathway. Another member said the EFA system appears more generous than the school system and raised concerns about oversight, auditing, and whether the program’s data are accurate. Sutherton said the organization reviews signed documentation, credentials, and diagnosis information, and may request additional records to help adjudicate expenses. No votes or formal actions were taken beyond approving the prior minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• When a student shows indications of below-grade level literacy development, For students who scored at
• By letting students find other ways to satisfy their graduation pathways, students have more time and
• As a high school student, I have seen how graduation requirements can limit student learning.
• Strong students gain opportunities to expand on their education in areas of their choice, while students
• I appreciate you putting students first. So thank you.

Summary: The committee first took up a motion from Ranking Member Root to promptly schedule public hearings on two citizens’ initiatives. Supporters argued the Constitution and public accountability required hearings so voters could hear pro and con arguments; opponents said the legislature was not obligated to act that way and the initiatives would still be heard at the ballot. On a voice vote, the motion failed. The committee then heard extensive testimony on House Bill 1295, which would require evidence-aligned, comprehensive literacy instruction for K-4 students, update teacher endorsement standards and preparation programs, and require literacy-related continuing education for some teachers. The bill also repeals several older literacy-related provisions. The sponsor and supporters said Washington’s reading results are too low and that structured literacy reflects the science of reading; districts such as Puyallup described strong gains after adopting evidence-aligned instruction. Opponents and alternative-program advocates argued the bill could narrow instructional approaches and exclude programs they say have worked well. PESB testified neutrally that much of the endorsement work is already underway but asked for clarification on recertification language. The hearing on HB 1295 was suspended and later resumed with additional pro testimony from students, parents, and literacy advocates. House Bill 2262 was then heard and completed. It would require high school civics instruction to include teaching students to produce a legible, repeatable official signature and explain how signatures are used in elections and ballot processes, while also requiring related outreach and reporting on signature mismatch ballot rejections. The sponsor and county auditor testimony emphasized that younger voters often have signatures that change over time and that better instruction could reduce ballot rejections; questions focused on whether the bill should account for printed signatures and diverse writing systems. The Secretary of State’s office and county auditors were reported as supportive, and the hearing closed after a large number of pro sign-ins. The committee also heard House Bill 2636, which would create a public education performance, operations, and funding review commission to evaluate whether education mandates and funding are effective, relevant, and adequately supported. Supporters said the bill would help identify unfunded mandates and reduce administrative burdens on districts; rural district testimony urged a narrower scope and earlier start date. Finally, House Bill 2007 was heard, proposing competency-based assessments as additional graduation pathway options in place of some existing course/exam requirements. Student testimony supported more flexible, equitable pathways, while the State Board of Education said it supports competency-based education but preferred to wait for its broader Future Ready graduation-requirements work and noted the bill would require additional rulemaking. The hearing on HB 2007 closed after testimony from students and a neutral statement from SBE.

Transcript Highlights:

• That includes students with disabilities, English learners, multilingual students.
• Has the student observed it?
• Students. If we want not to have students who are separated out.
• Opportunities for our students.
• So students not just from Kansas, students can come from anywhere into their reading center.

Transcript Highlights:

• And finally, about the money following the student.
• And one of the three students, one of three students in my district is an English language learner.
• But this bill is not for low-income Texas students.
• Integrated students and diverse student outcomes better.
• Yeah, less than 2% of public school students served.

Bills: SB2 , SJR36 , SB2 , SB2 , SR29 , SB2

Keywords: Maverick County, recognition, economic development, Texas Senate, community celebration, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• unless a student receives an exemption.
• against the student, and the school... ...receives at least one prior report that another student committed
• My students practice religion after school or during the weekends.
• This would take away time with other students.
• students early and sending students back to class late, missing valuable instructional time, and creating

Committee: Senate Senate Education Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee heard and advanced several education-related bills. SB 1572, the Return to Civics Instruction Act, would require Freedom Week, civics instruction on the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and a Declaration recitation for grades 3-12; it passed 3-2 after some members argued schools already provide civics instruction and that the legislature should not mandate curriculum. SB 1798, as amended, would require each high school to designate a FAFSA point person, post contact information, and implement a FAFSA awareness strategy; the Arizona Board of Regents supported it, while some members raised concerns about mandates on charter schools and staffing burdens. The committee also passed SB 1711, which directs the State Board of Education to develop and post age-appropriate resources on preventing and recognizing inappropriate contact, with testimony split between support for parent-accessible safety materials and concerns about sex-education compliance issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• and white students between el students and white students by<00:46:17.079><c> potentially</c><00:46:
• </c> to their students based on their student to their students based on their student population<01:
• student-to-student support personnel ratios.
• , that student, that student.
• > student</c> this student that student that student this student that student that student didn't<01

Bills: HF957 , HF877

Committee: House Education Finance

Keywords: education, mandate relief, school funding, local control, state laws, fund transfers, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• : Did the student have more than one sexual partner?
• Did the student use a latex condom or oil-based lubricant?
• The students can benefit from its effectiveness.
• But again, that is not relevant in the context of this law because in-school students—students who are
• But again, that is not relevant in the context of this law because in school students, students who are

Committee: House Privacy and Consumer Protection

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> and</c><00:01:12.520><c> our</c> um you know how our students and our um you know how our students
• of</c><00:09:45.399><c> need</c> idea is in students in areas of need idea is in students in areas of
• have 25 students waiting for daytime have 25 students waiting for daytime classes<00:36:30.079><c> our
• </c> dental and eye clinics for our students dental and eye clinics for our students we<01:08:53.279>
• c> families</c> students uh supporting students families students uh supporting students families and

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• To give you an example, we have about 420 students K through 12 at Rehoboth; 78 of those students benefit
• It's about Close to 20 percent of our student population, and that's students that we try to serve with
• majority of our students in the state.
• The number of students is going down.
• This just takes off all of the stigmas as to whether you're a full-pay student or a part-pay student.

Transcript Highlights:

• performance, student outcomes, always.
• students.
• It affects student outcomes.
• When our students with disabilities succeed, all students succeed.
• When our students with disabilities succeed, all students succeed, it reflects back on our whole student

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, thank you. of students student behavioral issues of students student behavioral issues and<06:01
• those 700 students.
• those 700 students.
• those 700 students.
• those 700 students.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up HB 662, which would require discussion of abortion procedures and the viewing of certain videos in public school health education. Members argued the bill went too far by naming specific videos and involving the Attorney General in enforcement, and they said curriculum decisions should be left to educators. The committee voted ITL on HB 662 by a unanimous 18-0. The committee then considered HCR 6, a resolution calling for the removal of the superintendent of District 67. Members said the resolution targeted an individual and that the underlying dispute was already in court, so the matter should be left to the legal process. The motion to ITL passed 18-0. Next, HR 9, urging the Department of Education to emphasize STEM education, received broad support as a nonpartisan statement of priorities, and it also passed 18-0. HB 440, concerning educator licensing and shortages in Career and Technical Education, was amended to clarify that the bill applies to initial licensure only. After discussion about whether the amendment was necessary, the committee adopted Amendment 0188 unanimously and then voted OTPA on the bill as amended, 18-0. HB 222, which repealed the requirement for an MOU between charter schools and districts on services for students with disabilities, drew testimony that districts already provide substantial oversight through IEP processes and that the MOU requirement was burdensome and largely unenforced; the committee voted OTP 18-0. The committee then took up HB 719, which would repeal the right of first refusal for charter schools to purchase or lease unused district facilities. Supporters said the existing law had not generated complaints and could impede charter expansion, while opponents said the issue had not proven to be a problem and local control should be preserved. The committee voted ITL 17-1, with one member opposed and no minority report. The chair then postponed HB 184, a study committee bill on school start times, because it was scheduled for the next day, and the committee moved into a work session on bullying-related bills, discussing HB 108, HB 384, and HB 673 without taking final action in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Student Academic Success Subcommittee will come to order.
• In my personal experience, I was a student in leadership advocacy.
• I met founders of nonprofits, and I'm among students with ideas, and I met students with dreams who were
• ENVIRONMENTS FOR STUDENTS WITH AUTISM.
• I worked alongside students on the autism spectrum every single day.

Summary: The Student Academic Success Subcommittee met with a quorum and considered two PCS bills. PCS for HB 1059, by Rep. Booth, would designate the first week of November as Florida Speech and Debate Week to recognize speech and debate programs and the educators, coaches, judges, and school districts that support them. Supporters, including students and advocates, testified that speech and debate builds critical thinking, civics knowledge, confidence, and respectful civil discourse, and several members praised the students’ testimony and the program’s value. The bill was reported favorably by a 14-0 vote. The committee then heard PCS for HB 851, by Rep. Long, which requires each school district’s professional learning system to include at least one annual autism-specific training opportunity for teachers and school-based administrators, developed with the Center for Autism and grounded in evidence-based practices. The sponsor said the bill is intended to give educators practical tools to support students with autism, while members asked questions about scope, virtual training, charter schools, and the relationship to existing law. Public testimony and member debate largely supported the bill, with speakers emphasizing the need for better educator preparation and inclusion for students with autism. The bill also passed unanimously, 14-0, and was reported favorably. At the end of the meeting, members and the chair offered brief closing remarks thanking colleagues and staff and reflecting on the committee’s work, with the chair noting it may have been the committee’s last meeting of the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• Those online students in those districts are funded the same exact way as in-person students are funded
• Students.
• Receiving funding for those virtual students that they had last year, even though those students aren't
• That actually serves the students; i.e., Gallup receives the funding, not the district in which the students
• The SEG has three factors in it for homeschool students and for... charter school students who want to

Committee: Senate Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• We can look at exactly every student.
• Our job is to also help students.
• </c> build a state-of-the-art where students build a state-of-the-art where students counselors<00:05
• low-income student funding.
• </c><00:36:47.480><c> it's</c><00:36:47.800><c> student</c> really taking the student it's student really

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: Aaron Thompson, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, and Travis Pal briefed the committee on Kentucky higher education performance, affordability, workforce alignment, and budget needs. Thompson said the state has made progress toward its 60x30 attainment goal, reporting 56.2% of adults with a credential of value and a 6.4% one-year increase in credentials. He highlighted gains in completion, enrollment recovery after COVID, lower student borrowing and debt, and faster degree completion, saying Kentucky is now back to an average of 4.1 years for four-year degrees. He also emphasized that postsecondary education has a strong return on investment for both students and the state. A major theme was student success and access. Thompson described efforts to reduce barriers through test-optional admissions, the elimination of zero-credit developmental education, expanded wraparound supports, and Bridge programming for students not fully prepared for college. He also promoted Futurity, a student-facing information website, and said CPE wants modest ongoing funding to maintain it. He argued that higher education must work in a P-20 system with K-12, and that the state should better communicate the value of certificates, trade programs, and other credentials, especially for adult learners and men, who he said are underrepresented in college-going. The presentation also focused on performance funding, capital needs, and workforce initiatives. Thompson and Pal said performance funding has pushed institutions toward more need-based aid and lower costs for low-income students, but they want more base funding, more performance funding dollars, and relief from about $38 million in mandated tuition waivers. They also said asset preservation and deferred maintenance remain major needs, estimating roughly $7 billion in campus need overall. On workforce, they cited healthcare pipeline work supported by state funding and private partners, and said HB 200 continues that effort into aviation, aerospace, and defense. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the presentation, which ended with members indicating interest in further discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• AND THEY SEE A MULTITUDE OF STUDENTS.
• SOME STUDENT YOU MAY HAVE ONE THAT IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE STUDENT YOU WOULD THINK THERE WAS THREATENING
• IT WAS AT THE STUDENT UNION.
• WE HAD A STUDENT THAT OPENED FIRE AT THE STUDENT UNION AND IF YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE RESPONSE YOU
• ARE YOU TALK ABOUT FLORIDA STUDENTS?