Transcript Highlights:

• Schools can still provide additional leave days.
• Currently, Kentucky's 177 local school districts and co-ops have inconsistent policies.
• Some school districts allow administrators to roll annual leave.
• </c> penalizing teachers hold school penalizing teachers hold school districts<00:15:19.519><c> accountable
• </c><00:15:53.199><c> District</c> liability yearly allow School District liability yearly allow School

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate State and Local Government Committee met and first took up Senate Bill 193, described as a simple measure to restore a wallet card for jailers to carry when outside the jail. The chair noted the fiscal impact was essentially zero, there were no questions, and the committee voted to pass the bill 9-0. The committee then heard Senate Bill 9, a proposal focused on the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS). The sponsor argued TRS remains underfunded despite large state contributions, cited rising unfunded liability and negative cash flow, and said the bill is intended to standardize and limit what sick leave, personal leave, and annual leave can count toward retirement calculations. The bill would generally cap TRS retirement credit at 10 sick days and 2 personal days per year, prevent annual leave from being rolled into sick leave, require more uniform reporting and oversight from participating districts and agencies, and shift costs to districts that offer benefits beyond TRS limits. The sponsor also said the bill would add 30 maternity leave days, allow voluntary supplemental contributions for Tier Four teachers, and include a floor amendment directing the state auditor to audit TRS and report on agency leave policies. During the presentation, the sponsor emphasized fairness, transparency, and accountability, and used a hypothetical high-salary administrator to illustrate how leave payouts can increase retirement benefits and create additional unfunded liability. Senator Mills thanked the sponsor and said members had been working to understand the issue, but no committee action on Senate Bill 9 was completed in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• The son of a sharecropper, orphaned at an early age, and raised by relatives, he dropped out of school
• Members, um, I want to recognize, um, Cyfair Independent School District.
• HB 4 by Buckley relating to the assessment of public school students, public school accountability, and
• actions and proceedings challenging the operations of the public school system for to the Committee
• HB 6 by Lee relating to the discipline in public schools refer to the Committee on Public Education.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 810, public schools, school security personnel, immigration investigation and enforcement
• ,<01:00:04.240><c> school</c><01:00:04.559><c> security</c><01:00:04.960><c> personnel,</c> schools,
• school security personnel, schools, school security personnel, immigration<01:00:06.079><c> investigation
• </c> public schools, school security public schools, school security personnel,<01:00:18.720><c> immigration
• Talbot County Public Schools School Schedule Options, favorable with two amendments.

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Friday, March 20, 2026, 960, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But now, so if you look at the amendment, we've taken the school basically out of it.
• The school building is out of this bill now.
• I'm not in the construction world, but um I just want to put that out there. >> The school I think has
• </c><00:14:12.079><c> The</c><00:14:12.160><c> school</c> school basically out of it.
• The school school basically out of it.

Committee: House State Government

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• HB 894 is the bullying in private schools bill, putting regulations in place in our private schools.
• driver, another student at the school who was driving 80 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone.
• A pedestrian in a crosswalk, a child walking home from school, a neighbor crossing the street in their
• A pedestrian in a crosswalk, a child walking home from school, a neighbor crossing the street in their
• division and any school board policies governing such use.

Keywords: March 13, 2026 - Regular Session Part 2, 976, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Now, the Coeur d'Alene School District, their board of trustees met in October, and they weighed this
• But they both went through the Coeur d'Alene School District when they were still offering it. Mr.
• My name is Tanya Hossite, and I am representing Phillips Driving School.
• My husband and I own Phillips Driving School. We are strongly opposed to House Bill 628.
• Kids are busy when they’re in high school. They have sports. They have music.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee heard House Bill 628 from Representative Ron Mendive, which would allow urban school districts to offer both school-based driver education and parent-taught driver training, rather than forcing districts to choose one or the other. Mendive said the bill also removes a reference to IDLA as a listed online provider while leaving other approved online classroom options in place. He argued the change would help districts like Coeur d’Alene restart driver’s ed while still letting parents teach, and said insurance treatment and the state licensing test would not change. Several witnesses opposed the bill. Lisa Brady, Lori Salders, Tanya Hosvite of Phillips Driving School, and Marissa Keith all argued that expanding parent-led instruction statewide would weaken driver education standards, reduce professional oversight, and create safety risks for teen drivers and other road users. They emphasized that professional instructors receive continuing education, use dual-control vehicles, and are better equipped to teach hazard perception, defensive driving, and urban driving conditions. Mendive responded that parents already provide most of the required 50 hours of practice, that the bill only changes the six hours of instructor-led training, and that parents have their children’s best interests in mind. After discussion, Senator Kaiser moved to send HB 628 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation, and Senator Hart seconded. Senators debated whether urban areas still needed the extra professional instruction, with some members citing local traffic safety concerns and others noting scheduling flexibility for families. The committee voted in favor of the motion, with three recorded in opposition. The hearing also included an interview of gubernatorial appointee Gaston Patterson for the Aeronautics Advisory Board, who described his aviation background and the board’s advisory role, and a brief introduction from new Senate page Olivia Earle. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we've got Tony Perotta from Sumner High School. He's a teacher there.
• school transitions for children of active duty service members.
• Hi, Patty Rendon, Hillsborough County School Board, and I am the proud school board member of these beautiful
• And we always talk about our public school system.
• And we always talk about our public school system.

Committee: Senate Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security

Summary: The Military and Veterans, Space, and Domestic Security Committee met with a quorum and heard several bills focused on veterans, military families, and aerospace. SB 684 by Sen. Avila would let certain Florida Retirement System members buy military wartime service credit under updated eligibility dates and expand the definition of wartime service to include recent operations such as New Dawn, Inherent Resolve, Freedom Sentinel, and Enduring Sentinel. Veterans and first responders testified in support, and senators said the bill corrects an outdated gap. The committee voted the bill favorably. The committee then took up SB 1528 by Sen. Collins on educational opportunities for military children. The bill strengthens coordination between school districts and military installations and requires DOE training modules for school staff working with military families. An amendment removing a sunset provision was adopted, and three Hillsborough County students who helped develop the idea testified in support, describing research on military-family school transitions and the need for staff training on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The committee reported the bill favorably as amended. SB 910 by Sen. Collins, on veterans benefit assistance, was amended and reported favorably. As amended, it allows veterans to work with professional claims advisors while adding consumer protections, including fee caps, bans on initial/nonrefundable and referral fees, required disclosures, and limits on use of veterans’ login credentials. Sen. Collins and others argued the federal VA claims process is too slow and confusing and that veterans need both help and safeguards. The committee also approved SB 1464 by Sen. Wright, which expands FDVA outreach through digital, print, social media, and in-person efforts and requires public events and annual reporting, and SB 1516 by Sen. Wright, which creates an international aerospace innovation fund administered by Space Florida to support partnerships with international aerospace companies. All measures were reported favorably, and the committee adjourned at the end of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• is poverty and school.
• </c><01:14:23.440><c> in</c> followed up, looked at the schools in followed up, looked at the schools
• </c><01:15:43.679><c> at</c> and school at and school at school.<01:15:45.760><c> We</c><01:15:46.080
• </c> school. We know that these are children. school. We know that these are children.
• Um, I think they divided it up by school population, school enrollment.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first revisited HB 781, the cell phone bill, after previously retaining it. On reconsideration, members moved to OTP the bill, and it passed unanimously. The committee then moved into the budget tracking packet and adopted an amendment to HB 2 to add the same cell phone policy language, also unanimously, and separately reduced HB 1 by $1 million to match the policy change. Members noted the cell phone language had already been stripped of grant funding language in the House version and that the policy and funding pieces were being aligned across the budget bills. The committee then took up a Department of Education technical amendment to HB 2 on charter school grants, which made timing and administrative changes without altering grant amounts, and adopted it unanimously. Members also discussed but held other education-related items, including adequacy grants, pending broader decisions on overall education funding. Another HB 2 item concerning E-911/state police radio communications prompted a longer discussion about whether E-911 surcharge funds were being used for purposes that should instead be general-funded. After debate over whether to leave the current practice in place or split the funding 50/50 between E-911 and general funds, the committee adopted a joint HB 1/HB 2 change to shift the funding source to a 50/50 split and delete the HB 2 language authorizing the prior use; the motion passed 7-0. The committee also discussed but did not act on several lottery-related provisions, including the video lottery terminal amendment, the increase in maximum ticket price from $30 to $50, and related tax split changes, with members planning to hear from the Lottery Commission on Monday. The meeting ended with the committee beginning review of new amendments in the tracking packet, including a Department of Education request related to Public School Infrastructure Commission grant administration, but no action was taken on that item in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're a nonprofit advocacy organization that works hard for strong schools and good government.
• However, he has a law school final tomorrow.
• However, he is a law school final tomorrow.
• But I do cherish public schools and what they mean to the communities around this state.
• At the state level, income tax provides for our schools.

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 1001, sponsored by Representative Les Eaves, which would lower Arkansas’s personal income tax rate to 3.7% retroactive to the current year and reduce the corporate income tax rate to 4.1% beginning in 2027. Eaves argued the bill continued a decade-long strategy of broad-based tax relief, would help working families, and would keep Arkansas competitive with other states. He said the measure would reduce future surpluses rather than cut current services, and noted the average taxpayer could see roughly $800 to $1,000 in annual savings from recent tax changes. Several witnesses testified against the bill. Arkansas Appleseed’s Anna Morchetti, Missy Wyatt Joyce, Pastor Preston Clegg, Michelle Pedro of the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese, and Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families’ Pete Guest all argued the state should prioritize funding for public schools, health care, supported living services, food assistance, rural hospitals, and early childhood education instead of further tax cuts. They said Arkansas faces significant unmet needs, including underfunded schools, food insecurity, and shortages in disability and community-based services, and warned the tax cut would mainly benefit higher earners while reducing resources for essential programs. After testimony, the committee limited debate time for witnesses to five minutes. Representative Eaves closed by saying the state had been responsible in prior tax cuts and that the bill would return money to taxpayers without reducing services. Representative Bray also spoke in support, saying the legislature has continued to fund major priorities while still providing tax relief to working families. The committee then voted to pass the bill, and HB 1001 was approved.

Transcript Highlights:

• Providing school districts the option to replace school buses with electric or zero-emission alternative
• fuel school buses.
• Allowing school districts to enter into agreements for the use of their electric school buses as electric
• energy storage for providing grid services or for use by schools.
• every high school to install an automated external defibrillator and requiring all high school employees

Transcript Highlights:

• Question one: Should school districts be permanently allowed to start classes before Labor Day?
• Supporters of the idea to allow the school year to start before Labor Day say it gives school districts
• flexibility to be able to fit all their needs into the school calendar.
• A law passed in 2023 allows hourly school workers like school bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and teachers
• School districts began providing year?

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The segment presented the results of the 2025 Minnesota House legislative opinion poll, which asked fairgoers about a range of policy issues tied to recent or possible future legislative action. Topics included school calendar flexibility before Labor Day, state funding for sports stadiums and arenas, undocumented immigrants’ access to state programs, unemployment benefits for hourly school workers in the summer, banning guns in the Capitol, budget-balancing options for a projected 2028-29 deficit, removing party labels from legislative ballots, limiting free school meals by income, free fishing licenses for residents age 65 and older, local control over cannabis businesses, a post-employment lobbying ban for legislators, and a higher income tax rate for the highest earners. For several questions, the segment noted the underlying legislative context. It referenced the 2023 law making undocumented immigrants eligible for MinnesotaCare and the 2025 law ending adult eligibility at year’s end, the school meals program’s higher-than-expected costs, and a 2025 proposal to remove party designations from legislative ballots that did not receive a committee hearing. It also mentioned the projected nearly $6 billion budget shortfall for the 2028-29 biennium, the Xcel Energy Center renovation funding request, and the recent killings of House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and the shooting of Senator John Hoffman and his wife as part of the discussion about Capitol gun restrictions. The poll itself was presented as a public opinion survey rather than a legislative vote, so no formal committee action or roll call occurred. The segment closed by thanking participants and saying the poll would return next year at the fair.

Transcript Highlights:

• , who then said they would be happy to have her son go to Leilehua High School, of course pay the fee
• like everyone else, and Leilehua High School is making this opportunity happen.
• Hua High School who then said<00:05:25.080><c> they</c><00:05:25.240><c> would</c><00:05:25.560><c>
• </c> have her son go to leel haa High School have her son go to leel haa High School of<00:05:30.680>
• I might add there were several private schools called that also, you know, were unable to assist.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh high school to the university system.
• But this school my major real quickly.
• For over 400 schools it more affordable.
• Uh, how are the graduate schools doing in terms of enrollment?
• </c> to a college community or high school to a college community or high school community<01:09:50.159

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard updates from the chancellors of the state university system and the community college system on ongoing restructuring, collaboration, and enrollment trends. The university system said its office move to the NHTI campus is ahead of schedule and should save students about $250,000 a year while creating revenue for the community college system. Both systems described continued work on transfer pathways, direct-admit outreach, shared advising, and broader efforts to shrink footprints, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency in response to declining enrollment and demographic pressure. A major topic was a possible federal change to Pell Grant eligibility that would require students to enroll in at least 7.5 credits. The chancellors said most community college students are part-time because of work and family responsibilities, and that the change could affect roughly 2,000 current Pell recipients and make it harder for students to afford or sustain enrollment. Members also discussed how the state’s governor’s scholarship statute largely benefits full-time students, suggesting possible future statutory changes. The chancellors explained how credits typically work, noting most courses are three or four credits and that students would likely need to add an entire course to meet the proposed threshold. The committee also discussed the broader higher education landscape, including declining high school cohorts, competition among New England institutions, and the need to right-size capacity. One member raised concerns about the health of regional campuses such as Plymouth and Keene; the chancellors said incoming enrollment is down at UNH and Plymouth and holding at Keene, attributing the trend to demographics rather than one campus drawing students away from another. They emphasized the importance of community colleges, adult learners, and short-term workforce programs as part of the state’s future education mix. Finally, the committee touched on the value of the university system’s research enterprise. The chancellor said about $250 million a year flows into the university system in federal research grants, with about $9.5 million currently under stop-work orders from federal agencies. She said the immediate concern is not DEI-related but federal cuts and possible caps on indirect cost recovery. Members noted that the R1 research designation supports business partnerships, student opportunities, and economic development projects such as West Edge in Durham.

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, members, HB 4005, Artificial Intelligence Course Public Schools, passed the Senate 16-13
• The bill, as passed the House, requires each school district to offer instruction on the ethical, moral
• for public school districts only. intelligence course public schools passed the Senate 16131 on a party
• so it is specifically for school public school districts only ...to remove charter schools, so it is
• specifically for public school districts only.

Summary: The caucus reviewed a series of Senate-amended bills, with staff summarizing each measure and noting whether the sponsor intended to concur. HB 2305 would revise Arizona’s private towing laws and remove a requirement that municipalities or law enforcement enforce the prescribed towing rates; HB 2398 would impose insurance requirements for watercraft rentals, charters, and peer-to-peer sharing; HB 2957 would bar state and local governments from requiring a digital or mobile driver’s license for identification, while dropping a House provision on biometric identifiers. Members asked for Senate vote counts on several bills and clarified that HB 2305 and HB 2398 were separate from other towing and boot-related measures. The committee also discussed HB 2321, which requires DCS caseworkers to place a security freeze on a child’s credit record after entry into care, with the Senate removing a $100,000 appropriation and one FTE; HB 2408, which changes Nursing Board complaint and expungement procedures and expands how anonymous complaints may be investigated; HB 2397, which updates HOA/condo disclosure rules and drew noted opposition from the Community Associations Institute and home builders; HB 4005, which requires public school districts to provide AI instruction at specific grade levels and directs ADE to adopt curriculum; and HB 2755, which shifts state land lease renewal language to notice and sale procedures for underperforming commercial leases. Senate vote counts were provided for several of these measures, generally showing narrow or party-line margins. The final items were HB 2406, a heavily amended bill now restricting access to records and images related to deceased minors, including child abuse images, with supporters citing concerns about misuse through AI and opponents raising disclosure and media-access concerns; and HCR 2001, a ballot referral on citizenship, voting, and election-related contributions that was substantially narrowed in the Senate but still requires voter ID, limits voting to citizens, bars foreign nationals from election spending, and mandates on-site tabulation for early votes, prompting continued county opposition because of cost and implementation concerns. The caucus ended after members were reminded that the agenda and caucus sheets had been emailed rather than printed.

Transcript Highlights:

• do, that Christian schools do, and other private schools do as well.
• off the floor where we included Catholic schools into the funding for Jewish schools around the state
• So school board members always had good cause, from my understanding.
• from dismissing a student based on academic performance while the school is under school improvement
• Harvard of umpire schools.

Summary: The House met with a quorum present, heard prayers and ceremonial remarks, and then took up a series of returning messages from the Senate. The first major item was CS/CS/HB 1503 on computer science education and certification. Members explained that the House concurred in a Senate amendment that restored teacher certificate language, kept computer science and AI-related content in the bill, and delayed implementation to give the Department of Education time to develop curriculum. The House adopted the amendment and then passed the bill 105-0. The House also considered CS/CS/HB 1085 on local government cybersecurity. Members adopted a House amendment allowing local governments to buy into the cyber grant program even if they do not receive a grant, adding a five-year sunset and reporting provisions. The House then concurred in the Senate amendment shifting grant administration from a university to the Florida Digital Service, and passed the bill 104-1. Several other returning messages were rejected or sent back to the Senate. The House refused to concur in Senate amendments to CS/HB 351 on concurrent legislative jurisdiction over military installations and HB 6011 on reporting gifts or honoraria, as well as CS/HB 851 on professional learning for instructional and school administrative personnel. The most contentious debate came on CS/CS/HB 1471, which concerns systems of law and terrorist organizations; the Senate amendment defined “promote,” refined notice and timeline requirements, and retained references to Sharia law. Opponents argued the bill was overbroad, lacked due process and evidentiary standards, and threatened First Amendment rights, while supporters said it targeted conduct, not speech, and protected against terrorist support. The House adopted the amendment and passed the bill 80-25. The House then took up a related public records bill, CS/CS/HB 1473, which made a technical conforming change to align with HB 1471; debate focused on transparency and due process concerns.

Transcript Highlights:

• exemplary school.
• ,</c> arts focused schools, arts focused schools, there<00:03:44.400><c> are</c><00:03:44.560><c> no<
• /c><00:04:34.479><c> school.
• charter school as opposed to as a state charter school as opposed to as a state agency? agency?
• Paul public schools. The technical colleges came out of the public schools in many cases.

Committee: Senate Capital Investment

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is how we want to fund the 600 schools that want solar for schools.
• This is how we want to fund the 600 schools that want solar for schools.
• This is how we want to fund the 600 schools that want solar for schools.
• This is how we want to fund the 600 schools that want solar for schools.
• This is how we want to fund the 600 schools that want solar for schools.

Committee: Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• M Val school M Val school M Val high high school we play Bulldog gold high high school we play Bulldog
• private schools resource officers for private schools resource officers for private schools that's right
• um school resource officer a post um school resource officer a post um school resource officer a post
• certified school resource officer now certified school resource officer now certified school resource
• the school the full cost of employing the school the full cost of employing the school resource officer

Bills: SB 2

Keywords: 920, all

Transcript Highlights:

• property in those school districts are not only not paying ... our greater Minnesota schools.
• Um, our greater Minnesota schools.
• </c><00:36:23.599><c> And</c> those school districts. And those school districts.
• </c> would be received by each school would be received by each school district.
• 41:49.200><c> um</c><00:41:49.440><c> school</c><00:41:49.680><c> district</c> district are um school

Committee: Senate Taxes

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That was back when I was riding my bicycle to elementary school.
• My name is Andy Lee, and I'm a school board member for the Jefferson Union High School District, which
• High school who are going to community college and still need housing.
• She said the city has excellent schools and that residents want to experience those schools and the benefits
• We have excellent quality schools, and they want that to experience those schools and also the benefits

Summary: The Assembly Local Government Committee heard a long agenda of housing, water, and local finance bills, with the chair repeatedly reminding attendees about hearing rules and noting that several measures were being heard without a quorum at first. Early items included AB 407, which would broaden eligibility for state-run loan and financing programs to help small businesses fund environmental, seismic, and ADA upgrades, and AB 93, which would require data centers to estimate and report water use and follow state best practices. AB 93 drew support from water advocates and local government groups, while the Data Center Coalition opposed it, arguing the bill could be overly restrictive, difficult to retrofit, and raise trade secret or security concerns. The committee also heard AB 650 on housing element review, AB 1044 on creating a new Tulare County groundwater sustainability agency, and AB 523 on allowing proxy voting for single-representative member agencies on the Metropolitan Water District board; all drew broad support from local agencies and related stakeholders and no recorded opposition in the room. Several housing bills were presented as part of a broader fast-track housing package. AB 507 would streamline adaptive reuse of office buildings into housing, especially in downtowns with high vacancy; supporters said it would revive urban cores and help meet housing and climate goals, while the League of California Cities and a few cities opposed it unless amended, citing concerns about one-size-fits-all by-right approval and fee limitations. AB 1294 would create a universal housing application and limit early application requirements; it drew strong support from housing and business groups, with the American Planning Association and League of California Cities seeking more flexibility and input. AB 610 would require local governments to disclose housing constraints in their housing elements and limit new constraints after certification for three years unless disclosed; supporters said it would improve transparency and certainty, while opponents warned it could chill legitimate local policy choices and inclusionary housing requirements. Both AB 610 and AB 698, which would require analysis of the housing and property tax impacts of proposed transfer taxes, were moved out of committee on 7-0 votes after discussion and amendments. The committee also heard AB 1112, which would repeal an outdated Riverside County property tax provision affecting Rancho Mirage; the city argued it was the only qualifying no-low property tax city not receiving the standard minimum and sought equal treatment. After quorum was established, the bill was passed 6-0 with amendments and sent to Appropriations. AB 1021, heard later, would make it easier for school districts and other local education agencies to build employee housing, with the author citing teacher recruitment and retention problems and support from education stakeholders. Throughout the hearing, members and witnesses repeatedly emphasized the need to balance housing production, local fiscal tools, and infrastructure needs, and several authors accepted committee amendments and committed to continued negotiations with opponents.