Transcript Highlights:

• It also allows students to win awards and participate in service-based learning and more.
• But FFA is not just for students who want to be production farmers.
• Our students earn some of the most rigorous industry certifications available.
• Okay, our students graduate college or are career ready.
• We have a lot of students in the audience today. Could we maybe get a photo with everybody?

Bills: S0806

Committee: Senate Agriculture

Keywords: right to repair, repairability, consumer repair, independent repair provider, authorized repair provider, portable wireless device, smartphone repair, cell phone repair, mobile device, agricultural equipment, farm equipment, tractor, combine, diagnostic information, repair manuals, parts availability, tools, embedded software, firmware, security module

Summary: The Committee on Agriculture took up SB 806, a consumer and agricultural equipment right-to-repair bill sponsored by Senator Truenow. The bill was described as expanding repair options for portable wireless devices and farm equipment while protecting trade secrets. Two amendments were adopted: one clarified that portable devices do not include motor vehicles, and another was a technical staff amendment. Testimony included support for the general goal of repair access, but opposition from a John Deere dealership representative, who warned the bill could weaken local dealer support, reduce parts inventory, increase downtime, and create emissions-compliance risks. The Consumer Technology Association also opposed the bill in its current form, citing concerns about a patchwork of state laws, a private right of action against manufacturers, and inconsistencies with other states’ repair laws. After closing remarks from Senator Truenow, the committee voted to report CS for SB 806 favorably. The committee then heard a presentation from Florida 4-H state officers and alumni, who highlighted 4-H’s role in youth development, leadership, agriculture, STEM, and healthy living. They described statewide participation of more than 216,000 youth, the impact of camps and hands-on programs, and efforts to raise funds for facility improvements, including Camp Cherry Lake and Camp Timpoochee. Members asked about how youth discover 4-H, what drives participation, and the organization’s growth goals, including reaching 300,000 youth. Next, Florida FFA state officers presented on agricultural education and FFA’s role in preparing students for careers in agriculture and related fields. They emphasized the three-part model of classroom instruction, supervised agricultural experience, and FFA leadership activities, and noted Florida’s membership growth to more than 65,000 students, supported by state funding that allows all agricultural education students to participate at no cost. Members discussed the need for technology and AI to help meet future food-production demands, and the presenters stressed innovation, urban agriculture, and efficiency as key to feeding a growing population. The meeting concluded with general comments of support and a request for a group photo with the students.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're leaving 2% of our students behind. That is 20,000. We're leaving 2% of our students behind.
• The average student in my district is very low academically, which leaves a handful of gifted students
• to look at how do you screen a student?
• to look at how do you screen a student?
• So do certain gifted students have IEPs?

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 206 on students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
• This will encourage more teachers to go into being specialized in teaching students with autism.
• School districts are not required to have students with autism being taught by an ESE teacher.
• And with that And we have to give every student an opportunity to be successful.
• Students. And that is the bill, Mr. Chair. There is an amendment, Mr. Chair.

Committee: Senate Education Pre-K - 12

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:15:35.760><c> that</c> expects to expend on the students that expects to expend on the students
• </c><00:16:16.399><c> was</c> send one student out and one student was send one student out and one student
• There are students who Oh, I'm district. There are students who Oh, I'm so<00:44:51.359><c> sorry.
• </c> However, this does allow for students However, this does allow for students right<00:51:27.359><
• And I think with with CTE students.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first discussed HB 771, the open enrollment bill, which had returned from the Senate with language clarifying that districts should list both tuition expenses and offsetting revenue estimates from sending districts. The chair and Representative McGuire supported concurring with the Senate changes, while Representative Luno raised broader concerns about the bill’s structure and equity, arguing that tuition based on 80% of the sending district’s average cost could be unfair and could create problems for receiving districts with different cost structures. After a show of hands, the committee voted to concur and send that recommendation to the House floor, with Luno indicating he would speak against it there. The committee then took up SB 9 in executive session. An amendment, 1920H, was offered to clarify that the tuition calculation should use the sending district’s average cost and to support access to CTE programs, including allowing students to take academic courses at the receiving school and, in some cases, attend the nearest CTE center. Supporters said the bill would help more students participate in career and technical education and noted bipartisan sponsorship in the Senate. Opponents argued the amendment would increase district costs, strain property taxpayers, and could reduce CTE participation or create logistical problems. The committee adopted the amendment 10-8, then voted 10-8 to recommend OTPA as amended; Representative Lad was assigned the majority report and Representative Luno the minority ITL report. After closing the SB 9 executive session, the chair reminded members that committee reports were due immediately and announced retained-bill subcommittees. One subcommittee will address adequacy and school funding issues arising from HB 651, HB 772, HB 491, and HB 434, chaired by Representative Spillsbury. Another will address school building aid issues from HB 295 and HB 366, including whether to keep the current formula or revise it, and how to handle renovations, new construction, and lease arrangements.

Transcript Highlights:

• For those students, transportation isn't a convenience.
• For those students, transportation isn't a convenience.
• , students in foster care, and students with disabilities.
• Last year, Ever-Driven transported more than 12,000 homeless students and foster care students and over
• cost for a special education student was $13,825.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security held a public hearing with opening remarks from Senate Chair John Cronin and House Chair Dan Cahill, followed by member introductions and instructions limiting testimony to three minutes. The committee first heard testimony on S. 2743, an act addressing staged suicides. Elizabeth Sherin Feiner of Jewish Family and Children’s Service and later Susan Altman, a domestic violence advocate, described cases in which deaths initially treated as accidents or suicides were later found to be homicides, arguing the bill would improve training, investigation protocols, and accountability in deaths involving domestic abuse. Committee members asked about current police and medical examiner practices, and one member noted that sudden-death determinations are handled by the chief medical examiner in Massachusetts. The committee then heard testimony on S. 2861, a special commission to examine school bus safety, led by Representative Sabadosa and Amanda Taylor, whose daughter Summer Steel was killed in a school bus door incident. Taylor urged adoption of anti-pinch sensor technology on new buses, saying it could have prevented her daughter’s death. Representative Sabadosa and later a Mazur USA representative supported the bill, explaining that anti-pinch and anti-drag technologies are already used in other transportation sectors and could prevent similar tragedies. The hearing also included discussion of costs and the fact that the proposal would apply prospectively to buses manufactured going forward. Finally, the committee heard testimony on S. 3021, updating Massachusetts student transportation. Ever-Driven Technologies and Chamber of Progress supported the bill, saying it would modernize Section 7D requirements for smaller passenger vehicles used for alternative student transportation while keeping core safety standards in place. They argued the change would help districts serve students experiencing homelessness, in foster care, or with disabilities, reduce costs, and expand transportation options amid a statewide transportation crisis. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the committee adjourned after public testimony concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• Is that the intent of this with a student?
• The student device isn't approved, like the staff device.
• and fewer students.
• Students and fewer students.
• or regular students would be offered—is that a correct interpretation?

Committee: House Education

Summary: The committee met to consider only education administrative rules, and members agreed to vote on each docket separately. Nick Wagner of the State Board of Education first presented a repeal of the pay-for-success contracting rule as duplicative of statute and never used, and a cleanup to the career technical centers rules removing duplicative definitions and wording tied to federal Perkins V language. Both dockets were approved without opposition. Greg Wilson then presented the rules governing uniformity, including a Code of Ethics update for professional educators, social studies standards, and special education rules. The ethics changes focused on limiting educator-student digital communication to district-approved devices, platforms, and school-based accounts, broadening misuse provisions to cover devices and platforms, and clarifying professionalism language. Several members questioned how the communication rule would work for coaches, field trips, and personal phones, but Wilson said the intent was to create monitored, district-approved channels and a clearer record to prevent or investigate misconduct. The committee approved the ethics docket. Wilson next explained the social studies standards revisions, including targeted updates to grade 4 and U.S. History 1 after last year’s legislative rejection, plus a new Idaho-specific Western Civilization section. Members asked about the apparent mismatch in adoption dates across dockets, and Wilson and the state rules coordinator explained that the references would be melded together in codification if both dockets passed. Members also asked about coverage of the founding era and communism; Wilson said the standards include substantial material on the founding, early republic, and the rise of the Soviet Union. The committee approved the social studies docket. Finally, Wilson presented the temporary and pending special education manual rules. He said the temporary rule was needed to keep schools compliant at the start of the year after federal concerns were raised about the state’s specific learning disability criteria, and the final manual incorporated further public comment and advisory input. The committee approved the special education dockets, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Could a student use a student ID to get on a plane? That I am not sure of.
• Thank you that was from a student.
• I also happened to lose my student ID when I was a college student.
• </c> student ID on me. student ID on me.
• ID when I was a to lose my student ID when I was a college<01:21:55.600><c> student.

Committee: Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so I started having conversations with teachers and educators and students about this.
• Our students takes hours of valuable instruction time away from the classroom.
• Well, being of Minnesota students, Students arrive at school already dependent on screens and tablets
• Students were more engaged. Students were socializing more.
• And I've done that for other students as well.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I would like to call upon the exceptional student leaders and chaperones in the gallery from Cap High
• Also today we have, if I'm not mistaken, 50 students from James Campbell High School.
• And I'd like to introduce the nine students and two educators from Radford High School.
• </c><00:07:59.280><c> um</c> to point out one particular student um to point out one particular student
• We also have students in the chamber leadership board.

Bills: SB2042 , SB2892 , SB1163 , SB2076 , SB2116 , SB2122 , SB99 , SB2088 , SB2114 , SB2117 , SB2118 , SB2245 , SB2386 , SB2079 , SB2043 , SB2155 , SB2268 , SB2932 , SB3240

Keywords: SB2042, Hawaii insurance, captive insurance, sponsored captive, class 4 captive, minimum capital, surplus requirement, unimpaired capital, insurance commissioner, HRS 431:19-104, commercial insurance, risk retention, insurance regulation, financial solvency, captives, Ways and Means, CPN, feral chickens, chickens, animal control

Transcript Highlights:

• Perhaps the mentee teacher/student—did they increase their rating or performance?
• Increased student achievement studies show students of mentor teachers can experience the equivalent
• Increased student achievement studies show students of mentor teachers can experience the equivalent
• Next up we will have CS/HB 859, Exceptional Students and Video Cameras in Public Schools, by the Student
• IT'S TIME TO STEP UP AND&nbsp;&nbsp; 309 Protect its most vulnerable students.

Summary: The Pre-K-12 Budget Subcommittee met with a quorum and considered three bills. HB 157, School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program, would create a Department of Education program allowing school districts and charter schools to place current or retired high-performing teachers in D- or F-rated schools as mentors, with a proposed $3,000 stipend per mentor per mentee. Members questioned the funding source and contract-time implications; the sponsor said the program would use previously decategorized education funds and that mentoring could be done within existing planning, before-school, after-school, or weekend time. An amendment clarifying that the bill would use a contract template rather than a DOE contract was adopted, and the bill was reported favorably. The committee then heard CS/HB 859, Exceptional Students and Video Cameras in Public Schools, which would require school boards to adopt policies for video cameras in self-contained ESE classrooms upon a parent request, with redaction of other students from footage. Public testimony strongly supported the bill, including emotional accounts from a parent of a nonverbal adult with autism who described past abuse in a classroom and from the Autism Society of Florida, which argued cameras are a necessary safety measure for vulnerable students and noted other states already allow or require them. Members emphasized student safety and the need to fund the policy, and the bill was reported favorably. Finally, the committee considered HB 561, Educator Certification, which aims to reduce barriers for experienced educators returning to the classroom by expanding temporary certificate eligibility to those with expired Florida certificates, allowing prior subject-area exam results to count for reinstatement, and updating references related to educator professional learning support. The sponsor said the bill preserves standards while making reinstatement more efficient and less costly. There was broad support from members, who noted the value of retaining experienced teachers, and HB 561 was also reported favorably. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• When Native students thrive, all of California thrives.
• They don’t have any outreach with Native students.
• I was never the most successful student growing up.
• students to only two items per graduate.
• and non-Native students.

Summary: The Select Committee on Native American Affairs held a historic hearing at Table Mountain Rancheria focused on tribal education, culture, resilience, leadership, and trust. The opening prayer and remarks emphasized the significance of holding the first committee hearing on tribal land. Members said the hearing was intended both to hear testimony about ongoing problems in schools and to identify next steps for legislation and policy, especially as the session neared its end. The committee also referenced recent efforts supporting Native students’ right to wear regalia at graduation and broader concerns about representation in education and state institutions. The first panel centered on Native students’ experiences in public schools. Bella Garcia described a two-year fight with Clovis Unified over wearing tribal regalia at graduation, including a restrictive approval form and administrators who she said denied Native identity and made her feel invisible. Morningstar Ghali connected those experiences to the legacy of boarding schools, racial profiling, suspensions, and the “boarding school to prison pipeline,” and called for culturally responsive education, Native educators, counselors, Native studies, and restorative justice. Janet K. Bill, from the Attorney General’s Office of Native American Affairs, described her own path from tribal Head Start to Stanford, law school, tribal council, and state service, and said education, justice, and sovereignty are linked. Members asked about restorative justice, representation, and how to build pipelines into leadership and education roles. The second panel focused on solutions. Chairwoman Michelle Heredia Cordova urged a reimagined education system that is more personalized, experiential, culturally grounded, and balanced with land-based learning, while also recruiting Native teachers and creating stronger tribal partnerships. Chairman Leo Sisku said schools should educate educators, stop tokenizing Native students, and create accountability and consequences for discriminatory behavior; he also supported stronger tribal-school partnerships and more positive outreach. Chairman Fred Bean emphasized consistent engagement from tribal leaders at every level of schooling, stronger transitions from elementary to college, and programs that prepare Native youth for leadership, trades, and higher education. Chairman Shaineto of Tule River argued that schools and administrators should face consequences for violating Native students’ rights, and that Native people should not have to keep educating institutions about basic cultural respect. Committee members responded by discussing possible statewide solutions, including regional tribal boards, better enforcement of existing laws, stronger pipelines into teaching and leadership, and improved representation on boards and in state agencies. Several members raised the need to implement existing laws, fill vacant Native appointments, and consider broader protections for Native regalia and cultural expression. No formal vote was taken in the transcript, but the hearing concluded with a clear call for continued collaboration, accountability, and legislation driven by Native voices.

Transcript Highlights:

• On today's agenda, it includes an overview of add-on weights to certain FTE students funded in the FEFP
• allocation. ...into weighted FTE and then multiplying the weighted FTE by the base student allocation
• The 2023-24 FEFP also changed two components of the base student funding allocation.
• And when we look at an AP class or the IB program, how those students...
• So with every student in one of these courses, that student generates a specific amount of funding that

Summary: The Pre-K through 12 Budget Subcommittee met for its first meeting of the 2025 session and received an overview of add-on weights in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP), followed by a Department of Education presentation on a legislatively required study of add-on weight funding and expenditures. The chair explained that add-on weights apply to acceleration and career programs such as AP, IB, ACE, CAPE, dual enrollment, early graduation, and certain small-district needs, and noted that add-on funding has grown substantially as the base student allocation increased. The chair also raised concerns that the department’s report did not clearly show whether districts’ reported costs included the full costs required by the proviso, and asked for more specificity on any recommended adjustment to the weights. Deputy Commissioner Suzanne Pridgen said the department surveyed districts on how they spent add-on revenue for fiscal years 2021-22 through 2023-24, with categories including teacher compensation, materials, equipment, professional development, exam fees, counseling, apprenticeship costs, and other expenditures. She said most add-on funds were spent on teacher bonuses and compensation, with AP, ACE, CAPE, and dual enrollment showing the largest increases in spending in 2023-24 due to higher FEFP funding; IB and early graduation were relatively flat. The department reported that add-on revenue covered between 41.8% and 79.2% of total program expenditures in 2023-24 and recommended adjusting add-on weights to better align with pre-2023-24 funding relationships, though no specific percentage was given during the meeting. Members asked about how “other” expenditures were categorized, whether teacher compensation included only statutory bonuses, how dual enrollment tuition and fees were counted, the small district factor, and whether the weights incentivize districts to offer advanced programs. The department clarified that teacher compensation in the study referred only to bonuses, that some “other” costs included charter school payments and dual enrollment tuition/fees, and that the small district factor is 1.0277, increasing base funding by 2.77% for fiscally constrained counties. No votes were taken, and the meeting adjourned after the presentation and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• There are opportunities for AI as for students to build...
• There are opportunities for students to build AI literacy.
• We can think about it from the student lens.
• Students have access to it.
• The other persons is defined in the bill as other students, parents of students, or volunteers.

Committee: House Education

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> best students in the country. best students in the country.
• ><c> the</c><00:26:55.080><c> ones</c> Those graduate students are the ones Those graduate students are
• </c><00:27:02.240><c> that</c> reality is it's the grad students that reality is it's the grad students
• So, the smarter and better students.
• </c> NSF fellowship students do we have now? NSF fellowship students do we have now?

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• One of the students there is... One of the students there is Nazar. If Nazar can please stand.
• Who is a student? Okay.
• This morning, the Santa Fe High School students, there were five students with teacher Leslie Kerasic
• We have what's called a SAT team, a student assistant team.
• When growth is measured, our students are not behind.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I move for FY 2027 for public school support, Student Support Division...
• We have virtual school students who are currently... ...to K-12.
• IDLA last year served 60,000 classes to over 30,000 students.
• for that student that's in school.
• IDLA is providing literacy programs from K through 3 for students.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee first approved a technical correction to the Health and Welfare Division of Licensing and Certification budget, restoring 2 FTP that had been cut in error while leaving funding intact. The committee then adopted language extending the deadline for Medicaid’s state plan amendments and waivers related to the move to comprehensive managed care, after discussion of delays tied to the MMIS procurement and litigation. Both items received do-pass recommendations. The committee next considered Public School Support, beginning with a FY 2026 supplemental for the Division of Student Support to add $7.8 million in federal spending authority so schools can access full federal grant allocations. That supplemental passed. For FY 2027, members debated several competing motions on the Student Support Division budget, including proposals to reduce classified staff funding, add health insurance funding, and cut virtual school-related funding. After multiple failed motions, the committee ultimately approved a motion reducing the general fund by $14,751,600, including a $3 million reduction to virtual school discretionary funding, and adopted related language. Additional language was also approved to require reporting on virtual enrollments, shift English learner funding from central services to direct LEA distribution, modify technology curriculum contract requirements, require special education expenditure reporting, and reduce transportation funding by $7.5 million by undoing a prior statutory change. The committee then turned to the Idaho Digital Learning Academy. After extensive debate over alleged double-funding, rural access, and the absence of a policy bill, members rejected a larger $15 million reduction and then approved a smaller $13,500 reduction tied to the pending policy bill’s fiscal note. They also adopted language restricting PCIF access, requiring compliance reporting on DEI-related courses, and requesting a detailed report on IDLA expenditures, enrollments, and usage, including synchronous versus asynchronous instruction and course-level data by LEA. The meeting ended with notice that the committee would next take up the Secretary of State budget and trailer bills, with an additional 7:30 a.m. meeting before the Monday session.

Transcript Highlights:

• We made community college free so that students do not have to choose between taking on the students
• What do we hear from our students and families? The college, the student loan debt.
• and students of color.
• And this is a major in That serve large populations of low-income students and students of color, and
• Tillinghast will be completely in support of the future students, and the current students have a lot

Summary: The Senate considered and amended House 4769, a major higher education bond bill titled an act to build resilient infrastructure to generate higher education transformation (the BRIGHT Act). Members adopted a series of amendments funding deferred maintenance and capital projects at public colleges and universities, including MassBay Community College (HVAC and window replacement), Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Springfield Technical Community College, Cape Cod Community College, Worcester State University, Quinsigamond Community College, Roxbury Community College, UMass Boston, Middlesex Community College, Salem State University, Berkshire Community College, and MCLA. Several amendments were rejected, including proposals related to a sustainable hand hygiene program, board membership, and some other institutional or policy changes, while a number of amendments were held or withdrawn. The bill ultimately advanced through third reading and was passed to be engrossed by a unanimous roll call, with senators emphasizing the need to address deferred maintenance and modernize higher education facilities statewide. A major floor debate centered on an amendment by Senator Tarr to dedicate $300 million of Fair Share surtax revenue to K-12 education. Supporters argued that many school districts face rising costs, minimum aid, and an outdated Chapter 70 formula, and that the amendment would create a marker for future reform. Opponents said the Commonwealth already dedicates substantial surtax and other funding to K-12 education and that the amendment was not the right vehicle. After a roll call, the amendment was rejected. The Senate also rejected several Tarr amendments on fiscal safeguards, equity analysis, bond covenant requirements, and Chapter 62F taxpayer protections, while adopting others related to UMass Gloucester Marine Station housing and coastal erosion work, and to modernizing Massachusetts State College Building Authority bonding and office-location rules. The chamber also adopted a motion to adjourn in memory of Bolton Police Chief Luke Hamburger, who was remembered for his service, leadership, and community ties. Before adjournment, senators took brief statements on other issues, including a call for greater awareness of rare diseases and the need for improved access to diagnosis and treatment. The Senate also approved extension orders giving committees additional time to report on pending environmental and municipal bills, and it set its next meeting for Monday at 11:00 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• And it's not only young students.
• It's only going to take 10 minutes for students to do this. It doesn't require a lot.
• But when you look at the overall number of high schools, For students to do this.
• Students are often the closest witnesses.
• The odds of a student dropping dead are extremely slim.

Committee: Senate Senate Education Committee of Reference

Summary: The Senate Education Committee heard SB 1009, which would expand Arizona’s high school CPR instruction requirements to include training on automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The sponsor, Sen. Kavanaugh, said the bill would simply add a short AED component to existing CPR programs, would not require schools to buy AEDs, and would improve student readiness to respond to sudden cardiac arrest. Supporters included the American Heart Association and several students, who argued that AED familiarity can save lives and that training should be part of school safety education. Opposition came from the Arizona Education Association, which argued the bill creates an unfunded mandate, could take away from core instructional time, and may require staff time and resources beyond what schools can absorb. The Arizona School Boards Association was neutral but raised concerns about funding, training personnel, and the impact on rural and smaller districts. Sen. Miranda also questioned whether the bill was truly zero-cost and requested a fiscal note, though she said she would vote yes pending more information. After discussion, the committee voted 5-2 to give SB 1009 a do-pass recommendation. Senators Dunn, Mesnard, Warner, and Anger voted yes, while Senators Diaz and Brown voted no; Sen. Miranda voted yes with reservations. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you. ...of students and strengthen communities across this state.
• And supporting METCO is a direct investment in equity and access and student success.
• Paid Family and Medical Leave and Unemployment Insurance for Graduate Student Workers.
• Now, Madam President, students of government know that it's It's essential operations.
• Many of our students and families are fearful.

Keywords: 1212, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We're seeing African American and Latino students.
• You know, because our kids and our students, they're not hanging out at malls anymore. No.
• You know, because our kids and our students, they're not hanging out at malls anymore. No.
• How is the community college preventing financial aid fraud, like ghost students?
• We know that we are graduating at least 400 to 500,000 high school students a year, right?

Committee: Senate Rules

Summary: The Senate Rules Committee met to consider several governor’s appointments, bill referrals, rule-waiver requests, and floor acknowledgments. The committee approved a series of non-appearing appointments, including Peter Briar-T to the Southern Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission, multiple appointments to the Acupuncture Board, Roy Mathur to the Board of Pilot Commissioners, and Davina Hurt to the California Water Commission, with most votes unanimous and Hurt’s appointment approved 3-2. The committee also approved bill referrals, rule waivers for guests on the Senate floor, and floor acknowledgments. The committee then heard testimony from Lillian Corral, appointed to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. Corral emphasized her background as a first-generation college graduate and immigrant, and said her priorities would include helping students connect to livable-wage jobs, supporting Vision 2030, improving data and digital infrastructure, expanding dual enrollment, and considering regional bachelor’s degree programs at community colleges where workforce needs justify them. Senators questioned her about achievement gaps, the role of data in improving student outcomes, the expansion of community college bachelor’s degrees, faculty staffing, and her employer New America’s positions on privacy, age verification, and TikTok. The committee voted 3-0 to advance her appointment to the full Senate. The committee also heard from Paul Tupi, nominated to lead the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Tupi described a career in law enforcement and said he would focus on public trust, timely licensing, licensee education, and enforcement against irresponsible operators. Senators asked about ABC’s enforcement tools, including decoy operations, shoulder-tap checks, delivery compliance, and investigations tied to alcohol-related crashes; funding stability; delivery alcohol violations during COVID; and ABC’s approach to entertainment zones and other alcohol-policy changes. Support testimony came from industry and advocacy representatives, who praised his responsiveness and open-door approach. The committee approved his appointment 5-0 for consideration by the full Senate.