Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1706, full-day kindergarten students ADM.
• SB 1812, luxury tax; ready-to-drink spirits product. SB 1813, state hospital governing board.

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a recorded roll call showing 30 members present. The journal was approved, no guests were introduced at first, and the Governor’s signed bill HB 2022 was reported. The President also announced temporary committee substitutions for the Rules Committee on February 9. Senator Shamp introduced licensed naturopathic physicians in the gallery and highlighted SB 1178, which would expand their authority to administer certain intravenous drugs, including antibiotics, antivirals, and antifungals. The chamber then read a lengthy calendar of first- and second-reading bills and resolutions covering elections, education, health care, water, criminal justice, housing, taxation, and other topics, with no floor action taken on those measures during the reading. The Senate recessed to recognize law enforcement personnel involved in the rescue of an eight-year-old boy from a human trafficking situation. A proclamation commended Deputies Gregory Sanders and Jacob Montoya, along with Cochise County and Border Patrol personnel, for their courage and professionalism. After returning to order, members made personal privilege remarks urging the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to review $2.85 million in election-related funding for the Secretary of State, and another senator spoke about water security and the need for long-term planning. Additional announcements included caucus and committee meeting notices, an invitation to Arizona Aerospace Day, and a motion to adjourn until Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 1:15 p.m. The transcript ends as the chamber was considering adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Brass, I love this bill because it gives us another way of judging a student whether they're ready
• required to assign certain, these numbers, UIDs, to the children who are in any program below kindergarten
• Sarentha Strickland with Jefferson Ready Start Network and Tim Magner with Shreveport Chamber.
• I'm Sarintha Bira Strickland, the executive director for the Jefferson Ready Start Network.
• data, real data, to make decisions about programs that are working, programs that need adjusting, so Ready

Bills: HCR10 , HB195 , HB283 , HB319 , HB325 , HB407 , HB448 , HB482 , HB992

Committee: House Education

Keywords: sanctioned sports, athletics, youth sports, high school, LHSAA, self-defense, chemical spray, public safety, campus security, higher education, Teacher's Shield Act, student discipline, assault, battery, school employee protection, sick leave, expulsion procedures, Louisiana Commission on Civic Education, civic education, civic engagement

Transcript Highlights:

• The reason we have that form is we don't want to move forward with a bill that the sponsor is not ready
• that every day in every council meeting we had to be prepared for because he came in prepared and ready
• to support law... in prepared and ready to support law enforcement.
• is limited to the act of returning the firearm back to the individual when they feel like they're ready
• They were in kindergarten and then first grade when... ...kindergarten and then first grade when COVID

Transcript Highlights:

• hard decision when you're talking to families and students, saying, like, we don't think you're quite ready
• know, to jump to 11th... ...into families and students that saying, like, we don't think you're quite ready
• or superintendent or whatever to maybe hold a student back to try to give them another year to be ready
• kids are being, more kindergarten kids are being identified.
• And I'm, I guess, not ready to give up on those yet.

Committee: Joint Special Education Funding Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• hard decision when you're talking to families and students, saying, like, we don't think you're quite ready
• know, to jump to 11th... ...into families and students that saying, like, we don't think you're quite ready
• or superintendent or whatever, to maybe hold a student back to try to give them another year to be ready
• kids are being, more kindergarten kids are being identified.
• And I'm, I guess I'm not ready to give up on those yet.

Committee: Joint Special Education Funding Committee

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the March 4, 2026 minutes, and received a lengthy Department of Public Instruction presentation from Stanley Schauer Jr. on North Dakota student performance data in math and ELA, with comparisons between students with disabilities and students without disabilities. Schauer explained the assessment systems used, the 1% alternate assessment cap for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, the absence of 2019-20 data due to the pandemic, and how state standards are set by North Dakota educators. Members asked about cohort trends, the role of alternate assessments, grade-level patterns, and whether the state should focus more on reducing the novice category than on moving students from approaching to proficient. Schauer also discussed the new NDA Plus assessment, the state’s planned growth model, and the possibility of future breakdowns by disability category or by schools using science-of-math approaches. Special education educators testified that students with disabilities continued to receive services during COVID because of FAPE obligations, which likely helped limit learning loss, and emphasized that IEP teams focus on individual growth rather than only proficiency buckets. Committee members then shifted to special education funding and possible funding models. Brandon Bombach of Grand Forks Public Schools presented on the state aid formula, focusing on the special education weighting factor and arguing that the current formula does not adequately respond to growing student needs because it counts enrollment but does not adjust when the number of students with IEPs rises. He used examples to show that a district can have the same enrollment and receive the same weighting even if the number of students needing services increases. Members discussed whether the formula should be tied more closely to actual need and accountability, and the chair indicated that the committee would continue gathering data and ideas for a later meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• There is also a broader readiness component here.
• So while this is first and foremost a public health and rural health bill, it also touches on readiness
• There that a kindergartner going to a Missouri kindergarten program, they came in about 64, 65 percent
• And I was ready for it because I know that I did add it at the last minute.
• And I was ready for it because I know that I did add it at the last minute.

Summary: The House first established a quorum after a quorum call and welcomed special guests, including the Freedom of the Road motorcycle riders and students from Warsaw High School. It then took up House Committee Substitute for House Bill 1855, a reporting bill on Alpha-Gal syndrome. The bill sponsor described the condition as a serious tick-borne allergy that has affected his family and many Missourians, arguing that Missouri needs mandatory reporting and surveillance data to identify hotspots, guide public health outreach, and support research and funding. Supporters from both parties said the bill would improve awareness and data collection, while one member raised concerns about the fiscal note and whether the state would get useful information for the cost. The chamber adopted Amendment 1 to HB 1855, changing the follow-up language from “may” to “shall,” but rejected Amendment 2, which would have required patient consent before lab results were reported into the surveillance system. Opponents of the consent amendment said it would undermine disease surveillance and set a bad precedent for other reportable conditions; supporters argued for privacy and individual choice. After debate, the House adopted the committee substitute as amended and ordered it perfected and printed. The House then considered House Committee Substitute for House Bills 2230 and 2978, a K-5 education measure addressing screen time, cursive, and handwriting. The sponsor said the bill responds to research and parent/teacher concerns about excessive screen use, poor literacy outcomes, and mental health effects, and would create a state focus group to review evidence and make recommendations while leaving districts flexibility. Members discussed carve-outs for special education, English language learners, and virtual school, and adopted an amendment excluding the virtual school program. The House then adopted the substitute as amended and ordered it perfected and printed. Finally, the House took up House Bill 2355, the “Food is Medicine” initiative, which would allow Missouri to use federal funds through 1115 waivers for pilot programs such as medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, nutrition education, and related supports. Supporters said the program could improve health outcomes, reduce Medicaid spending, and help address food deserts. An amendment adding vitamin therapies and updating a date drew discussion over supplement safety and regulation, but the transcript cuts off before a final vote on that amendment or the bill itself.

Transcript Highlights:

• Are you ready for the with amendment. Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for Senate Bill 450-FN. Are you ready for the<04:42:44.160><c> question?
• Are you ready for the amendment. Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for the question? Pass with amendment. Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for the conference. Are you ready for the question?

Transcript Highlights:

• We're ready to go. Thank you.
• Next, we'll talk about college career and civic readiness and what we're doing with respect to career
• We will also talk about finance, which is obviously an important consideration as you get ready for the
• I'd love to present our College and Career and Civic Readiness Department.
• My final question, how many kindergarten, first and second graders are online? Mr.

Transcript Highlights:

• And, you know, a lot of people see kindergarten through grade three.
• What happens to those kids when that support disappears when they are trying to get ready for kindergarten
• <02:48:45.680><c> for</c><02:48:46.040><c> kindergarten?
• </c><02:48:47.040><c> In</c><02:48:47.279><c> higher</c><02:48:47.600><c> ed,</c> ready for kindergarten
• In higher ed, ready for kindergarten?

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:13:11.679><c> teachers,</c> know, especially kindergarten teachers, know, especially kindergarten
• </c> a kindergarten teacher at the age of 65. a kindergarten teacher at the age of 65.
• Senator Jasinski, are you ready? Oh, okay. Once you're ready, just please stand up.
• </c><03:06:23.920><c> Oh,</c> Senator Jazinski, are you ready? Oh, Senator Jazinski, are you ready?
• Once you're ready, just please okay. Once you're ready, just please stand<03:06:26.080><c> up.

Transcript Highlights:

• So all that to say, these are key positions that we're just really working to transition and get ready
• Uh, it's a new facility of over 61,000 square feet serving kindergarten through 12 with the anticipated
• Montoya, are you ready?
• work on it, and we'll have, uh, you know, everything worked out by the fall when the task force is ready

Committee: House Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force

Transcript Highlights:

• But I think it just goes back to the idea that we're not ready to release this.
• But I think it just goes back to the idea that we're not ready to release this.
• Okay, so if we're ready to move on, Okay, so if we're ready to move on from House Bill 3, then we would
• This project is ground- or shovel-ready and ready to go into effect this June.
• And you said it was shovel-ready, I think, did you use that term?

Committee: House Budget

Summary: The House Budget Committee met with a quorum and began by taking up a series of budget bills and committee substitutes, including House Bills 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, which were laid over. The chair then walked members through a committee amendment package, explaining a mix of technical corrections, fund swaps, and adjustments involving highway patrol fringe costs, summary budget timing, rural health care, the CCBHO FMAP correction, and marijuana-fund reallocations. Members adopted the chair’s decrease amendments and later adopted the corresponding increase amendments, including partial restoration for Care to Learn, a Title I grant language change, an Overpass and Seymour road project, technical corrections for DPS and health-related items, and restorations for Jordan Valley and FQHC substance abuse funding. After a brief recess for session and lunch, the committee returned to House Bill 2 and began considering member amendments. On House Bill 2, the committee adopted Representative Lewis’s amendment making the curriculum transparency and parent portal item a pilot program, and Representative Davidson’s amendment adding $2 million in federal Child Care and Development Block Grant funds for One-Time Wonder School. Representative Steinhoff’s attempt to shift funding from Missouri Star Solutions and WorkKeys to the Success Ready Student Assessment failed, as did Representative Taylor’s proposal to move $1.2 million from career ladder to community college nursing programs. The committee then rejected Representative Steinhoff’s attempt to redirect Title I Innovation and Improvement Grant funds back to the governor’s recommendation, and later adopted Representative Steinhoff’s vocational rehabilitation amendment, which restored the department’s request and drew down additional federal matching funds. The committee also adopted Representative Hyne’s language amendment to allow flexibility between the MOQPK pre-K grant program and the Child Care Works tri-share program, though members discussed concerns about cross-bill flexibility and whether funds would actually be available. Representative Fogle’s amendment to require budget communications sent to committee chairs to also go to the full Budget Committee was defeated after members expressed concern about information overload and the difference between required distribution and requested information. The committee then took up a lengthy debate over Representative Fogle’s amendment to remove language barring Parents as Teachers participation for children already enrolled in public pre-K. Supporters argued the programs serve different purposes and that families should not be forced to choose between them, while opponents said the language was intended to prevent duplication of services and preserve resources for children without other options. After extensive discussion, the amendment failed. The committee continued with additional House Bill 2 amendments, but the transcript ends before final action on the remaining items.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so the floor is yours whenever you are ready.
• When you're ready and settled, state your name for the record.
• My daughter is in kindergarten. This is all she's known.
• My daughter is in kindergarten. This is all she's known.
• My daughter is in kindergarten. This is all she's known.

Summary: The Senate Education Committee met with a quorum and heard first from the Washway Nicotine Youth Advocacy Group, which urged stronger enforcement of Kentucky’s Tobacco 21 law. Youth advocates described the harms of flavored vaping products, argued that nicotine use is targeting children, and called for retailer licensing, annual compliance checks, harsher penalties for illegal sales, and more funding for enforcement. Committee members praised the presentation, and one senator said he had heard a bill on licensed retailers may be coming soon. The committee then heard a lengthy presentation from Cloverport Independent School District and the Kentucky Virtual Academy about the state’s virtual school model. Superintendent Keith Haynes and principals Brandy Fagan and Sally Johnson said KYVA serves about 2,800 students, many of whom are at-risk or have health, safety, behavioral, or family reasons for choosing virtual education. They emphasized that the program uses live synchronous instruction, provides devices and materials, and offers special education and related services. They also said the school had a large wait list and that virtual programs need more flexibility in staffing ratios, scheduling, and testing windows. School leaders acknowledged criticism of KYVA’s proficiency scores and said many students entered far below grade level, with 59% not proficient in English language arts and 79% not proficient in math on recent state testing. They argued the program is too new to judge solely on one year of data and pointed to growth in MAP scores, as well as middle and high school rankings in the top half of Kentucky schools. Fagan and Johnson outlined improvement efforts, including daily interventions, small-group instruction, literacy programs, staff training, and expanded clubs and student activities. No votes or formal committee actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Essentially that shows what they should be looking for for standards across, you know, kindergarten through
• Our Missouri standards call for using iPads in kindergarten.
• I think the bill is ready for prime time, and I'm glad that we're at this moment, to be honest.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, if I have a kindergarten student in Washington Elementary in Norman public schools, does that give
• take out the portion, extract the portion that's offensive, or find a different version, like a kindergarten
• I don't know if I'm quite ready to give up that we've run the Raigns Act to rein in some of the administrative

Bills: SCR17 , SB2104 , SB2155 , SB1428 , SB1250 , SB1651 , SB1794 , SB444 , SB1061 , SB1327 , SB1425 , SB1455 , SB1458 , SB1460 , SB1480 , SB1530 , SB1543 , SB1555 , SB1593 , SB1209 , SB1730 , SB1733 , SB1769 , SB1805 , SB2069 , SB2095 , SB1503

Keywords: Oklahoma Ireland relations, Ireland, Irish heritage, St. Patrick's Day, Choctaw Nation, Choctaw famine relief, Irish-American, cultural resolution, concurrent resolution, ceremonial resolution, economic development, trade commission, international relations, Tulsa IrishFest, ShamROCK the Gardens, Oklahoma City St. Patrick's Parade, Irish ancestry, Senate of Ireland, Aubrey McCarthy, Phil Thompson

Transcript Highlights:

• develop and test innovative models of education aligned to student outcomes, attainment, and workforce readiness
• prevention pilot program within the Department of Education to instruct teachers and students in kindergarten
• However, what I believe we need in the state is comprehensive sex education that starts at kindergarten

Summary: The caucus reviewed a large Minority Caucus Calendar and moved quickly through many bills, with staff often noting whether items were unanimous, party-line, or pulled from consent. Early items included HB 2130 on ADOA personnel financial systems, HB 2749 on felony sentence-completion designation, HCR 258 on Medicaid claim audits, and several agency or board continuation bills. Members also discussed HB 2745 on legislative subpoenas, HB 4027 naming Loop 202 the Charlie Kirk Highway, HB 2601 on Interstate 11 studies, and a number of education, health, labor, and public safety measures. Several bills were pulled from consent or flagged for later discussion, including HCR 258, HB 4027, HB 2375, HB 2601, HB 2408, HB 2444, HB 2923, HB 2182, HCR 2048, HB 2750, HB 2765, HB 2838, HB 4043, HB 2290, HB 2940, and others. Testimony and caucus debate focused on a range of policy concerns. Members objected to bills involving school strikes, weapons detection systems, public records fees for legislators, union activity, school safety felony penalties, and restrictions on school clubs. Education bills drew extended discussion, including HB 2423 on automatic advanced math placement, HB 2478 creating a student outcomes commission, HB 2579 for free school meals, HB 2992 on child sexual abuse prevention, HB 4041 on spending authority for low-reading-performing districts, and HB 4043 requiring CPR/AED training. Health and professional regulation bills also prompted debate, including HB 2408 on nursing board investigations and expungement, HB 2444 on pharmacist testing authority, HB 2697 on expired opioid antagonists, and HB 4010 establishing a genetic counselors board. Members raised concerns about fiscal impacts, stakeholder opposition, and whether some measures were unfunded mandates or needed more amendment work. The caucus also discussed immigration, labor, and public safety measures, including HB 2416 for DPS local border support, HB 2811 on obstructing governmental operations during lawful arrests, HB 2862 on unlawful masking penalties, HB 4070 on nonprofit incorporation restrictions tied to offenses, and HB 4117 creating a crime for disturbing religious services. Water, energy, and land-use bills were reviewed as well, such as HB 2099, HB 2263, HB 2330, HB 2341, HB 2492, HB 2757, HB 2782, HB 2912, HB 2918, and HCR 2020. The meeting ended with announcements, including an Affordability Award for Brian Garcia and a March 12 breakfast update on the Colorado River, before adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• It was never intended to be a double dip off of other pre-kindergarten services.
• But I think it just goes back to the idea that we're not ready to release this.
• Okay, so if we're ready to move on, Okay, so if we're ready to move on from House Bill 3, then we would
• This project is ground- or shovel-ready and ready to go into effect this June.
• And you said it was shovel-ready, I think, did you use that term?

Committee: House Budget

Transcript Highlights:

• We're ready to go? All right, so let's move the first bill, please.
• We are ready to go.
• We're ready with private and public partners, but we need that additional support.
• And I was glad to hear the last speaker talk and quote from Ready Nation.
• You ready? All right. Okay, let's go ahead and move the bill. Please move 2716.

Committees: House Government , House House Government Committee of Reference

Transcript Highlights:

• But let's say you've got a kindergarten. classroom in year one.
• You got a teacher in that kindergarten classroom, there's 22 kids in the classroom.
• And let's say that the instructional materials that that kindergarten teacher uses encourage students
• Our flood infrastructure fund, based on projects that we've received applications for, currently ready
• I just want you and the committee to know that the Board stands ready to help them and to be a resource

Committee: House Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• And I think that it's in a good place, ready to move on.
• And I think that it's in a good place ready to move, move on.
• The Success Ready graduate is 15 percent of the overall grade for the high school.
• Oh, I’m always ready. Great.
• And I would grow those children. ...sometimes on a kindergarten or lower level.