Transcript Highlights:

• ...his piece in the bill, but part of our work with the READ Act is to just get alignment across literacy
• and the early literacy pieces to align with the READ Act.
• for both our students and the teachers who are taking training and overall continuing to improve literacy
• for both our students and the teachers who are taking training and overall continuing to improve literacy
• <00:44:08.880> field article 3 covers early literacy field article 3 covers early literacy

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Senate first received a House message reappointing a conference committee on Senate File 2077, the environment and natural resources appropriations bill, and took no further action on that message. The chamber then moved through motions and resolutions, including a failed attempt to suspend the rules to make House File 4102 a special order for immediate consideration. Senator Howe argued the bill was urgent because it would extend a study on state law enforcement pay and help address State Patrol recruitment and retention, while Senator Friends opposed suspending the rules; the motion failed on a roll call vote, 35 ayes to 32 nays. The Senate then took House File 3629 from the table, made it a special order, and adopted the A5 amendment. The bill, relating to grants management and the Department of Administration, was described as refining agency authority over exemptions, adding reporting requirements, expanding whistleblower protections, and broadening fraud-prevention tools. The A5 amendment added stronger payment-withholding authority for agencies based on credible allegations of fraud, removed the 60-day withholding limit, allowed cross-agency withholding in some cases, replaced court appeal with agency reconsideration, made the authority permanent, and added a reporting requirement for DHS and DCYF inspector general activity. Supporters said it would improve transparency and protect taxpayers; the bill then passed final roll call 67-0. Finally, the Senate took up House File 4492, which was amended with the A4 delete-everything amendment. The new version combined three articles: READ Act provisions, a veterans diploma provision, and early literacy field-experience changes. Senators described the veterans section as requiring school districts to award diplomas to veterans who left high school to serve in the Korean or Vietnam Wars, and the READ Act and literacy provisions as aligning teacher preparation and early literacy instruction with state standards. Members also discussed school discipline and classroom safety issues in the course of debate. The bill was then read for final passage, with senators speaking in support of the combined package and its education and veterans provisions.

Transcript Highlights:

• They support literacy and numeracy in classrooms.
• 10:00.480> in support literacy and numeracy in support literacy and numeracy in classrooms.<00
• Is it literacy programs? And so we have a lot of time left where we're negotiating this.
• Is it literacy<00:19:52.240> programs?
• And so we have a lot literacy programs?

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: Sen. Erin Maye Quade, Rep. Esther Abad, and other Minnesota DFL legislators held a press event focused on responding to Trump administration and federal Republican actions that they said threaten health care, education, housing, public health, and other state services. Speakers argued Minnesota must not make “false trade-offs” between core services and should instead protect programs like Medicaid, school funding, disability services, nutrition, and public health by raising additional revenue and closing tax breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations. Rep. Abad and others outlined possible revenue options, including a fifth-tier income tax, a corporate rate match, closing tax exemptions for luxury items and second homes, a social media tax, and ending data center tax exemptions. They said these measures would not fully replace possible federal cuts, but could help mitigate harm and preserve services. Several speakers also criticized Republican opposition to tax increases and said the state should ask wealthy taxpayers and corporations to contribute more. Testimony from Olivia Dylan, a laid-off Minnesota Department of Health epidemiologist, described the impact of federal public health funding cuts and MDH layoffs on outbreak response, nursing home support, lab work, and tribal public health. Sean Leaden of SEIU Local 284 described low pay and staffing shortages among hourly school workers and said underfunding has hurt students and employees. Sen. Doran Clark and Rep. Emma Greenman framed the issue as both a budget and democracy question, arguing that federal cuts and attacks on public programs undermine self-governance and community well-being. In response to questions, speakers said Minnesota cannot fully backfill expected federal Medicaid losses, but can use state tools to reduce harm and should press Republicans to identify what services they would cut instead.

Transcript Highlights:

• members of the committee, this bill would just create a one-credit course requirement for financial literacy
• 20.560> course So what it will do now is it creates a required elective course in financial literacy
• So I want to give him just a little bit of time. to financial literacy fitting into one to financial
• literacy fitting into one of<00:02:36.400> those<00:02:36.560> holes.
• literacy for anywhere through<00:02:44.080> the<00:02:44.239> high<00:02:44.480> school

Keywords: This meeting will take place upon Recess of the Senate Chambers. There is not an exact time for this meeting therefore a placeholder time for the live stream has been set for 12:30PM est., 958, all

Summary: The Senate Standing Committee on Education met with a quorum and took up several education bills near the end of session. House Bill 342, which would require a financial literacy course for Kentucky high school students, was presented by Rep. Michael Meredith and student advocate Patrick Reovi. Meredith explained that a committee substitute addressed Kentucky Department of Education concerns by making the course a required elective anywhere in high school rather than limiting it to junior or senior year, and by retaining flexibility on credit options. Reovi testified in support, arguing that many students lack basic financial knowledge and should graduate prepared to handle budgeting, credit, debt, and student loans. The substitute was adopted, and HB 342 passed the committee 10-0. The committee then heard House Bill 480, a teacher workload and bureaucracy reduction measure. Rep. Shane Baker described the bill as the product of a working group with educators and administrators and said it was intended to reduce redundant requirements and let teachers focus more on students. He said the bill would lengthen the evaluation cycle from every three years to every five, streamline professional development requirements, update continuous school improvement plan filing rules, and limit new reporting mandates. A committee substitute removed the CSIP provisions after discussion with KDE, and members noted concerns about implementation and federal funding implications for mentor training language. The substitute was adopted and HB 480 passed unanimously. House Bill 190, relating to advanced education opportunities, was presented by Rep. Robert Duvall. He said the bill would require districts to adopt policies on advanced coursework and accelerated learning for grades 4 through 12, with local flexibility. He also explained that the House committee substitute changed several provisions from mandatory to permissive, including automatic enrollment for students scoring distinguished and parent opt-out language. The bill passed unanimously. House Bill 430, on school bus safety training, was presented by Reps. Mike Clines and Emily Callaway, who said it would reduce regulations, improve bus safety, and fix regulatory issues arising from prior legislation allowing nine-passenger vans for school transportation. A committee substitute was adopted, the bill passed unanimously, and a title amendment was also adopted. Finally, the committee began hearing House Bill 208 on technology and public schools. Rep. Josh Bray, Rep. James Tipton, and Nick Spencer of the Family Foundation of Kentucky supported a policy requiring districts to prohibit student cell phone use during instructional time, with exceptions for disabilities, teacher-directed educational use, or incentives. They argued the bill would improve academic performance, reduce bullying and mental health problems, and limit social media access during school. The transcript cuts off during testimony on HB 208, before any committee action on the bill is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• And literacy coaches are now working in every D- and F-rated school in the state of Arkansas.
• In case you didn't know, the L in LEARNS stands for literacy.
• So through LEARNS, we funded and deployed 120 full-time literacy coaches and provided literacy tutoring

Summary: The meeting was the opening of the Arkansas General Assembly’s 2026 fiscal session, beginning with quorum calls, prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognition of guests, including law enforcement officers, a doctor of the day, nurse of the day, constitutional officers, Supreme Court justices, and family and friends of legislators. The House adopted House Resolution 1001 to convene a joint session for Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s address, appointed committees to notify the Senate and the Governor, and later received the Senate into the chamber before recessing for the joint session. In the joint session, members observed a moment of silence for former Representative Stan Berry, then heard Governor Sanders’s fiscal session address. Her remarks focused heavily on the proposed budget and her administration’s priorities: fully funding education and the LEARNS Act, supporting teachers and literacy efforts, funding public safety and corrections, expanding the 1033 initiative to move people from crisis to career, and holding down government growth while pursuing further income tax cuts. She also highlighted economic development, low cost of living, and support for veterans, while emphasizing conservative policy themes and thanking several Arkansans whose stories illustrated the administration’s agenda. No substantive legislation was debated or voted on beyond the adoption of House Resolution 1001 and the procedural motions to adjourn the joint session and then adjourn the House until the next day. The House announced that Joint Budget would meet later that afternoon and again the following morning.

Transcript Highlights:

• now, and let's give them the opportunity to innovate so they can actually educate our kids with literacy
• they can actually educate our<00:04:43.440> kids<00:04:44.240> with<00:04:44.560> literacy
• ,<00:04:45.560> math,<00:04:46.560> science, our kids with literacy, math, science,
• our kids with literacy, math, science, and<00:04:47.680> those<00:04:47.919> important

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• House File 6 covers the following priorities: where literacy is learning, local control is innovation
• This article also repeals the requirement that all literacy-related curriculum and instructional materials
• Representative Bennett continued: “House File 6 covers the following priorities: where literacy is learning
• This article also repeals the requirement that all literacy-related curriculum and instructional materials

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We know that folks do not have digital literacy access to broadband.
• As we look at our data of applicants, we believe the type of applicants by business structure mirrors
• > access<00:52:44.800> to have digital literacy access to have digital literacy access
• mirrors what we've business structure mirrors what we've seen<00:53:26.640> in<00:53:26.880><
• <01:23:10.719> uh<01:23:11.040> discrimination, structural racial uh discrimination

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee met on March 4, 2026, and focused almost entirely on an update and oversight discussion of the Promise Act, including its grant and loan programs. The chair opened by explaining that the committee wanted to better understand how the 2023 law was implemented, how funds are still being deployed in greater Minnesota and the metro, and whether adjustments made in 2024 and 2025 were working as intended. The minutes from March 3 were approved at the start of the meeting. Deputy Commissioner Kevin McKinnon of DEED outlined the program’s legislative history, funding structure, eligibility rules, and oversight process. He said the grant side has about $94 million available, with $16 million going to the Minnesota Initiative Foundations and $86 million to the Neighborhood Development Center, plus administrative and technical assistance set-asides. He noted legislative changes over time, including shifting the revenue eligibility test to the prior year, adding a home-office deduction requirement for businesses using a home address, and maintaining a preference for applicants who had not received more than $10,000 in prior state assistance. McKinnon said about $22 million had been awarded to 35 businesses at the time of the update, and that the loan program has $30 million appropriated, with about $9.5 million lent so far. He also described the application, verification, audit, and payment process, emphasizing that partners handle intake and DEED conducts final review and random audits. Shahir Ahmmed of the Neighborhood Development Center described the round-one and round-two grant process in more detail. He said NDC spent about nine months building the application platform, launched round one in June 2024, received more than 3,000 applications, and later paused awards while DEED and legislators clarified the law. He reported that 651 applications were approved in the first round for just under $9 million, and that round two launched in September 2025 with a goal of distributing up to $50 million in remaining grant funds. Ahmmed also explained the step-by-step applicant process, including email confirmation, eligibility screening, document upload, identity verification through Plaid, and final DEED review. He said applicants commonly use funds for payroll, equipment or inventory, rent, and utilities. The chair indicated there would be further testimony from other program partners and then member questions, but no votes or formal actions were taken on the Promise Act itself during this portion of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're building financial literacy through project management.
• across our state through partnerships with schools, county educators, and volunteers. 4-H creates a structured

Bills: HR1052, SB2184, SB171

Keywords: 4-H, youth development, community service, education, volunteering, Oklahoma, statutory revision, consolidation, law amendment, emergency legislation, legal clarity, SB171, state government, Capitol security, peace officer commission, legislative security, Department of Public Safety, Commissioner of Public Safety, President Pro Tempore, Speaker of the House

Transcript Highlights:

• In your packet, you have information which shows the structure of this bill, of course, how this is the
• So, we're fully funding literacy and numeracy.

Bills: SB113, SB114, SB305, SB111, HB600, SB112, SB150, SB109, SB122

Keywords: education funding, appropriations, local education boards, school safety, workforce development, Alabama, technology, higher education, career technology centers, public institutions, grants, local education agencies, RAISE Act, student outcomes, public schools, accountability, weighted allocations, special education, English language learners, gifted students

Transcript Highlights:

• IT ALSO REQUIRES DBA EVALUATE THE HEALTH LITERACY OF VETERANS IN OUR STATE AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS
• GROWTH THANKS TO THE GREAT SUPPORT OF OUR GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE IN OUR CHALLENGES GAINING THE STRUCTURE
• ANOTHER CASEY WHITE INITIATIVE IS APPRENTICESHIPS VETERANS EXPERIENCE STRUCTURED TRAINING PROGRAM STRICTLY
• Collins: LET'S TAKE UP TAB 1 SM 314 ON FLORIDA NATIONAL GUARD INCREASED STRUCTURE BY OUR ONE AND ONLY
• BUREAU TO EXAMINE RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS OF THE FLORIDA NATIONAL GUARD AND ALLOW AND INCREASED IT IT'S STRUCTURE

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• that I have come across, and I think it just speaks to his diligence and his interest in education, literacy
• I know he's worked closely with members of this committee and leadership in our literacy efforts in ways
• we were able to have, I really want to encourage you to lean into the areas where we know adult literacy
• other ways in which individuals who are not of public school age have a way to receive the gift of literacy
• , I think will pay dividends in being able to address those literacy concerns for our young learners.

Summary: The Extended Education Committee met to consider a long slate of gubernatorial nominations and reappointments to education-related boards and commissions. The committee heard brief introductions from sponsoring senators and remarks from nominees for the Oklahoma Lottery Commission, State Board of Career and Technology Education, Regional University System of Oklahoma, State Board of Education, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Board of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges, the Secretary of Education, several university and college boards, the Oklahoma Student Loan Authority, the State Textbook Committee, the Oklahoma Arts Council, and the Langston University board, among others. Many nominees emphasized their backgrounds in public education, higher education, business, agriculture, health care, or community service, and several acknowledged family members or institutional leaders present in the room. A few nominations drew questions or discussion. John Wesley Nofire was asked about working with the State Board of Education and about the social studies standards process, and he explained the board followed statutory public-comment procedures and made changes before final adoption. Secretary of Education Dan Hamlin received supportive comments from multiple senators, who praised his data-driven approach and urged that he be retained by future administrations. Michael McElroy, Brian Beller, Christopher Franklin, Dr. Michael Peck, and others also answered questions about the role of their boards and their experience with the institutions they would oversee. The committee voted on each nomination, with most receiving unanimous approval and a few passing with one or two dissenting votes. Notable vote totals included David McKenzie and Michael McElroy passing 9-2 and 10-1 respectively, while the rest of the nominees generally passed 8-0, 9-0, 10-0, or 11-0. At the end of the meeting, the chair thanked members for their work on the large number of executive nominations and announced that the committee was adjourned for the year.

Transcript Highlights:

• Hill-Murray's specialized classes support unique learners in literacy and mathematics while also teaching
• Hill-Murray's specialized classes support unique learners in literacy and mathematics while also teaching
• Hill-Murray's specialized classes support unique learners in literacy and mathematics while also teaching
• Hill-Murray's specialized classes support unique learners in literacy and mathematics while also teaching
• <01:14:35.920> partnership also served the gro literacy partnership also served the gro literacy

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Education Finance Committee met on February 5, 2025, to hear testimony from representatives of Minnesota’s Catholic and other nonpublic schools, focused on state nonpublic pupil aid, transportation, counseling, nursing, and related support programs. Meg Forette of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis argued that Catholic schools serve more than 30,000 students across many districts, educate a diverse population, and achieve strong academic results while operating at far lower per-student costs than public schools. She urged lawmakers to reject proposed cuts to nonpublic funding, saying they would be inequitable and harmful to lower-income families, and also raised concerns about state teacher-licensing requirements conflicting with Catholic values. Trisha Menshu, principal of St. John Paul II Catholic School in Northeast Minneapolis, described a student body with high levels of poverty, learning needs, and academic gaps, and said state-funded nurse and guidance-counseling services are essential to keeping students safe, healthy, and on track for high school. She said the school absorbs many costs itself, including medical supplies and significant staff time, and credited the support programs with helping students make strong academic growth and graduate on time. In response to a senator’s question, she clarified that the school uses the nursing aid for limited nurse time and pays other medical-related costs from operating funds, with no billing back to public school districts. Committee members asked follow-up questions about the relationship between teacher licensing and Catholic values, and about how medical needs for nonpublic students are funded. Forette said the concern was not with welcoming all students but with how DEI-related trainings and language are presented in ways that conflict with Catholic teaching. The committee then moved on to the next testifier, Andrew Hiliker of Stella Maris Academy in Duluth, who began by describing his school’s growth and the state’s role in supporting all students, regardless of school choice.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are not trying to completely dictate all the structure of this agency because we believe you know
• We are not trying to completely dictate all the structure of this agency because we believe you know
• They will be in place until you finish the structure, but like keeping them under this structure and
• <00:59:20.280> they those in place while you structure they those in place while you structure
• but like keeping them under structure but like keeping them under this<00:59:23.720> structure

Bills: HF1, HF779, HF1034

Keywords: Office of Inspector General, inspector general, legislative audit, fraud prevention, waste and abuse, public funds, grant oversight, state grants, grant management, whistleblower protection, retaliation, subpoena power, data practices, government transparency, accountability, law enforcement referrals, sanctions, debarment, payment withholding, public assistance fraud

Transcript Highlights:

• I will now go over some key elements up to the structure of today's hearing.
• All of this time, the literacy gaps and the education gaps have grown.
• All of this time, the literacy gaps and the education gaps have grown.
• Unlike revenue-generating campus facilities like dorms and parking structures, the academic buildings
• This is a major structural gap that we cannot afford to ignore.

Summary: The committee hearing covered several higher education bills, with extensive testimony on student aid, affordability, and institutional debt. AB 587 would add veteran representation to the California Student Aid Commission; the author said the change would bring lived experience from the veteran community to student aid policy, and members raised a concern about keeping the commission’s membership odd-numbered, which the author said would be addressed by amendment. AB 791 would standardize cost-of-attendance housing calculations using objective data and improve notice of the adjustment process; supporters said current budgets often underestimate students’ real living costs, while UC, CSU, and independent colleges opposed or had concerns about the bill’s prescribed methodology, fiscal impact, and a 14-day turnaround for adjustments. AB 850 would create a one-term grace period for students with institutional debt to re-enroll while arranging repayment, bar reporting that debt to credit agencies, and require more transparency; proponents described students being blocked from continuing school over debts, while CSU, UC, and private-college representatives said they already use holds and payment plans and worried about added liabilities and budget pressures. AB 537 would extend the California College Promise Program to part-time community college students; supporters said most community college students attend part-time and should not be excluded from fee waivers, while the committee noted fiscal concerns but ultimately advanced the bill. AB 7 would allow universities to consider whether an applicant is a descendant of American chattel slavery in admissions as a reparative measure; supporters framed it as lineage-based reparative justice, while opponents argued it would function as a racial proxy and conflict with Proposition 209 and equal-protection principles. The committee took roll-call votes on the measures, advancing AB 587, AB 791, AB 850, and AB 537 to Appropriations, with AB 850 and AB 537 receiving fewer votes and the roll left open for additional members.

Transcript Highlights:

• At the YMCA, we see every day that literacy is about more than school performance.
• At the YMCA, we see every day that<00:25:56.640> literacy<00:25:57.760> is<00:25:58.080
• is about more than school that literacy is about more than school performance.<00:26:00.080> It's
• doesn't<00:27:15.279> end recognizes that literacy doesn't end recognizes that literacy
• However, the current pricing structure of e-materials is prohibitive.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The work is a greater digital literacy.
• The UBO system will not replace the current structure of professional boxing.
• <03:16:08.640> of<03:16:08.800> the replace the current structure of the replace the
• current structure of the professional<03:16:09.439> boxing.
• that has left many fighters structure that has left many fighters without<03:26:58.399> the<03

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• place, will we... ...and all the other oversight in place, will we be looking at how we can then structure
• Our state is dealing with a crisis in literacy and math, systematic inequities when it comes to supporting
• I have a child in elementary school that I worry about when it comes to math and reading and literacy
• Chairman, Representative Svaloskis, that is our current structure where cabinet secretaries are appointed

Bills: SB23, SB73, SB210, SB234, SB243, SB244, SM16

Keywords: student use, wireless devices, public schools, policy implementation, education technology funding, driver education, driver's ed, driving school, motorcycle safety, traffic safety, vulnerable road users, pedestrian safety, bicycle safety, cyclist, bike lane, micromobility, scooter, moped, motorcycle training, DWI prevention

Transcript Highlights:

• In sustaining the improvements that we've seen in literacy, in graduation rates, and in chronic absenteeism
• I'm wondering, does that mean that this is more of a funding mechanism and a structural...
• Media literacy lessons to our students are crucial, and I would hate to see any negative impact to that
• And I think that is a testament to the vital structure that is provided in these small school settings

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They come and utilize the resources and participate in literacy programming.
• During the summer, it's a very good time for them to be building their literacy skills and educational
• And that makes our services and our literacy programs and our staff vulnerable.

Bills: SB61, SB62, SB99

Keywords: rural libraries, funding, cultural affairs, education, community support, appropriation, state investment, public resources, 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• for early literacy which has been<00:12:36.320> huge<00:12:36.959> in<00:12:37.199>
• South Dakota allocated funds to support teachers for early literacy professional development, again a
• And then finally, we made mention of this earlier: early literacy and numeracy are very big areas of
• <00:30:22.000> and this earlier uh early literacy and this earlier uh early literacy and numeracy
• has been for a while because we literacy has been for a while because we had<00:30:26.840> the

Keywords: 1191, senate, all