Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:59:28.920><c> School</c> specifically designed for Middle School specifically designed for Middle
• </c><00:59:37.400><c> schools</c><00:59:37.960><c> and</c> that high- performing middle schools and that
• </c><00:59:42.480><c> School</c> coursework starting in Middle School coursework starting in Middle School
• But when we're starting at the middle school or the high school, where is it built in to address their
• School rather than courses in Middle School rather than just<01:03:59.680><c> one</c><01:04:00.440><

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• I rise today to recognize and honor the members and coaches of the Letown Middle School cheerleading
• This outstanding group of athletes brought home a coveted national title in the middle school game day
• As their state representative and a former middle school cheerleader myself, I could not be prouder of
• school game day title in the middle school game day large<00:51:50.079><c> division.
• </c> representative and a former middle representative and a former middle school<00:51:54.720><c> cheerleader

Transcript Highlights:

• She holds a law degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law.
• He's been a sixth-grade homeroom teacher and middle school literature teacher at Holy Family Classical
• School for the last few years.
• school.
• I see the literacy... ...state and decided to become a teacher for middle school.

Committee: Senate Local and County Government

Summary: The Senate Committee on Local and County Government met and first considered the nomination of Mary Westman to the Oklahoma Department of Libraries Board. Senator Standridge presented Westman, highlighting her background in nursing, health care, law, and business. Westman said she would focus on working within the board’s statutory authority, supporting local communities, and using resources efficiently. After a brief question-and-answer period, the committee voted 6-0 to advance her nomination to the full Senate. The committee then considered the nomination of Samuel Alaback to the same board, presented by Senator Reinhardt. Reinhardt emphasized Alaback’s leadership experience at Oklahoma State University and his work as a middle school literature teacher. Alaback said he wanted to help address the state’s literacy challenges and support libraries as community spaces, while learning from other board members. Following questions about his priorities and plans, the committee voted 6-0 to advance his nomination to the Senate. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our middle school has grades 4 through 8, and the high school has the other grades 9 through 12.
• elementary</c> middle school to facilitate elementary middle school to facilitate elementary age<00:
• </c><00:17:42.880><c> going</c> that middle school or and they're going that middle school or and they're
• The middle school in Woodsville is just up the road.
• The middle school in Woodsville is just up the road.

Committee: House Education Funding

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to focus on one issue that is central for us: missing middle housing in Western Massachusetts.
• Yes in My Backyard addresses the barriers by creating a missing middle housing subdivision process and
• Large developments won't get built in these places, but missing middle housing can if the rules allow
• To truly deliver missing middle housing, we must also align state subsidy programs with these smaller
• Second, missing middle housing. Second, missing middle housing.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Housing

Summary: The Joint Committee on Housing held a hybrid hearing on zoning, Chapter 40B, and related housing bills. Much of the testimony focused on the “Yes in My Backyard” bill (H. 1572/S. 962), which would expand by-right development of missing middle housing, reduce barriers such as minimum lot sizes and parking mandates, and support duplexes, triplexes, and other small-scale housing. Supporters included housing advocates, developers, local officials, and municipal leaders from places like Cambridge, Salem, and Braintree, who argued that state action is needed because local zoning often blocks needed housing and that the bill would help create more affordable, neighborhood-compatible homes. Several witnesses also backed a companion “Yes in God’s Backyard” bill (H. 2347), which would allow faith-based institutions to build housing on their property by right, with testimony emphasizing the potential for new units, added municipal tax revenue, and partnerships between religious organizations and housing developers. The committee also heard testimony on Senate Bill 1021 to modernize Chapter 40R incentives. Senator Pavel Payano and others said the program’s payments have not kept pace with inflation since 2004 and should be increased to better encourage smart-growth zoning near transit and town centers. Another major topic was H. 2298 on site plan review, which would codify and standardize the process in state law. Rep. Kristin Kassner and witnesses from MAPC and NAIOP said current site plan review practices vary widely across the state, creating confusion, delays, and litigation, while a uniform framework would give municipalities clearer tools to review by-right projects without undermining local oversight. The hearing also included testimony on Chapter 40B reform, including S. 1005 and H. 1537. One witness supported further review of 40B and stronger regional planning, while another backed a proposal to allow certain pre-2010 40B condominium owners to sell at market value under a framework that would recapture some of the subsidy benefits. Committee members asked several questions about local zoning changes, housing goals by county, and how the proposed bills would affect communities. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the chairs indicated that written testimony would be welcomed for technical details and additional comments.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's not the adult high school.
• with public school districts.
• or school district or charter school educational technology being used outside the school.
• I’m hearing from parents and school districts, school administrators.
• So, we get a very own school.

Committee: House Elementary and Secondary Education

Transcript Highlights:

• So I've been a leader, a preschool director, Elementary principal, middle school principal, high school
• Understanding its value is just as important at the elementary levels and middle school, because in middle
• So how do we strengthen these programmatic issues at the middle school to keep it a pipeline through
• Pecos High School, Pecos Middle School, and Albuquerque Technology.
• We have middle school kids that do corridos, they write their own music, they compose their own music

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><02:07:45.599><c> the</c> middle school, but he completed the middle school, but he completed the
• I was at Summerssworth Middle School.
• I popped into the nurse Middle School.
• </c><04:08:40.960><c> school</c> been piloting it at a middle school been piloting it at a middle school
• </c><04:10:22.319><c> school</c> why, um, you began in the middle school why, um, you began in the middle

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 292, which would authorize a governor’s warrant to cover special education aid shortfalls from the education trust fund, and from the general fund if needed, so local school districts would not have to absorb prorated costs or raise local property taxes. Senator Lang said the bill was prompted by a prior $15 million special education funding shortfall caused by higher-than-expected catastrophic aid claims, including more qualifying students and the recent increase in the special education age limit to 22. He emphasized that the bill is intended to ensure the state meets its funding commitment and avoid shifting costs to towns. Members asked about how the bill interacts with House Bill 742 and House Bill 773, including whether the language should be merged or whether the state should fund 100% versus an 80% floor. Lang said he was open to improving the bill and to adding a study committee or performance audit on special education costs, but maintained that the state should not push costs to local taxpayers when it has available funds. The hearing on SB 292 was then closed, with no vote taken. The committee then opened Senate Bill 98, which would extend for five more years a tax credit program for donations to regional career and technical education centers. Senator Waters said the program has been successful in building partnerships between CTE centers and employers, especially through equipment donations that support training and apprenticeships. He cited examples including automotive, marine trades, and advanced manufacturing programs, and said the five-year extension would let lawmakers continue to review whether the incentive is working as intended. Several members questioned whether the credit is effectively a 100% subsidy and how the cap works. Waters and another member explained that the underlying program has an aggregate cap of $500,000 and that credits are prorated if requests exceed that amount; they also said the donations are primarily equipment, not cash. Some members raised concerns about whether businesses could also claim other tax deductions or credits, but the sponsor said the existing structure has been in place for years and has been revisited periodically. No vote was taken during the hearing excerpt provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• represent non-Washington school districts.
• represent non-Washington school districts.
• a binary variable to each school district representing which state it was in.
• the middle in terms of their percentage of students in special education.
• Finally, we selected 11 school districts for closer review.

Committee: Joint JLARC I-900 Subcommittee for SAO Performance Audits

Summary: The JLARC I-900 Subcommittee heard a State Auditor’s Office performance audit on special education services, focused on comparing student needs, district identification practices, and funding. Auditors said Washington does not appear to under-identify any particular population for special education, though districts face ongoing challenges with identification, documentation, staffing shortages, and inconsistent referral tracking. They explained that their analysis used statistical models because the true prevalence of disabilities is unknown, and found Washington districts generally clustered near the national average, with little evidence that any demographic group was systematically under-identified. The audit also found that special education funding has historically been insufficient, with districts collectively covering about $500 million in costs not paid by state or federal sources, and that districts spent about 26% more per student than they received in funding. Auditors noted recent legislative changes that removed the special education enrollment cap and changed the safety net process, but said it was too soon to assess their effects. Their recommendations to OSPI included clarifying what counts as an official special education referral, requiring districts to report referral data even when no evaluation follows, and ensuring the new statewide data system is developed with district input, training, and possibly a mandate for uniform use. OSPI staff said they concurred with the report and appreciated the work of the auditor’s office and JLARC. During member questions, Representative Paulette raised concerns that the audit did not directly examine prevalence of specific disabilities, such as autism and dyslexia, in vulnerable populations or compare Washington’s identification practices to medical and peer-reviewed prevalence data. Auditors responded that medical prevalence is not known in a systematic way, that educational eligibility differs from medical diagnosis, and that the report’s conclusions should not be read as proving no populations are under- or over-identified. No public testimony was offered, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• In the upper gallery, we have a group of middle school students from Owensville, Missouri.
• The bill was also expanded to include public charter schools in addition to the public schools.
• The bill was also expanded to include public charter schools in addition to the public schools.
• schools.
• schools.

Summary: The House opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, approval of the previous House Journal by a 101-0 vote, and numerous special guest introductions, including student groups, robotics teams, artists, and a choir. Committee reports from Fiscal Review recommended passage of several bills, including HB 1869, HB 2387/HB 2480, HB 2061, HB 2481, and HB 2885. The chamber then took up Senate changes to HB 2016, a bill addressing anti-Semitism in educational institutions. Supporters said the Senate amendments clarified that schools should consider context, protected criticism of Israel, added charter schools, and required reporting of all Title VI complaints; opponents argued the bill was redundant, could chill speech, and did not match the state’s broader anti-discrimination rhetoric. After a successful previous-question motion, the House adopted the Senate substitute 101-19 and then gave final passage to the bill 100-17. Several third-reading bills followed. HB 2481, dealing with SNAP and Medicaid-related verification and program restrictions, drew sharp debate over fraud prevention versus added bureaucracy and harm to low-income Missourians; it passed 95-44. HB 1869, creating a process to repair veteran gravestones damaged by natural causes, passed 137-2. HB 2927, requiring written settlement demands in bad-faith liability claims to remain open for 90 days and reference the statute, passed 90-50. HB 2387/HB 2480, reinstating the presidential primary and moving it to the first Tuesday in March, passed 116-23. HB 2885, redirecting the final $1 million from boat registration fees to fund the water patrol, passed 112-27. HB 2517, a real estate wholesaler disclosure bill, passed 130-6. HB 3107 was moved to the informal calendar. Debate also began on HB 1730, which would legalize firearm suppressors in Missouri; supporters framed it as a freedom, hearing-protection, and economic bill, while opponents warned it would make gun violence harder to detect and could aid criminals, but no final vote on that bill appears in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are one of the NSECD schools, non-public school early childhood development schools.
• experience, after an A-rated public middle school did not work for him, and how we've sacrificed and
• system. ...public middle school did not work for him, and how we've sacrificed and prioritized his education
• school.
• school.

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• may not have an AED if it's an elementary school or middle school.
• Teachers who teach middle school math may be teaching advanced middle school math, but they're already
• Teachers who teach middle school math may be teaching advanced middle school math, but they're already
• Maybe they've condensed and they all move to one middle school, and there's an extra middle school that's
• I'm a social studies teacher at Madison Meadows Middle School.

Committee: House House Education Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 4043, which would require each school district and charter school, beginning in 2027, to ensure at least one employee at each school is trained in CPR, first aid, and AED use. The sponsor said he intended to amend the bill on the floor to ensure someone is trained at all times and to clarify AED language. The American Heart Association testified neutral with concerns, supporting CPR training but warning the bill could leave gaps if only one person is trained and noting the need for AED access and emergency planning. Parents whose son died in an Arizona kindergarten classroom urged support, saying school staff should be prepared to respond to emergencies. The committee recommended the bill do pass by a vote of 7-1 with four present. The committee then took up House Concurrent Resolution 2015, as amended by a strike-everything amendment supporting at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity for students and prominent display of federal dietary guidelines. A representative of End Chronic Disease testified in favor, arguing schools should help prevent chronic disease through health education and physical activity. The committee adopted the strike-everything amendment and then gave the resolution a due pass recommendation on a 12-0 roll call. House Bill 2621, in its strike-everything form and with a Garcia amendment, addressed enrollment and special education procedures for students in unorganized territory, students using certificates of educational convenience, and children of active-duty military parents. The sponsor explained the bill was meant to clarify confusing law, speed enrollment and evaluations, and reduce delays in services. Champions for Kids supported the measure and the amendments, and the committee adopted both amendments before recommending the bill do pass 11-0. The committee also approved House Bill 2385, which limits superintendent contracts to one-year terms for the first three years unless the superintendent has already been employed three consecutive years; the sponsor framed it as a way to reduce costly early buyouts. That bill passed 7-4. Later, the committee approved House Bill 4106, creating the One Arizona Service Fellowship Program to provide service opportunities, stipends, and tuition awards for young adults, with an amendment changing the stipend contribution formula. The sponsor and supporters described it as a state-based service model inspired by Utah and aimed at education, military families, parks, hunger, and homelessness work; some members opposed it as an unnecessary state mandate or questioned the need for a new program. The committee also passed House Bill 2992, as amended, establishing a pilot program on child sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention, expanded to K-12 and including grooming/exploitation content. A survivor advocate strongly supported the bill, while some members raised concerns about the funding source and possible unintended consequences. Finally, the committee passed House Bill 2370, which would require school leaders to notify governing boards before modifying weapons detection systems and to report changes within 24 hours; the sponsor cited a fatal school stabbing and other weapons incidents, while opponents argued the bill was too vague and could create operational problems. The committee also adopted a strike-everything amendment to House Bill 4056, allowing legislators making public records requests in their official capacity to avoid fees and requiring electronic production; the sponsor said it was needed after districts sought large fees, while opponents warned it could burden public agencies. The committee then began discussion of House Bill 2478, which would create an Arizona Commission on Student Outcomes to study K-12 accountability, finance, graduation requirements, and related issues, with proposed amendments to add early childhood study and change commission membership, but the transcript cuts off before final action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> students who are enrolled in schools students who are enrolled in schools that<00:24:58.720><c>
• a path for educators like Janet Damon, a teacher at Delta High School in Denver Public Schools, who
• School in Denver<00:36:21.200><c> public</c><00:36:21.440><c> schools,</c><00:36:22.079><c> who</c><00
• </c> one-sided claim from a school one-sided claim from a school administrator<00:49:33.119><c> or</c
• ,</c><01:08:02.400><c> not</c> not getting your kids to school, not not getting your kids to school,

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, for our middle school kids, I think back to when I was in middle school.
• For example, for our middle school kids, I think back to when I was in middle school.
• For example, for our middle school kids, I think back to when I was in middle school.
• and some middle high school students and some middle school<02:10:20.159><c> students</c><02:10:21.159
• </c><02:10:46.840><c> school</c> Transportation than our middle school students, so our high school students

Summary: The Committee on Education held an informational/budget briefing with presentations from the State Library System, the School Facilities Authority, and the Department of Education. The chair opened the meeting by outlining the order of presentations and noting that members would hold questions until after all three agencies had testified. The discussion focused on each agency’s priorities for the upcoming biennium and their budget requests. State Librarian Stacy Aldridge described library usage and services, emphasizing strong demand for physical and digital materials, internet and Wi-Fi access, programs, Kanopy streaming, and PressReader. She highlighted digital literacy classes, RFID self-check and smart shelving improvements, and the role of libraries as community hubs. The library’s budget request included an additional $1.2 million for security guards, $48.484 million for FY 26-27 to support popup libraries during temporary closures and other needs, $500,000 for repair and maintenance, $2 million for Kap planning and design, and $25 million each year for lump-sum capital funding. Mallerie Fujitani said the lump-sum funding is needed to keep roughly 50 projects moving and to avoid delays in construction. School Facilities Authority Executive Director Ricky Fujitani explained the agency’s startup history and its programs for preschools, Central Maui schools, and workforce housing. He said the authority is using standardized, prefabricated, programmatic approaches to speed delivery and improve maintainability, citing prior preschool renovations as a successful model. He reported that of $389 million appropriated, $106 million was released, with $81 million for preschools, $20 million for Central Maui schools, and $5 million for workforce housing; he also noted the workforce housing program was reduced after Maui fire-related reallocations. He said the pilot workforce housing site at Mililani High School has been awarded and pointed to University of Hawaiʻi student housing projects as a model. Superintendent Hayashi then began the Department of Education presentation, introducing DOE leadership and outlining the department’s mission to support academic achievement, character development, and student well-being. He noted the department serves more than 152,000 students in 258 public schools and employs over 42,000 people, with nearly 54% of students facing significant challenges. He framed the budget request around the department’s strategic plan to prepare graduates for college, careers, or military service. The transcript ends during the DOE presentation, before any committee votes or formal actions are taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• That middle school inflection point is actually really important.
• We know that model is happening in some middle schools in Albuquerque, while the Opportunity Culture
• So, nearly half of New Mexico elementary and middle school students now read at grade level.
• professional learning for our teachers, as well as algebra for our middle school teachers, we can see
• School, high school, middle school, grade school, all the way down, and yet we continue to coddle bad

Transcript Highlights:

• And I don't know what the school is like. They can watch this. Yeah, right. Yeah.
• They shift costs to the ER visits, hospitals, missed school, work, and emotional trauma.
• It helps create a strong middle class, often with union jobs.
• It helps create a strong middle class, often with union jobs, that benefit entire regions.
• As federal uncertainty continues, Ph.D. program funding has been compromised in my school.

Committee: House Health

Transcript Highlights:

• So, at my school, I have county schools.
• </c> universities or schools? universities or schools?
• . schools. schools.
• schools.
• . schools. schools.

Summary: The Interim Joint Budget Review Subcommittee on Education met for its first summer interim meeting, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and took roll. The first presentation came from Jerry Gels, principal of Ignite Institute in Erlanger, who focused on the rising cost of dual credit. He said dual credit tuition has increased from about $150 to $290 for a three-credit course over roughly five years, which he argued is discouraging participation, especially for working-class and low-income students. He cited Ignite data and broader college outcomes to argue dual credit improves college persistence, shortens time to degree, and reduces student debt, noting that many of his students enter college with substantial credit and that low-income students at Ignite have increasingly participated after targeted efforts and scholarship use. He also said the instructional labor is largely paid by county school systems, so he questioned the size of the tuition increase and said the committee should examine how the costs are being set and whether college tuition should be stabilizing as more students arrive with credits already earned. Members asked about who pays for dual credit, the role of state scholarship support, and whether tuition varies by institution. Gels said students in his district generally pay the dual credit cost themselves, though some districts may cover it, and he noted the dual credit scholarship now covers fewer classes than before. He said the price appears to be set centrally rather than varying by university, and he emphasized that the higher cost is creating barriers even though the courses are taught largely by local teachers on school payrolls. He also described Ignite’s efforts to expand access for free- and reduced-lunch students, saying participation among that group rose from 27% with no dual credit to about 90-92% taking at least one dual credit class. The committee then heard from the Goldwater Institute, represented by Michael Frazier and Dr. Tim Minella by Zoom. They argued Kentucky’s public universities should face stronger accountability and transparency, citing declining public confidence in higher education, rising costs, and what they described as administrative growth and research spending that does not clearly benefit students or the Commonwealth. They proposed requiring a 10-year accounting of staffing growth by category, comparing it to enrollment and low-income Kentucky enrollment, and limiting non-STEM faculty teaching releases for research unless approved under a baseline consent process. They also criticized certain university-funded research projects as examples of misdirected spending and said public reporting should distinguish Kentucky residents from non-residents more clearly, pointing to a reported decline in low-income in-state undergraduate enrollment. No votes or formal actions were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• A legislative session took place, such as the state pen riots that occurred in the middle of the 1980
• The oil and gas emergency school tax was increased. Insurance premium taxes were increased.
• There's a huge demand on water rights being transferred out of the middle Rio Grande.
• With the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, trying to keep water rights in the Middle Valley.
• Keeping those rights in the Middle Valley is critical to meet compact...

Committee: Joint Revenue Stabilization & Tax Policy Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• I am a proud product of Boston Public Schools and a graduate of Girls Latin School.
• school population.
• School nurses make up less than 0.17% of the school population.
• I worked at an amazing public middle school for seven years until I was offered another opportunity to
• My plan was to buy back those seven years I worked in public middle school in Tucson, Arizona, from the

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Service

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Service held a hearing on a wide range of credible service and retirement-related bills, with testimony largely focused on allowing public employees to buy back prior service time or receive more appropriate retirement classifications. Bills discussed included retirement buyback for Joint Base Cape Cod firefighters (H. 4317), clarification of call firefighter buyback rights (H. 2883/S. 1915), veterans’ buyback (H. 2957), a Bridgewater State University police death-benefit/heart-law issue (filed by Rep. Gallagher), unpaid parental leave buyback for municipal employees (H. 2946), school nurse creditable service (H. 2887/S. 1787), former private/parochial school teacher buyback (S. 1900/H. 2873), Massport police retirement classification (S. 1888), contract employee buyback (H. 2795), Retirement Plus late entry (H. 2792), CVTE/teacher-related buyback issues (H. 2762), Peace Corps/AmeriCorps creditable service (H. 2927), and institutional school teacher retirement fairness (H. 2757). Several speakers also referenced related bills for teachers and nurses that had been heard previously or were filed in parallel in the other branch. Testimony was overwhelmingly in support of the bills. Speakers argued that the measures would correct inequities, recognize prior public service, and help recruit and retain workers in hard-to-fill public jobs. Firefighters described the unique federal-to-state transition at Joint Base Cape Cod and said some members were left out of earlier buyback opportunities. Veterans, teachers, school nurses, correctional educators, and Massport police all described service requirements, administrative gaps, or outdated statutory language that they said unfairly limited retirement credit or placed them in the wrong retirement group. Several witnesses emphasized that the proposals were fiscally responsible because employees would pay the cost of the buybacks, and some noted that similar bills had been filed repeatedly in prior sessions. Committee members asked a few clarifying questions, mostly about why certain employees had been excluded under current law or how the retirement provisions would work. No opposition testimony was presented. The hearing concluded after all scheduled witnesses testified, with the chairs thanking participants for their service and the committee voting to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is not only a middle school or high school issue.
• originally, she would often have folks come in during middle school or high school wondering why the
• originally, she would often have folks come in during middle school or high school wondering why the
• </c><00:15:05.279><c> school</c><00:15:05.600><c> high</c> come in when they middle school high come
• in when they middle school high school<00:15:05.959><c> and</c><00:15:06.240><c> wondering</c><00:15:

Committee: Senate Education Finance