Transcript Highlights:

• Board to the Technical Professional Board, which would be the Missouri Board of Architects, Professional
• In that is a board, an oversight board.
• It says a teacher with a certificate of license to teach issued by the state board of education, or any
• other educator, administrator, required to maintain a professional license issued by the state board
• of education.

Summary: The committee first continued the public hearing on House Bill 2897, which would expand optometrists’ authority to perform certain office-based procedures. Supporters, including an optometrist from rural Missouri, argued the bill would improve access to care in counties without resident ophthalmologists, reduce wait times and travel burdens, and better align scope of practice with optometry training. Opponents, including representatives of osteopathic physicians, raised concerns about patient safety, the lack of live-human-eye training in Missouri, and whether the bill would actually direct services to rural areas. The hearing then closed on HB 2897 without a vote. The committee next heard House Bill 2353 on interior designers’ licensure and sign-and-seal authority. The sponsor and supporters said the bill modernizes the profession, moves oversight under the state’s architecture/engineering board, and would let licensed interior designers stamp their own non-structural work after education, testing, and experience requirements. Supporters emphasized workforce retention, consumer savings, and that interior designers are trained in fire/life safety, ADA, and code compliance. Opponents from engineering groups said they were still negotiating language but objected to provisions that could be read to require interior designers for broad categories of buildings or blur boundaries with architecture and engineering; they asked for clearer scope language and continued collaboration. No final action was taken. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2241, which would create a framework for certain faith-based residential child care facilities to operate outside the standard foster care licensing system under a new oversight board. The sponsor said the bill is intended to address a shortage of foster placements while allowing Christian homes to maintain their religious mission, with background checks, inspections, and reporting still required. Supporters from Christian child care agencies said the bill would preserve religious freedom and expand placement capacity. Opponents, including child advocacy and child abuse prevention groups and several legislators, argued the proposal would create a separate, less accountable system for vulnerable children, weaken state oversight, and risk repeating past abuse scandals; they said existing licensing rules already allow faith-based providers to participate. The discussion was extensive, but no vote was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Libraries should not lose funding over something as wholesome an education. educational as Drag Queen
• I am a board-certified family lawyer.
• of School Boards, TASB, exerts over superintendents. and school boards, often advocating for agendas
• of Education District 7.
• Parents who express legitimate concerns about their children's education. at school board meetings were

Bills: SB 18 , SB 19 , SB18 , SB19 , SB666 , SB688 , SB707 , SB888

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• If a bullying incident happens the morning of a school board meeting... Board meeting.
• I've been a school board member, gentlemen. I know the type of information that comes to a board.
• So when parents would go outrage to the school board, the school board would demand the administration
• So when parents would go outrage to the school board, the school board would demand the administration
• It's about improving overall educational outcomes because physical education, physical exertion, makes

Transcript Highlights:

• As the school boards are elected by their communities. They're not professional educators.
• So since this deals directly with the State Board of Education and their disbursement to the schools,
• that audit would obviously go to the State Board of Education, Disbursement to the schools, that audit
• would obviously go to the State Board of Education, which it currently does.
• So it's all within the school State Board of Education, or State Department of Education, sorry.

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Our Board of Trustees receives quarterly updates on its progress and any changes.
• So they usually, on our board, by statute, there is a person from organized labor who sits on our board
• Do you have a projection of where AI and the future of education is going to take all education, and
• And the last two ratings in higher education, the outlook has been negative.
• It's really opened up a lot of opportunities across the board.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets

Summary: The committee heard testimony on the BRIGHT Act, a higher education capital bill that would use Fair Share surtax revenue to fund major repairs, modernization, and decarbonization projects across UMass, state universities, and community colleges. UMass leadership described a $4.8 billion deferred maintenance backlog, aging buildings, and the need to modernize facilities, improve accessibility, and reduce emissions. Administration officials said the bill would authorize $2.5 billion in capital funding, split roughly 50-50 between UMass and the rest of public higher education, plus additional targeted funding for housing planning, smaller modernization projects, campus master plans, and workforce skills grants. They emphasized that the financing structure is modeled on the Commonwealth Transportation Fund and would not raise student costs, while also supporting affordability through financial aid and free community college. Members raised questions about regional equity, the distribution of funds among the five UMass campuses and the 24 state university/community college campuses, project labor agreements, whether the bill would unlock private or federal matching funds, and how the system is preparing for AI and changing workforce needs. UMass officials said project selection is data-driven, based on deferred maintenance, safety, accessibility, sustainability, and programmatic needs, and that the flagship campus in Western Massachusetts would likely receive a large share because of its size and needs. They also said UMass Boston would receive its own share and would not be shortchanged by the Bayside project. On labor, they said PLAs are commonly used and they would follow existing board and building authority policies. On affordability, they said the university has shifted hundreds of millions into need-based aid and that the state’s recent support has helped keep tuition low for many students. DCAMM and higher education officials said the state’s public campuses account for a large share of state-owned building space and a disproportionate share of operational carbon emissions, making decarbonization a major driver of the bill. They said the legislation would allow larger, more comprehensive projects that can address deferred maintenance, energy efficiency, and program needs at the same time, while also making some projects shovel-ready through the Fair Share supplemental funding already appropriated. A later panel from the State Universities Council of Presidents argued the bill’s authorization is still too small to meet long-term needs and urged the committee to increase the bond cap and ensure a more equitable distribution among segments. No votes or final actions were taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Lock the board and announce the vote. Secretary: 37 yes, zero no.
• Lock the board and record the vote. Secretary: 37 yes, zero no.
• It is a focus on providing parents with choice of education.
• The bill reduces regulations on school board operations to align school district board meetings requirements
• of materials to specify to the State Board of Education that they may require early purchasing timeframe

Transcript Highlights:

• Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. 37 yeas, zero nays, Mr. President.
• Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. 37 yeas, zero nays, Mr. President.
• Licensed physicians and nurses must complete a one-time, two-hour board-approved continuing education
• Birth educators.
• Secretary will unlock the board and senators will proceed to vote.

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a moment of silence honoring former Senator Charlie Dean. Senators also introduced guests, including family members, church leaders, and visiting students. The chamber then moved to the special order calendar, where several bills were temporarily postponed, including measures on Citizens Property Insurance, artificial intelligence, public records, and data centers. The Senate passed a series of bills focused on consumer protection, transportation safety, health, and financial regulation. CS/HB 505 on virtual currency kiosks passed 37-0 after being substituted for SB 198 and amended to adopt Senate language aimed at limiting fraud and setting transaction controls. SB 382 on electric bicycles passed 37-0 after amendment to broaden the task force to micro-mobility devices. SB 844 on sickle cell disease continuing education passed 37-0, requiring certain health professionals to complete training on care management. SB 1014 on municipal utility service outside city limits passed 37-0, and SB 428 on the swimming lesson voucher program passed 36-0 after amendments expanding the program to ages 1 through 7 and adding drowning-prevention education for new parents. The Senate also passed CS/CS/CS/SB 540 on the Office of Financial Regulation, which creates cybersecurity program requirements for certain licensees, expands oversight of some investment advisers, and updates credit union and anti-money-laundering provisions; it passed 36-0. CS/CS/SB 1440 on public records passed 35-1 after technical amendments tied to related cybersecurity exemptions and reporting requirements. SB 1594 on veteran benefit payments to minor clients passed 36-0, directing certain benefits for foster youth toward post-secondary education or aftercare rather than agency reimbursement. At the end of the session, the Rules Chair moved to certify all passed bills to the House and retain postponed bills on the special order calendar, and the Senate adjourned until the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• Of course, I'm going to start with education.
• And my other concern has to do with the education system.
• to conform to the proposed higher education budget.
• It permits the State Board of Education and the Board of Governors to amend submitted lists of general
• It authorizes university boards of trustees, subject to BOG approval, It authorizes university boards

Summary: The Senate took up the conference report on House Bill 501E, the General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026-27, with Chair Hooper and the appropriations chairs walking through the $114.5 billion budget. Major highlights included pay increases for state law enforcement, firefighters, park rangers, and correctional officers; funding for teacher salary increases and K-12 enrollment stabilization; workforce and university funding in higher education; major Medicaid, nursing home, waiver, and opioid-related investments in health and human services; corrections and prison-capacity funding; transportation, housing, and emergency management spending; and large environmental appropriations for Florida Forever, Everglades restoration, and water quality projects. Members then asked detailed questions about specific items. Senators pressed on the Hamilton Center at UF, the difference between assistant state attorney and public defender pay, declining student enrollment funding, private school scholarship vouchers, mental health funding in schools, the lack of preeminence funding, APD’s iBudget waiver wait list and provider rates, ADAP premium assistance and the return of Biktarvy to the formulary, prison staffing and air conditioning, Florida Forever land-buying versus easements, SNAP and Sun Bucks funding, Hope Florida, election audit funding, and the IDD managed care program. Chairs generally explained the negotiated compromises, noted where funding was flat or omitted, and in several cases said items would be revisited next year or depended on agency implementation. Several senators used debate to praise the budget while also criticizing major policy choices. Leader Berman argued the state should have expanded Medicaid, invested more in public schools instead of vouchers, and accepted federal summer EBT funds. Other senators highlighted local wins such as Biscayne Bay restoration, Tri-Rail, housing assistance, ADAP funding, and declining enrollment support. The transcript ends with debate remarks thanking Chair Hooper for his work on the budget; no final vote is shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• So I think that's our problem in education.
• Our boards determine, or they approve our board.
• But the boards are really more than that, and I think our board members will testify to that: the group
• I've had all kinds of experience in education.
• This is my 28th year in education.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Pre-K-12 Education met with a quorum and first heard a Department of Education program review on three district support programs: assistance to low-performing schools, the Florida Partnership program, and regional literacy teams (RAISE). Dr. Paul Burns described how the Bureau of School Improvement supports schools with D/F grades through regional teams, classroom observations, professional learning, and targeted funding, noting that 104 of 168 low-performing schools improved after 2022-23 and that the share of failing schools fell from 6% to 4%. He also outlined the Florida Partnership’s $4 million annual appropriation for advanced-course teacher training and student access, and the RAISE literacy program’s $5 million funding, universal/targeted/intensive supports, and progress monitoring results. Senators asked about rural participation, post-COVID reading data, parent support, and how long schools remain under monitoring after improving; Burns said rural districts can participate statewide, parents can access school and department support, and schools continue to receive monitoring after exiting low-performing status to prevent recidivism. The committee then received a presentation on the school district education foundation matching grants program from Suzanne Pridgen, who explained that the Consortium of the Florida Education Foundations administers the grants, which require private matching funds and support tutoring, literacy, STEM, career education, professional learning, books, and supplies. She said the program leverages about $1.44 in private support for every state dollar. The committee then moved to the regional education consortia, where representatives from PAEC, NEFEC, and Heartland, along with several rural superintendents, described the consortia as member-led organizations that provide economies of scale, professional learning, HR, risk management, purchasing, legal and operational support, crisis assistance, and leadership development for small and fiscally constrained districts. Superintendents from Lafayette, Holmes, Calhoun, Union, DeSoto, and Hendry counties testified that the consortia are essential because rural districts often have very small staffs, multiple-duty administrators, and limited in-house expertise. They cited support with insurance and hurricane recovery, training for new finance and HR staff, instructional coaching, CTE and leadership programs, and help with turnaround schools. Members emphasized that these districts can be high-performing despite limited resources, and several senators praised the consortia’s value. Senator Gaetz asked about additional back-office collaboration, possible regulatory relief, and FEFP issues tied to scholarship-related enrollment swings; rural superintendents responded that more local control would help. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn, which was adopted without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• Having waived, the Secretary will unlock the board.
• Then it talks about a board for agriculture education on line 3009, so I'm trying to understand how all
• these boards operate and what's the function of all these boards, and I'm not able to follow it.
• facilities or auxiliary facilities constructed by a board of agriculture education.
• President. school board.

Summary: The Senate convened with an opening prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance led by pages, and several introductions recognizing guests, family members, and a USF Day at the Capitol presentation. The chamber then moved to the special order calendar, where it first passed two Open Government Sunset Review bills: CS/SB 7010, preserving a public records exemption for certain Department of Financial Services receiver information, and SB 7008/HB 7003, preserving confidentiality for financial technology sandbox application records. Both measures passed unanimously. The Senate also passed CS/SB 1430 on post-judgment execution proceedings relating to terrorism, a bill intended to help victims enforce judgments against terrorist entities, and CS/CS/SB 910 on veterans benefits assistance, aimed at improving veterans’ access to benefits and transition support. Additional measures passed included CS/CS/CS/SB 832 on former phosphate mining lands, SB 796 on general permits for distributed wastewater treatment systems, CS/CS/CS/SB 700, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services bill, and several claims bills, including relief for Darlene Angerville and J.R., Eric and Jennifer Miles on behalf of EEM, and Marcus Button. SB 994 on driver’s license education requirements also passed after an amendment making texting while driving a moving violation with points and a distracted-driving course requirement. The most extended debate centered on CS/CS/CS/SB 700, where senators discussed provisions on fluoride in drinking water, labeling of plant-based products, drone penalties, charity registration, agricultural housing, and other agriculture-related policy changes. Several amendments on fluoride were offered and defeated, while a technical amendment on financial institution definitions was adopted. Senators also briefly discussed the policy implications of the bill’s fluoride language and its relationship to local control and public health. Several other bills on the calendar were temporarily postponed, and at the end of the session the Senate adopted motions to certify passed bills to the House, retain postponed bills on the special order calendar, and remove CS/SB 7016 from the special order calendar. The Senate then adjourned until April 16.

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is a sort of merger of boards under DOPL, which is merging the Board of Podiatry."
• board.
• board.
• me with that board makeup.
• I don't represent the board.

Committee: House Business

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill requires is the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in partnership with the Texas Workforce
• Education Coordinating Board, work with colleges and university and specifically administrative. faculty
• Abbott and the Higher Education Coordination Board launched a new direct admissions initiative on October
• House Bill 4912 directs the Higher Education Coordination Board to designate the second full week of
• Coordinating Board.

Bills: HB42 , HB 125 , HB 1233 , HB2853 , HB3148 , HB3326 , HB3701 , HB4066 , HB4361 , HB4762 , HB4909 , HB4912 , HB42 , HB125

Committee: House Higher Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Lastly, I want to address educator housing.
• Issue three is the education funding deferrals.
• Education is not a community that does well with uncertainty.
• If you merge two districts, there'll be one board left, right? Not two boards.
• We believe all elementary educators providing direct...

Transcript Highlights:

• What it does is provide the Board of Supervisors flexibility to What it does is provide the Board of
• No, I just want to thank the Board of Supervisors.
• I work as an education programs consultant at the California Department of Education.
• People want to fund education. But there's limited funds.
• Existing law allows school district boards and community college boards to employ, in lieu of traditional

Summary: The committee heard several bills related to public employment. AB 1601, by Assemblymember Rogers, would give Sonoma County flexibility to work with its retirement board and actuaries on a possible retiree cost-of-living adjustment; supporters said Sonoma is the only 1937 Act county system without an automatic COLA and that retirees have gone since 2008 without an increase, while no opposition testified. The bill passed on a do-pass vote and was placed on the floor. AB 1729, by Assemblymember Lee, would update state telework policy by requiring written telework plans, adding more structure before return-to-office decisions, and restoring public reporting on telework savings. Supporters, including SEIU Local 1000, the Association of California State Supervisors, and many state workers, argued telework improves productivity, reduces emissions and commute costs, and could save the state about $225 million annually; there was no opposition. The committee approved the bill 6-0 and re-referred it to Appropriations. AB 1630, by Assemblymember Colosa, would allow union representatives to invite bargaining-unit members to observe meet-and-confer sessions, including remotely, to increase transparency and engagement. UC and CSU opposed the measure, saying observer rules should be negotiated at the table and warning the bill lacked clear limits on the number of observers and could create logistical and security problems. The bill passed 5-0 with one member not voting and was sent to Appropriations. AB 1750, also by Assemblymember Colosa, would require school employees who exhaust sick leave and are absent due to illness or injury to receive full salary for an additional five months. CTA supported the bill as a needed safety net for teachers and classified staff, while school districts and administrators opposed it over cost, staffing, and student stability concerns, saying it could encourage longer absences and strain already tight budgets. The committee passed the bill 5-0 and sent it to Higher Education. AB 1896, by Assemblymember Gonzalez, would bar people who participated in immigration enforcement from holding California public employment, with supporters framing it as a response to ICE and Border Patrol actions and opponents warning it was overbroad and could exclude otherwise qualified applicants from law enforcement jobs; the bill passed 5-1 and was referred to Public Safety.

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll start today with Idaho School Board Association, Mr. Jason Sevy.
• Without those funds, my board would have never agreed to it.
• That training changed how we operated and shaped the board we have today.
• But I also mentioned that I'm going to be studying elementary education.
• and ag education in your mind and then the blue jackets in your heart.

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Medical education.
• Institutions, granting rulemaking authority to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to adopt
• Coordinating Board regarding standardizing transcripts for public schools, to Education K-16.
• entities to report certain educator misconduct, to Education K-16.
• entities to report certain educator misconduct, to Education K-16.

Bills: SJR12 , SCR39 , SB27 , SB29 , SB241 , SB406 , SB414 , SB464 , SB568 , SB578 , SB609 , SB660 , SB689 , SB693 , SB785 , SB857 , SB879 , SB921 , SB922 , SB955 , SB985 , SB993 , SB996 , SB1008 , SB1035 , SB1036 , SB1059 , SB1098 , SB1120 , SB1122 , SB1147 , SB1188 , SB1197 , SB1209 , SB1227 , SB1245 , SB1267 , SB1307 , SB1321 , SB1332 , SB1386 , SB1396 , SB1453 , SB1484 , SB1494 , SB1536 , SB1537 , SB1596 , SB1610 , SB1664 , SB1741 , SB1814 , SB1822 , SB1841 , SB1948 , SB2065 , SB2155 , SB2188 , SB2230 , SB2406 , SB2407

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum present, heard an invocation, and approved the previous day’s journal. The chamber then adopted Senate Resolution 358 honoring the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on its 10th anniversary, with senators highlighting the university’s growth, medical school, research expansion, and role in serving South Texas. The Senate also adopted Senate Resolution 368 honoring outgoing Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, with numerous senators praising his long public career, leadership in higher education, and statewide impact. Senate Resolution 361 recognizing Texas HBCU Day and Senate Resolution 362 recognizing Denton County Days at the Capitol were also adopted, along with other routine recognitions and gubernatorial appointments being read into the record. The Senate then took up several bills. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 27, relating to rights and support for public school educators, was debated and amended to shorten vacancy posting requirements, allow bilingual certification candidates to retake only failed test sections, give teachers more flexibility with paid leave, clarify classroom removal procedures, and ensure parents are informed of appeal rights. The bill passed to engrossment, the three-day rule was suspended, and it was finally passed unanimously. Senate Joint Resolution 12, proposing a constitutional amendment to establish a parent’s right to direct a child’s education, was also brought up and passed to engrossment after a contested suspension vote. The Senate next passed Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1741, which would require reporting of foreign funding at public universities, bar gifts from adversarial governments, and require training and reporting systems to prevent foreign influence and intellectual property theft in higher education. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 29, the so-called “Dexit” bill, was debated at length for its corporate governance changes, including codifying the business judgment rule and altering internal corporate litigation and records rules; it passed to engrossment, the three-day rule was suspended, and it was finally passed by a 30-1 vote. Senate Bill 857, allowing law enforcement discretion to tow vehicles driven by unlicensed or uninsured drivers, passed after discussion of towing abuses during flooding and disaster conditions. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1536, requiring dementia and Alzheimer’s training for certain guardians, passed with broad support, and Senate Bill 922, addressing delayed electronic disclosure of sensitive medical test results so physicians can discuss them first, was taken up and passed to engrossment as the chamber continued through its calendar.

Transcript Highlights:

• of Education and implementation.
• Adopted by the State Board of Education and implement the program with fidelity.
• County Office of Education.
• of Education.
• I'd just say from the State Board, put on my State Board head for a second.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance held a hearing on the Governor’s proposal to convert the California Community Schools Partnership Program from a one-time grant model into an ongoing $1 billion Proposition 98 program. Finance and CDE described the expansion as a way to sustain existing community schools and add thousands more, with county offices, regional/state technical assistance centers, annual self-certification, and a future accreditation process intended to support fidelity to the state framework. The LAO opposed shifting to an ongoing categorical program and recommended continuing one-time grants, while suggesting longer-term funding for technical assistance and, if ongoing funding is adopted, stronger planning, reporting, phased expansion, and clearer accreditation timelines. Committee members pressed the administration on how the new proposal could fund far more schools with less money than the original $4.1 billion program, how much of the funding would go to existing cohorts versus new schools, and whether the proposal sufficiently requires planning and implementation before funds are received. Testimony from practitioners and advocates largely supported ongoing funding but emphasized that money alone is not enough. Speakers from LPI, CTA, San Diego Unified, Fresno County, the Partnership for the Future of Learning, and Sacramento County urged stronger requirements for shared governance, explicit commitment to the community schools framework, annual reporting beginning in year one, and continued or expanded support for coordinators and technical assistance. Several witnesses said the proposal should better protect county office coordination roles, maintain preferences for partnerships in the technical assistance structure, and ensure the system can support more than 6,000 schools. Others highlighted the need for specialized supports for middle and high schools, better integration with other state programs such as ELOP, universal meals, TK, and the LCFF equity multiplier, and more detailed accountability and accreditation processes. No formal vote was taken during the portion of the hearing reflected in the transcript. The chair indicated that the committee wanted additional information on the funding breakdown, the use of reverted funds, and the proposed support structure before taking action, and administration witnesses said a more detailed proposal would be brought forward in the May Revise.

Transcript Highlights:

• And this would be up to the Board of Nursing.
• Education going on.
• But when she went to the board, she was not successful.
• But when she went to the board, she was not successful.
• So the private education sector, there's definitely a need for us.

Committee: Senate Health Policy

Summary: The Committee on Health Policy met with a quorum and considered three bills. Senate Bill 526 on nursing education programs, sponsored by Senator Harrell, would tighten oversight of nursing schools by requiring admission criteria, exit exams, remediation plans, annual reporting, on-site inspections, and stronger action against programs with poor NCLEX results or adverse actions in other jurisdictions. After testimony from the sponsor and several committee questions, a late-filed amendment restored a two-year probation period instead of one year, and the bill was reported favorably. Senate Bill 714, also by Senator Harrell, would create a voluntary non-opioid advance directive allowing patients to document a wish not to receive opioids, including when incapacitated, with the form developed by the Department of Health and potentially included in electronic medical records. The sponsor said it would not prevent treatment discussions and would provide liability protection for providers who lack actual knowledge of the directive in emergencies. The bill drew no opposition in the meeting and was reported favorably. Senate Bill 170, sponsored by Senator Burton, would add nursing home quality and transparency measures, including consumer satisfaction surveys, patient safety culture surveys, electronic health record requirements, reporting to the Florida Health Information Exchange, a $10,000 fine for failure to submit required financial data, and reporting on Medicaid quality payments. An amendment clarified the fine’s application to both facilities and home offices. Testimony from AARP and the Florida Health Care Association supported the bill, and it was reported favorably after discussion about implementation and costs.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Assembly Higher Education Committee is now called to order. Happy St.
• And the Board of Trustees is offering a one-time bonus of 3% to most union employees.
• Yes, there is a CSU Board that makes decisions for the CSU.
• every November, the goal is to be able to do this across the board.
• Appreciation to our Assembly Higher Education Committee staff and to everyone involved.

Summary: The Assembly Higher Education Committee met for a policy hearing on several higher education bills. AB 1534 (Irwin) would create a California approval process for short-term workforce Pell Grant programs; supporters said it would expand access to job training with consumer protections, while a neutral witness urged more work on implementation. Members raised concerns about the bill’s $4,000 tuition cap, but the measure passed 5-1 with an urgency clause and was sent to Labor and Employment. AB 1831 (Irwin) would cap compensation for certain CSU administrators, bar raises in years when tuition rises, and repeal a 2025 executive pay resolution; the author said she would amend the bill to remove retroactive repeal, narrow the scope, and clarify that it applies to base salary and non-represented managers. CFA, students, and labor groups supported the bill as an accountability measure, while CSU opposed it, arguing the cap would hurt recruitment and retention. The committee approved the bill 4-1-3 and sent it to Appropriations. The committee also advanced AB 1555 (Hadwick), which would allow up to 200 students to qualify for in-state tuition at College of the Siskiyous under a cross-border regional arrangement; it passed unanimously to Appropriations. AB 1552 (Jackson), requiring the community colleges and CSU and requesting UC to report recommendations on civic engagement and democracy education, also passed to Appropriations after some members objected that such programs could be used for partisan activity. AB 1829, which expands CalWORKs student-parent support by allowing more direct aid and waiving a 25% work-study employer match at the colleges’ discretion, passed 8-1 and was re-referred to Human Services. The committee later added on consent items and adjourned after announcing its next hearing date.

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome to the Assembly Committee on Education. Will the Secretary, Mr.
• Is there anybody from the Nevada Department of Education in the room?
• Senate Bill 81 requires Nevada's Department of Education.
• My second question is, in multiple places in this bill, there is a change from the State Board of Education
• It was always on the responsibility of the Department of Education.

Committee: Assembly Education