Transcript Highlights:

• It cannot be limited to... uh students. uh students.
• If a EFA student home education student.
• EFA student. EFA student.
• . student. student.
• We uh students a student EFA family.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:11:50.560> to<01:11:50.760> student can vary widely from student to student can
• vary widely from student to student students<01:11:52.040> do<01:11:52.199> not<01:11:
• that um student count of 400 students that um student count of 400 students receiving<01:20:59.880
• c> complex every student even students with complex every student even students with complex needs
• Public schools work with every student, even students with complex needs.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The hearing focused on HB 563, which would revise the education funding formula for pupils receiving special education services by replacing the current single special education amount with three differentiated categories. Representative Rick Ladd, the prime sponsor, said the bill largely tracks a House-passed version from the prior session with minor figure adjustments, and explained that the proposal uses projected FY26 amounts for three categories based on time in general education versus more intensive placements. He also noted that the bill does not address catastrophic aid directly, but that special education aid, CAT aid, and proration all remain issues for later work sessions. Ladd and supporters argued that weighted categories better reflect actual costs and are more sustainable than treating all IEPs the same. Representative Margaret Drye said the approach was one of the best ideas from the education funding subcommittee and urged the committee to support differentiated aid. Representative Ames asked how the category amounts were derived, and Ladd said Category A follows the FY26 base, Category B is a higher weight, and Category C is a still higher weight for more intensive services, though he acknowledged the exact multipliers were developed earlier and could be revisited. He also said the committee would continue discussing whether the weights are appropriate and how they interact with CAT aid. Testimony from Bonnie Dunham strongly opposed the bill. She argued that funding based on placement rather than actual service need would create incentives to move students into more restrictive settings, could stigmatize children with labels such as "Category C," and would undermine the least restrictive environment requirements under federal special education law. She described her son’s experience in inclusive settings as beneficial and said the bill would have penalized the district for serving him there. In response to questions, she said schools and parents should base funding on the child’s actual needs and costs, not on placement, and urged the committee to recommend the bill inexpedient to legislate.

Transcript Highlights:

• adult to be alone with one student. adult to be alone with one student.
• students and staff. students and staff.
• investigate all student malreatment. investigate all student malreatment.
• students who need an individual support. students who need an individual support.
• student learning more clearly. student learning more clearly.

Bills: HF3489, HF3550

Keywords: grooming, child protection, student safety, sexual exploitation, educator licensing, teacher discipline, mandatory reporting, mandated reporter training, school misconduct, predatory offender, child abuse, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, child sexual abuse material, child pornography, position of authority, school employee, school administrator, license revocation, license suspension

Transcript Highlights:

• students.
• He has students there. I have students there.
• When the student doesn't work out, the students come back to us.
• When the student doesn't work out, the students come back to us.
• When the student doesn't work out, the students come back to us.

Bills: HF3650, HF1791, HF3489, HF4231, HF4232, HF4269, HF4270, HF3490

Keywords: student career pathways, education framework, experiential learning, employer engagement, career technical education, career and technical education, CTE, postsecondary scholarship, postsecondary grant, school district funding, cooperative unit, Minnesota high school, apprenticeship, certificate program, tuition assistance, workforce training, military transition, education finance, student aid, career pathways

Transcript Highlights:

• be to that student, I guess.
• be to that student, I guess.
• be to that student, I guess.
• be to that student, I guess.
• , students with disabilities, students learning English, and students of color into lower-level math

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• evaluate student performance. ...for those students to better measure and evaluate student performance
• And I would note, too, the goal is not to not promote students. It's not to retain students, right?
• But today, since I have high school students, my kids are high school students, I wanted to speak on
• And what we miss is the actual student. We miss the student that's sitting in that test.
• That's troubling for me for those students that want to go to the military, those students...

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 296, as amended by strike-all, on middle and high school start times. Senator Bradley explained that the amendment would repeal the statewide mandate for later start times and return scheduling decisions to local school boards, while still requiring districts to inform the community about the health, safety, and academic effects of sleep deprivation and to consider later start times when setting transportation schedules. Testimony and debate were largely in support, with several school district and education group representatives waiving in support, and members citing transportation, staffing, family logistics, and cost concerns under the existing mandate. The strike-all was adopted, and SB 296 was reported favorably by roll call vote, with Senators Berman, Osgood, and Chair Calatayud voting yes and Senator Gaetz voting no; other members were absent or not recorded in the excerpt. The committee then heard Senate Bill 356, which would designate January 27 as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Florida. Senator Berman said the date matches the UN’s Holocaust Remembrance Day and would require the governor to annually proclaim it, while allowing public observance and instruction about the Holocaust’s harms and its impact on the Jewish community and humanity. There was no substantive opposition in the excerpt, and the bill was reported favorably by roll call vote with yes votes from Senators Berman, Gaetz, and Chair Calatayud. Finally, the committee considered Senate Bill 166 on administrative efficiency in public schools. Senator Simon described a broad deregulation package affecting student assessments, grade promotion, teacher evaluations, contracts and certification, school board operations, instructional materials timelines, internal audits, facilities planning, cost-per-student-station limits, emergency make-up days, federal fund timing, and VPK oversight. Testimony was mixed: school district and education organization representatives generally supported the flexibility, while some groups opposed or urged changes to the grade 4 promotion and graduation-related provisions, arguing they could weaken academic standards. After debate focused especially on third-grade promotion and testing requirements, the bill was reported favorably by roll call vote. At the end of the meeting, members recorded their votes on SB 296 and SB 356, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Every Wyoming student in grades 6...
• When students enter the classroom, often students are told, "Please Please open your laptops."
• Um, to give you an idea of our student... Um, give you an idea of our student count.
• We're really small, 47 students.
• student-side software."

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• students have to students...
• school of 500 students.
• English learner students generate $366 per student, or $16 million in 2025.
• lunch students at the district.
• And then finally, for PD, or professional development, all students generate $41 per student.

Keywords: 1204, all

Summary: The House and Senate Education Committee first approved minutes from February 2 and 3, then heard an interim study proposal on Arkansas adult education, presented by Goodwill Industries of Arkansas and the Excel Center network. Witnesses described the state’s adult diploma gap, arguing that roughly 300,000 Arkansans over age 19 lack a high school diploma or GED and that the Excel Center provides a supported, diploma-based alternative with child care, transportation help, tutoring, and career services. Goodwill officials said the Arkansas campuses are the state’s only public adult charter high schools, are not state-funded, and have produced strong enrollment growth and graduation outcomes. A University of Notre Dame researcher testified that a study of Excel Center graduates found higher employment and earnings, more credential and college-credit attainment, and lower criminal justice involvement, with a high estimated return on public investment. Some members questioned the framing of Arkansas’s adult education challenges and whether the state was being portrayed too negatively, while others asked about wraparound services and the role of nonprofit providers. The committee ultimately adopted the interim study proposal, though there was some procedural confusion and debate about whether questions should have come before the vote. The committee then received a detailed Bureau of Legislative Research presentation on Arkansas K-12 education funding as part of the adequacy study. Staff reviewed national funding principles and Arkansas’s funding structure, including state, local, and other revenues; the Public School Fund; Department of Education operations; and the Facilities Partnership Program. They explained that 2025 K-12 state and local revenues totaled about $6.6 billion, with foundation funding, categorical funding, supplemental funding, and additional funding distributed to districts and charters. The presentation covered the matrix used to calculate foundation funding, the role of the uniform rate of tax, the Educational Excellence Trust Fund, the Educational Adequacy Fund, and how charter schools are funded differently from traditional districts. Staff also discussed categorical programs such as alternative learning environments, English learner funding, enhanced student achievement, and professional development, as well as supplemental categories including transportation, special education high-cost occurrences, teacher salary equalization, declining enrollment, and student growth. Members asked numerous questions about the funding formulas, the meaning of specific staffing categories, how categorical funds are used, and the number of districts receiving teacher salary equalization or ALE funding. One member noted that the Excel Center’s funding appeared in the broader state-local totals and asked for clarification. Staff said some of the more detailed spending questions would be addressed in the next day’s presentation and offered to provide follow-up information, including district lists and historical changes. The meeting ended after the chair noted that the department was present mainly to answer questions, not to deliver a separate update, and no further business was taken up before adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• For for our student testifiers.
• I see students who are active in student council, citywide student government, uh, gathering, research
• > in<00:43:00.560> student students who are active in student students who are active in
• if they're not notified of the students. if they're not notified of the students.
• Around a student.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Student success means recruiting more students than other programs.
• But 93 students have come back.
• So it’s not just recent students. These students go back a ways.
• System pathways and the lived experiences for a variety of students and student types.
• To K-12 students.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• to 400 to 500 students.
• This student did this. This student took my stuff. This student threw something at me.
• This year he was student of the year. This year he was student of the year.
• K-3 and K-4 students.
• student council.

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The program allows these students to earn badges that designate that the students have acquired specific
• The program allows these students to earn badges that designate that the students have acquired specific
• Not just autistic students.
• gets the student to level two.
• Students are finding jobs.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Pre-K-12 Education met with a quorum present and observed a moment of silence for Senator Geraldine Thompson. The committee first took up CS/SB 102, a bill by Senator Gates directing the Department of Education to develop a workforce credential program for students with autism spectrum disorder or students on a modified curriculum, in coordination with the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities and OSHA. Supporters said the bill would help autistic students gain job skills and workplace safety credentials, while an opponent argued the bill should clearly make participation voluntary, expand to other exceptional student groups, include funding, and add stronger accountability. The bill was reported favorably. The committee then considered SB 166, the Administrative Efficiency in Public Schools bill by Senator Simon. The bill would reduce or remove several state mandates and give districts more flexibility on testing, teacher evaluations, contracts and certification, school board operations, instructional materials timelines, audits, facilities planning, emergency make-up days, federal fund use, and public VPK oversight. Senators asked about the impact on student proficiency, teacher evaluations, and the transfer of public VPK oversight to districts; Simon said the tests would remain but count as 30 percent of the grade, districts would retain flexibility in evaluation measures, and only public VPK would shift to districts. Public testimony was largely supportive, with some speakers praising reduced testing and local control, while one senator cautioned that Florida still has a math proficiency problem. The bill was reported favorably. Finally, the committee heard CS/SB 296 by Senator Bradley, which would repeal the 2023 statewide mandate requiring later middle and high school start times and return the decision to local districts, while still requiring districts to inform the community about the health, safety, and academic impacts of sleep deprivation and consider later start times. Supporters argued the mandate created transportation, staffing, and scheduling problems and that local control was more practical, while opponents emphasized sleep science and the benefits of later start times for teens. Several senators discussed the tension between research and district resources, and the bill sponsor said the measure preserves the conversation about sleep while allowing local scheduling decisions. CS/SB 296 was reported favorably, and the committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Port Aransas students and put them into Flower Bluff ISD students.
• This bill will help the future students of the Texas Girls School and students of other innovative public
• This study also interviewed students who are not enrolled in these courses, and these students indicated
• Texas is increasing the number of Black students and Latino students we have in this state, and when
• And so if a student is missing out on more learning, especially a student with a disability that might

Bills: HB178, HB178, HB1551, HB1939, HB2040, HB2354, HB2674, HB3029, HB3460, HB3631, HB3662, HB5201, HB5381

Keywords: efficiency audit, political subdivision, tax rate, fiscal management, government accountability, Texas education, public schools, curriculum, social studies, high school graduation requirements, State Board of Education, Education Code, ethnic studies, world history, world geography, U.S. history, government, economics, personal financial literacy, free enterprise

Transcript Highlights:

• Similar to Dartmouth, we have over 40% first-gen students. We have students from 98 countries.
• We are swapping in President Podell because we have a student with us, and we are eager to hear student
• —$5,000 per student—versus what the state contributed: $25 million, or $2,500 per student.
• We need to be doing it for those students and for the students who are with us presently and for the
• Most of these students... ...you know, educating more than 135,000 students annually.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Higher Education held its second public hearing of the 194th General Court on capital investments in higher education, focusing primarily on H.54, the Bright Act, along with H.1426/S.949 on green and healthy public colleges and universities and deferred maintenance, and H.1424 on capital investment in Gateway Cities. Chairs and administration officials framed the hearing as a response to aging campus infrastructure, climate goals, workforce needs, and federal pressures on higher education, and explained that testimony would be taken from pre-registered speakers in person and virtually. University of Massachusetts leaders strongly supported the Bright Act, describing large deferred maintenance backlogs, aging buildings, and the need to decarbonize campuses while modernizing research and teaching facilities. UMass officials said the bill would help keep tuition and fees lower by reducing the need for campuses to finance capital work themselves, and argued that the investments would improve competitiveness, support research, and create construction jobs. Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, Secretary of Education Tuttweiler, and Secretary of Administration and Finance Gorzkowicz also backed the bill, saying it would leverage Fair Share surtax revenues for a proposed $2.5 billion in campus investments plus additional targeted grants, and that it would support affordability, economic growth, and climate resilience. Committee members asked about the balance between deferred maintenance and decarbonization, the role of grant programs versus direct spending, the impact on tuition and fees, and how the plan would help campuses respond to federal cuts such as NIH and NSF funding. Administration officials said the proposal was designed to be phased in quickly, with some projects ready to start immediately and others taking longer, and that the grant programs would be structured to include all campuses equitably. They also said the plan would build on an existing financing model similar to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund and could help campuses avoid future tuition increases tied to capital costs. Additional testimony came from MassBay Community College, where President David Podell and recent nursing graduate Deanna Cavazos described the benefits of a new Framingham campus building and said community colleges need modern labs, better planning capacity, and deferred maintenance support to serve the enrollment growth from MassReconnect and MassEducate. State university leaders, including President Mary Grant, President Linda Thompson, and President John Keenan, said their campuses face outdated classrooms, insufficient electrical capacity, and aging facilities, and urged passage of the Bright Act as a long-overdue investment in student success and workforce preparation.

Transcript Highlights:

• students.
• safety of students in our activities. safety of students in our activities.
• market in an attempt to cover students. market in an attempt to cover students.
• ><01:25:41.040> students.
• students to protect other students. students to protect other students.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There's approximately 28,000 private school students and around 17,500 homeschool students.
• We want to make sure that all parents and students have the choice for their student that they feel is
• If a student leaving affects the education of the other students, or 500.
• And so if a student is struggling, that's going to reflect. scores are going to reflect the students
• We're talking about students.

Summary: The Arkansas Legislative Council meeting began with approval of the December 2025 minutes and a presentation from the Bureau of Legislative Research on the December revenue report. Dr. Carlos Silva said gross collections were about $4.02 billion, up slightly from the prior year, and net available for distribution was also above last year but down modestly from the previous month because of higher-than-expected corporate income tax refunds. Members asked about corporate tax trends, tariffs, and inflation, and Silva said it was too early to call the corporate decline a trend and that tariff effects would likely show up mainly in sales tax collections. The council then adopted several subcommittee reports, including the Executive Committee Subcommittee, Administrative Rules, Hospital/Medicaid/Developmental Disabilities, Occupational Licensing Review, PEER, Review, State Insurance Program Oversight, and Personnel. The PEER report drew the most debate because of a Department of Agriculture grant tied to Perry County and Central Arkansas Water; members discussed whether removing the Perry County portion would affect the grant’s competitiveness, and the report was ultimately adopted with the item included. The Review Subcommittee also heard questions about a BDO contract for the rural health transformation program, with DFA explaining that the contractor would manage the program while state agencies would make funding decisions consistent with the state’s application. A major portion of the meeting focused on the Education Freedom Account appropriation tied to LEARNS. Senators and representatives debated whether the program helps families or diverts money from public schools, with supporters arguing it funds students and choice and opponents arguing it is costly, vulnerable to fraud, and harms public school funding. Department of Education officials said roughly 28,000 private school students and 17,500 homeschool students were participating, that EFA students must submit standardized tests annually, and that the requested $32 million was to cover existing participants. After multiple substitute motions and extended debate, the body rejected a motion to strip out the $32 million and then adopted the report and related motions. The meeting ended after routine approvals of additional agency items and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• The same student because we are also paying when those students enroll in a concurrent enrollment, we
• What we have right now, so you mentioned student A and student B, so I'll give you another example.
• that student.
• There are plenty of students that may own. The entirety of their day. That's not every student.
• This past year, they had 47,759 students, or an almost 50% increase in the number of students.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• students safety. Thank you. students safety. Thank you.
• are Minnesota students.
• showing up every day for our students. showing up every day for our students.
• result in undercounts of student need. result in undercounts of student need.
• , other students, staff.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• in front of students. Thank you. in front of students. Thank you.
• , totaling $12.2 million for 45 students at a cost of $27,000 per student.
• Our students are diverse. Roughly 66% are students of color or American Indian students.
• students on their case load safely. students on their case load safely.
• my students.

Bills: HF3790, HF3654, HF3371, HF3470, HF1099

Keywords: education finance, lease levy authority, graduation ceremonies, school districts, Minnesota Statutes, local revenue, funding increase, education, state appropriation, local control, HF3371, local optional revenue, school finance, general education aid, school district funding, referendum revenue, referendum market value, equalization aid, state aid, property tax levy

Transcript Highlights:

• So then we asked, what grade is your student in?
• It's for all students.
• All of our students who are on IEPs are students first, and they should have access to all of the resources
• It's for all students.
• All of our students who are on IEPs are students first, and they should have access to all of the resources

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Employment Subcommittee of the Permit Commission on Status of Persons with Disabilities met on April 27 and approved the prior meeting minutes before hearing a presentation from the Lawrence Partnership for Transition to Employment (LPTE). Presenters from UMass Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion, the Arc of Greater Haverhill-Newburyport, Northeast, and Lawrence Public Schools described LPTE as a five-year grant focused on improving transition outcomes for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Lawrence through community partnerships, work groups, and family engagement. A major focus was a family survey designed to better understand barriers to transition planning and IEP participation. Presenters said the survey response rate increased sharply after Lawrence Public Schools helped distribute it, rising from about a dozen responses to more than 200. Survey findings showed common barriers such as scheduling conflicts, language access, childcare, transportation, and limited understanding of IEPs and transition planning. The data also suggested that many families expect college or employment outcomes for their children, but fewer reported access to pre-employment training, indicating a communication gap rather than a lack of services. Lawrence school staff explained that the district has a five-person transition team, bilingual resources, workshops, and a developing online transition hub, and that they are using the survey results to improve visibility and access to existing supports. Committee members discussed the need to start transition planning earlier, expand real-world work experiences, improve outreach to Latino families, and better connect students with college, trade, and employment pathways. Several members suggested partnerships with summer youth employment, volunteer programs, and college or alumni panels. The presenters said the grant ends in September, but the resource hub will continue through the Arc and they are exploring ways to sustain the consortium model. The meeting ended with thanks to the presenters, an update that committee members would meet with Seed on Massachusetts as a model employer, and notice that the next meeting would feature the Office of Veteran Affairs before adjournment.