Transcript Highlights:

• On slide 10, this is just a discussion on what we call credentials of value in the Texas Credential Library
• Some credentials are nice to have, some credentials are absolutely required to do a job.
• credential awarded.
• But, you know, when we think about credentials of value, and we've talked a lot about credentials of
• just a credential because somebody made a credential and nobody cares that it exists.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Our instructors track student attainment of these competencies to make certain that students develop
• A second goal of the safety team is tracking safety credentials, which helps ensure that all CTE students
• This federally recognized credential is a foundational safety training for entry-level workers covering
• Another attribute of CTE is industry-recognized credentials, as you've heard about, and each framework
• identifies at least one essential safety credential and one essential industry credential.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held an informational hearing at Quincy Public Schools focused on career and technical education (CTE). Committee members said the visit was intended to gather input for statewide CTE legislation, including efforts to expand awareness and access, improve middle school exposure, invest in equipment and facilities, and strengthen ties to workforce boards and labor pathways. Quincy officials described their CTE system as integrated with academics and highlighted support from district, city, and state partners. School leaders outlined Quincy’s CTE offerings, including 15 Chapter 74 programs at Quincy High School and four at North Quincy High School, with about 1,360 students enrolled. Presenters emphasized curriculum aligned to DESE frameworks, work-based learning, industry-recognized credentials, safety training, business electives, dual enrollment and articulation with Quincy College, and grant funding such as Skills Capital and Perkins. They also discussed support liaisons for nontraditional careers and military pathways, advisory committees, and plans to seek Chapter 74 approval for an engineering program at North Quincy, along with new computer science and business offerings. Testimony from MassHire South Shore described workforce partnerships, YouthWorks, job fairs, resume workshops, and the Credit for Life Fair, while the assistant superintendent explained Quincy’s MyCAP planning grant and efforts to build a student-driven college and career readiness system. Three students testified about their pathways in welding, early education and care, and healthcare technology, describing hands-on learning, certifications, clinical or co-op experiences, and future plans for college and careers. Committee members praised Quincy as a model for combining CTE with general education, and the meeting ended with a motion to adjourn and unanimous adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have the ratio changing from 12 to 1 to 10 to 1, and also new early childhood credential requirements
• so that, in addition to a teaching credential, TK lead teachers need to have additional units or experience
• for degree attainment.
• Higher education, California teaching credentialing for degree attainment, as well as permit matrix,
• mentioned, these investments that we had done, as well as continuing to support degree and permit attainment

Summary: The joint hearing focused on California’s child care, preschool, and transitional kindergarten oversight, with chairs emphasizing the state’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care and the need to break down silos between programs. CDSS and CDE reported progress toward the plan’s goals, including universal access to TK for all four-year-olds next school year, expanded access for low-income three-year-olds, and more children with disabilities being served in state preschool. They also noted ongoing work on quality rating/review reform, funding structure changes, and the need to address rates, workforce shortages, and federal uncertainty around Head Start. Testimony from advocacy groups and providers largely supported expanding access while simplifying the system. Children Now, Every Child California, and the California Budget and Policy Center argued that California still has uneven access, especially for infants, toddlers, and three-year-olds, and urged investments in mixed delivery, inclusion, full-day options, and a cost-of-care rate methodology. Every Child California recommended consolidating part-day and full-day contracts, streamlining eligibility priorities, making the two-year-old option permanent, and funding staffing incentives. Parent testimony highlighted how child care gaps and county-to-county transfer delays can disrupt work, safety, and children’s stability, and providers described low reimbursement rates, the need for health and retirement benefits, and support for delinking subsidy rates from private pay. The second panel addressed universal transitional kindergarten. The Learning Policy Institute reported rapid TK expansion, with most districts now offering TK, but said access still depends on facilities, staffing, and whether programs are available at all school sites. The Department of Finance said the governor’s budget would fully implement TK by adding funding for all eligible four-year-olds and lowering the adult-to-child ratio from 12:1 to 10:1. The Legislative Analyst’s Office said the administration’s enrollment and cost assumptions were optimistic and estimated lower TK enrollment growth and lower costs for the ratio change. CDE supported the expansion and urged continued funding for UPK coordinators, teacher development, and mixed-delivery planning grants. Members questioned facilities shortages, staffing competition, and how to ensure TK expansion does not displace CSPP or Head Start classrooms. No formal votes or actions were taken in the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• We know that degree attainment alone doesn't solve workforce shortages.
• We know that degree attainment alone doesn't solve workforce shortages.
• We know that degree attainment alone doesn't solve workforce shortages.
• that help them thrive and credentials that help them thrive and provide<00:02:55.519> the<00:
• <00:04:05.760> solve degree attainment alone doesn't solve degree attainment alone doesn't

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But I mean, at some point we should be attaining something, and we just aren't attaining what we think
• we're attaining because the judge will tell us what we need to attain, and we're guessing.
• infant and toddler teachers get scholarships so they can get onto the ladder and increase their credentials
• structure to get the funding out the door, identify practical ways to track and monitor wages and credentials
• professionals statewide. 23 of 42 New Mexico higher education institutions offer early childhood credentials

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We will develop a degree applicable credential that applies toward the RN to BSM program and specializes
• A key component of House Bill 8's success is ensuring that the funded credentials provide real values
• that the credentials funded under House Bill 8 lead to strong workforce outcomes.
• 60% of Texas jobs will require a credential, uh, beyond high school by 2031.
• We need an all of the above approach to increasing post-secondary attainment, including workforce credentials

Transcript Highlights:

• speak to you about House Bill 2768, which establishes a state information technology apprenticeship credential
• House Bill 2768 seeks to bridge this gap. by creating an apprenticeship credential that provides practical
• Key provisions are ensuring that the apprenticeship credential allows state agencies to directly partner
• included in the program, such as on-the-job training, classroom instruction, competencies for the credential

Bills: HB149, HB252, HB643, HB1442, HB1500, HB1672, HB1851, HB1893, HB2028, HB2768, HB2818, HB149, HB252

Keywords: artificial intelligence, regulation, biometric data, ethical AI, consumer protection, AI governance, employment compensation, state agencies, salary payments, general appropriations, government efficiency, public works, contractors, payment bonds, government contracts, construction law, transparency, open meetings, government accountability, public access

Transcript Highlights:

• A key component of House Bill 8's success is ensuring that funded credentials provide real value. used
• Texas 2036 supports efforts to refine the definition credential of value under House Bill 8 to ensure
• that the credentials funded under House Bill 8 lead to stronger workforce outcomes.
• that over 60% of Texas jobs will require a credential beyond high school by 2031.
• We need an all-of-the-above approach to increasing post-secondary attainment including workforce credentials

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• a particular post-secondary credential a particular post-secondary credential to<00:15:36.280>
• funding disparities that had attained funding disparities that had attained over<00:19:47.760>
• <01:03:46.800> by<01:03:46.920> 6.4%, credentials by 6.4%, credentials by 6.4%, which<01
• credential? credential? Uh<01:07:07.400> great<01:07:07.720> question.
• . credentialing. credentialing.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The House Postsecondary Education Committee held its first-ever meeting and first meeting of the session, with Chairman Tipton outlining committee procedures, attendance rules, and the process for submitting committee substitutes. After a roll call confirmed full attendance, the committee heard a presentation from Senator David Givens on the history and purpose of Kentucky’s performance-based funding model for postsecondary education. Givens said the model was created to replace an older “shares” approach that distributed funds based largely on prior-year allocations, and argued the new system better aligns funding with student success and the state’s long-term educational attainment goals. Council for Postsecondary Education President Aaron Thompson and CPE staff then explained the model in more detail. They said the system was designed to address long-standing funding disparities among institutions, reward outcomes such as degrees, credit-hour progression, and completion in high-demand fields, and support the state’s “60 by 30” goal of having 60% of Kentuckians hold a postsecondary credential by 2030. Thompson said Kentucky is now at 56.2% attainment, above the national average, and highlighted gains in graduation and retention rates, lower student borrowing, and improved completion outcomes. He also emphasized that the model is part of a broader strategy that includes affordability, adult learners, low-income students, and wrap-around support services. CPE staff described the work group process that developed and periodically revises the model, noting that the General Assembly created the framework in House Bill 303 and later enacted Senate Bill 153 and Senate Bill 191 to codify changes. They explained that in 2016 the legislature carved out about 5% of institutional budgets, roughly $43 million, to be redistributed through the new model, and that the model has been reviewed every three years with changes made each time. Recent revisions included increasing the student-success weight, adding a premium for low-income students, creating a premium for adult learners, and redefining underrepresented students as first-generation college students. No votes were taken at this meeting, and the committee adjourned after the informational presentation and discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• Johnson, with the committee staff, as well as with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, on as well
• But how will the teacher credentialing program educate bilingual?
• No credentialed education specialist is available, so they bring in a substitute.
• No credentialed education specialist is available, so they bring in a substitute.
• I know that it was helpful for me when I was working under my emergency credential.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We support that, like other states, this bill requires. and certified teachers to attain certification
• So, if you look at slide 5, you will see post-secondary attainment ratings among our peer states.
• Only one in four students complete a post-secondary credential which sets Texans up for lower lifetime
• Completing advanced courses leads to higher rates of credential attainment and greater earning potential
• a post-secondary credential than those who take none.

Bills: SB451, SB762, SB1490, SB1262, SB1459, SB1750, SB1962, SB2252, SB2253, SB2365

Keywords: instructional materials, public schools, Education Code, adoption, rejected materials, local funds, open educational resources, Texas Education Code, school districts, open enrollment charter schools, funding restrictions, environmental regulation, business compliance, local authority, economic development, state preemption, local control, open education resources, SB 762, Texas public schools

Transcript Highlights:

• > or<00:36:54.480> associates a short-term credential or associates a short-term credential
• You only have a bachelor degree as your credential.
• You only have a bachelor degree as your credential.
• So what mechanically how is credential.
• It's harder to credential or degree. It's harder to reach<00:59:24.880> them.

Keywords: The livestream event for this meeting failed before the meeting was finished. This copy was pulled from backups and is reposted in it's entirety., 958, all

Summary: The committee met to review KHEAA’s student aid programs ahead of the upcoming biennial budget. KHEAA officials outlined the agency’s role administering state grants and scholarships, emphasizing that net lottery proceeds are statutorily dedicated to student financial aid after a literacy appropriation. They focused on the College Access Program (CAP), Kentucky Tuition Grant (KTG), and KEES, and explained that the FAFSA simplification changes significantly expanded eligibility for Pell and CAP recipients. KHEAA said the General Assembly’s additional funding this biennium allowed CAP to be fully funded, and that FY25 spending for CAP reached about $232 million for roughly 72,000 students, up from about 55,000 recipients the prior year. Officials said they are watching current-year application trends closely and expect a clearer funding picture by late fall as awards are actually disbursed and enrollment data comes in. Members asked about how CAP eligibility works, the difference between applicants and recipients, and whether KTG is tied to Pell eligibility. KHEAA explained that CAP is essentially aligned with Pell eligibility, while KTG uses a different need formula and is limited to private colleges in Kentucky. They also noted that schools verify final eligibility after KHEAA’s initial review of application data. Questions about the FAFSA simplification act and federal changes led KHEAA to say they do not expect major effects on state grant and scholarship programs, though federal student loan changes may affect students, especially at the graduate level. The committee also discussed KEES, which KHEAA said has been fully funded since its creation, and dual credit/work-ready scholarships. KHEAA reported that dual credit participation continues to grow and that FY25 spending for dual credit and Work Ready Kentucky totaled about $26.4 million, compared with a $13.1 million appropriation, with transfers from Work Ready used to keep dual credit fully funded. Officials said they will seek growth funding for dual credit in the next budget because the program has expanded and now includes the work-ready component under one statute. Members asked about transferability of dual credit courses and whether students actually use the credits toward degrees; KHEAA said it does not have hard data on every credit’s transfer, but it is seeing positive trends in bachelor’s completion and more high school graduates earning associate degrees. No votes or formal actions were taken beyond approving the July 15, 2025 meeting minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• THE REACH ACT REQUIRED THE CREATION OF A CREDENTIALED REVIEW COMMITTEE TO IDENTIFY CREDENTIALS OF VALUE
• FOR A MASTER CREDENTIAL LIST.
• ELIGIBLE FOR THE MASTER CREDENTIAL LIST.
• THE ADULT, THE WIOA WORKER PROGRAMS HELPS INDIVIDUALS GAIN THE SKILLS AND CREDENTIALS NEEDED TO ENSURE
• MEDIAN WAGE CREDENTIAL ATTAINMENT MEASURABLE SKILLS GAINS AND JUST STARTING THIS YEAR THEY WILL BE EVALUATED

Transcript Highlights:

• They are designed to provide a mechanism that enables people to attain well-paid work by ensuring that
• the skills they've built through their apprenticeships, industry credentials, military service, noncredit
• to reduce or eliminate those pain points and ensure that more young people build the skills and credentials
• The two issues found in the state auditing report pertain to teacher credentials.
• Highlands maintained adult education teaching credentials.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Summary: The committee began with public comment and then heard an informational update on the administration’s Career Education Master Plan and the California Education Interagency Council. State agencies described efforts to better align workforce, higher education, and TK-12 systems through data sharing, dual enrollment, e-transcripts, career passports, and regional partnerships. Members asked about the council’s timeline, strategic plan, reporting requirements, and whether it would have authority to act; administration staff said the council is being stood up, its first meeting is due by the end of June, and a strategic plan is due by the end of November. Members also raised broader questions about the relationship of this work to the Master Plan for Higher Education and common course numbering. The committee then took up the Governor’s proposed $100 million one-time expansion of dual enrollment grants. Finance said the proposal would extend grants for middle college, early college, and CCAP programs, add eligibility for regional occupational centers, provide extra support for justice-involved youth, prioritize high-need LEAs, and allow funds for teacher professional development. The proposal would also reduce the minimum instructional day for certain dual enrollment students from 240 to 180 minutes to better align schedules and remove barriers. The LAO recommended rejecting the funding, arguing that dual enrollment is already growing and that the proposal does not address major fiscal barriers. The Chancellor’s Office and CDE supported the investment, emphasizing access, equity, and technical assistance, especially for rural and small districts. Members questioned instructional-minute changes, reporting on outcomes, adult learner access, and whether the funds would support ongoing or one-time costs. Next, the committee considered trailer bill language to align the definition of long-term English learners across data systems. Finance and CDE said the change would simplify identification by using a seven-year definition for LTELs and a six-year definition for students at risk of becoming LTELs, matching the dashboard and research on the typical time needed to reach English proficiency. Some members expressed concern that the proposal could delay intervention for students who have been English learners for four or five years and questioned why the issue was being handled through budget trailer bill language rather than policy legislation. After discussion, the committee voted on a motion to reject the proposal and refer it to the policy committee; the motion received two aye votes and the item was held open. Finally, the committee heard a proposal to extend the Supporting Inclusive Practices Project by one year, from June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2027. Finance said the extension would continue the existing project, while CDE raised concerns about the project’s contract structure, fiscal management, and scalability. A Marysville Joint Unified School District representative testified that SIP had helped the district bring preschool services back into district schools, expand inclusive practices, and reduce reliance on more restrictive placements. Members questioned why funds had not been fully encumbered and whether the project was best positioned to support statewide preschool inclusion goals, with CDE suggesting that existing infrastructure may already be better suited for that work.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're looking at all avenues that you can pursue those credentials.
• This first discusses credentials.
• credential that is awarded.
• They prepare students for statewide and regional high-demand jobs, further ensuring that credential attainment
• to earn those credentials.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These programs, high school diploma re-engagement, high school equivalency, and workforce credentialing
• providers or workforce development programs that provide programming for out of cohort students attaining
• a high school diploma, a high school equivalency credential, or workforce credentials.
• government to connect them either to adult basic education, another diploma opportunity, or workforce credentialing

Transcript Highlights:

• that 75% max to be exceeded if the individual has exceptional skill, has exceptional educational attainment
• And that this petition includes a current resume of the employees so we can verify educational attainment
• and other experiential attainment, a list of duties performed by the employees of DLA, a general statement
• of others in the role or other significant considerations like level of education, professional credentials
• is probably being appropriately compensated at This moment, somebody who has higher educational attainment

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:24:34.000> and Authority based on our credentials and Authority based on our credentials
• it's a valid Pathway to credential it's a valid Pathway to credentialing<00:51:51.160> and<00
• <01:38:54.320> here<01:38:54.480> in can that be attained here in can that be attained
• need to be certified by a credentialing need to be certified by a credentialing organization<01:
• <01:45:45.599> by<01:45:45.719> their to get credentialed by their to get credentialed

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The joint House Committee on Health and Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce heard two midwifery bills, with testimony focused primarily on HB 1194. Committee chairs opened the hearing with rules for Zoom testimony and noted the bills relate to midwives. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs said it supported the intent of HB 1194 and offered comments. Supporters of the bill, including the Midwives Alliance of Hawaii, argued that midwifery should remain subject to mandatory licensure to protect consumer safety, citing the state’s regulatory licensing standards and a 2025 state auditor sunset analysis. They said the bill would strengthen educational standards and public protection, and some offered clarifying amendments. Opponents argued HB 1194 would restrict access to care and fail to protect traditional, cultural, and community-based birth practices. Testifiers from the Hawaii Home Birth Task Force, the Hawaii Home Birth Collective, the Libertarian Party of Hawaii, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Pacific Birth Collective, and Papa Ola Lōkahi said the bill would limit licensure pathways, reduce access in rural and underserved areas, and burden Native Hawaiian and traditional practitioners. Several speakers said the measure could worsen Hawaii’s maternal health shortages, especially on Maui, and urged lawmakers to defer HB 1194 or instead advance HB 1328, which they said better protects practitioner access and cultural practices. The Hawaii affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives said it opposed HB 1194 because it did not align with national or state standards for certified midwives and could create conflicts with Medicaid reimbursement and prescriptive authority. The ACLU also opposed the measure, emphasizing reproductive rights, privacy, and the need to preserve apprenticeship pathways to licensure. No vote or final committee action was taken during the portion of the hearing reflected in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• And in order to do that, we have more work to ensure that we can close the gap in our attainment goals
• colleges and universities so that they are also benefiting from the promise that post-secondary attainment
• By the time we earn every credential, opportunities are diminished, and then when we do get the level
• of credentials, they then tell us that we're still not qualified.
• Without federal backing for equitable workforce development and credentialing programs, higher education

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion held an informational hearing on “Protecting Equity in Higher Education” and emphasized that no bills were being heard. Members and witnesses focused on the effects of recent federal actions on DEI, admissions, financial aid, student loans, international students, and campus equity efforts in Massachusetts. Opening remarks from the co-chairs and the chair of Higher Education highlighted Massachusetts’ investments in free community college, expanded financial aid, and early college programs, while warning that federal policy changes could undermine those gains. Testimony from BU law professor Jonathan Feingold argued that many DEI practices remain legally defensible after Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, and that the decision did not end all race-conscious or equity-oriented efforts. He said the Trump administration’s anti-DEI actions and funding threats were legally suspect and had created confusion and a chilling effect. Bahar Akman-in-Boden of the Hildreth Institute testified that proposed federal cuts to TRIO, Gear Up, Pell Grants, SEOG, work-study, and student loan programs would disproportionately harm low-income, first-generation, Black, Latino, and other underserved students, and urged the state to prepare hold-harmless and advising supports using Fair Share revenue. Commissioner Noe Ortega described Massachusetts’ long history of equity in higher education and said the state has expanded aid, success programs, and early college, but still has work to do on attainment and completion. He said the state responded to SFFA by creating ACARE and continuing to defend equity practices, while also warning that federal disruptions and “dear colleague” letters have created uncertainty. In the second panel, state university leaders and campus officials said federal threats to Pell, DEI grants, Medicaid, and international student policies could affect access, campus operations, and the economy; they stressed that most state university graduates stay in Massachusetts and that institutions are continuing their equity practices despite federal pressure. Roxbury Community College’s president said RCC remains committed to open access and inclusion, noted enrollment growth, and said executive orders do not change existing law or the college’s obligations.

Transcript Highlights:

• In part, WIA was created to help more Washingtonians earn a degree or credential after high school and
• sector, we have a goal that 70% of adults between the ages of 25 and 44 will achieve a postsecondary credential
• quote here, we were seeing around 740,000 jobs in the next however many years that would require a credential
• Again, to help our state improve postsecondary attainment, the goal I mentioned earlier, which was established
• Again, to help our state improve post-secondary attainment, the goal I mentioned earlier, which was established

Summary: The Joint Higher Education Committee met for a work session on higher education accounting practices and financial transparency. OFM Deputy Director Sarah Rupp explained how state accounting rules and higher education reporting differ, including what data is captured in AFRS today and what will move into Workday, with universities generally reporting summary-level fund data, mandatory codes, and most balance sheet and income statement activity, but not transaction-level detail or vendor payment information. Representatives from the University of Washington and Washington State University described the complexity of their own accounting systems, the many entities and business lines they must track for audits and compliance, and the need to reconcile university-level accrual accounting with state reporting requirements. The committee also heard from the Education Research and Data Center on the public four-year finance dashboard created under Senate Bill 5512; ERDC said the dashboard is based on publicly available data, is best used to examine institutions individually rather than compare them directly, and will be updated with additional metrics in 2025 and 2026. The committee then received a presentation from the Washington Student Achievement Council on the Workforce Education Investment Account (WIA). Joel Anderson reviewed WIA’s creation under House Bill 2158, its revenue sources, and its intended uses for higher education, financial aid, and workforce development. He said recent legislation significantly increased WIA revenues and that, in the 2025–27 budget, the account is being used in new ways, including to replace general fund support for University of Washington operations and to fund a larger share of the Washington College Grant and some faculty compensation costs. Anderson said roughly 98% of current WIA appropriations go to higher education, but the share used to supplant other higher education funding has grown, and he estimated about 60% to 70% of current spending still aligns with the account’s original intent. He also described a new effort to track WIA appropriations across biennia in more detail and noted the WIA Oversight Board’s role in recommending uses of the account and monitoring outcomes. No votes were taken; the committee ended by moving into executive session for staffing issues and then adjourned.