Transcript Highlights:

• Members, please join me in welcoming students from Aliento.
• We have both high school students and college students from Aliento who are with us here today for their
• Students joined our legislature today for their education day to engage elected officials on critical
• Students joined our legislature today for their education day to engage elected officials on critical
• I talked to a young high school student from Mesa on the lawn today.

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then recorded 30 members present and approved the prior journal without objection. Several members used personal privilege to welcome guests, including students from Aliento for an annual education day at the Capitol, a coalition of gun safety advocates, constituents visiting individual senators, and a guest shadowing Senator Gobildone. Senators also recognized a visitor from Tempe and a group from the area agencies on aging. The chamber then moved through second reading of a long list of bills and resolutions covering topics such as solar radiation management, veterinary telemedicine prescriptions, pharmacist prescribing standards, public records and digital media copies, health facility complaints, utilities and renewable energy, water and groundwater management, juvenile and criminal justice, school funding and records, insurance licensing, autonomous vehicle safety data, digital currency, county and municipal governance, behavioral health appropriations, and several election, tax, and constitutional measures. Standing committee reports on the calendar were not read and were entered into the journal. Before recess, Senator Ortiz spoke in support of student walkouts across the Valley protesting immigration enforcement, praising the students’ nonviolent activism and describing it as part of a broader civil rights tradition. After recess, the Senate took up first reading and committee referral of additional bills on public benefits eligibility, workforce reporting, tribal consultations, insurance settlements, missing kidnapped children reporting, small modular reactors, firearm safety instruction in schools, election petition cures, housing and HOA issues, public records fees, water quality testing, groundwater withdrawal fees, and cargo theft. The only recorded vote was on adjournment, which passed by voice vote, and the Senate adjourned until Thursday, January 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• STEM students, medical students, and Harvard School of Public Health students have all reported feeling
• faculty engage in anti-Semitism, addressing harassment from student organizations, and monitoring social
• or faculty engage in anti-Semitism, addressing harassment from student organizations, and monitoring
• We have an entire relational engagement strategy where we meet with students one-on-one outside of our
• building at coffee shops... ...engagement strategy where we meet with students one-on-one outside of

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Commission on Anti-Semitism met for its 11th meeting and approved the minutes from its August 7 meeting. Co-chairs said the commission had recently completed preliminary K-12 recommendations and would continue work on higher education, with additional topics such as workplace issues, the medical sector, and the arts to be addressed before the November 30 reporting deadline. They also said another public comment meeting would be held this fall. The first testimony came from Dr. Mark Posnansky of Harvard Medical School, who described anti-Semitism affecting STEM, research, and higher education. He said Jewish and Israeli students and faculty reported ostracism, gaslighting, intimidation, discrimination, and hiding Jewish identity, and he urged clear leadership statements, mandatory anti-Semitism education, and stronger reporting and discipline procedures. Commissioners asked about Harvard training, spillover into teaching hospitals, and whether anti-Semitic climates were causing students to leave; he said some students had turned down opportunities because of the environment and that concerns also affected healthcare settings. Lindsey Gabbo, a Harvard Law student and mother, testified that campus discourse after October 7 had made Jewish and Zionist students feel isolated and unwelcome, with protests, defaced hostage posters, and a student council BDS vote contributing to the climate. She said Harvard had sent some emails acknowledging anti-Semitism but that she had not seen meaningful steps to restore dialogue, and she argued the school needed more structured venues for conversation. Commissioners also asked about campus security, the effect on students’ mental health, and the impact of chants and protests that she said many Jewish students understood as calls to violence. A panel of concerned Jewish faculty and staff then offered contrasting views. Professor Jeremy Menchick argued the commission should use data carefully, include non-Zionist Jews in its analysis, and avoid reinforcing divisions within the Jewish community. Professor Hilary Lustick described restorative-practice approaches and said structured dialogue could address conflict without immediate punishment. Professor Jonathan Feingold warned that anti-Semitism was being weaponized by the Trump administration and right-wing groups to attack universities and DEI, and he urged the commission not to adopt approaches that could be used to undermine civil rights institutions. Commissioners pushed back on claims that the problem was being exaggerated or reduced to a “problem” rather than a “crisis,” and the discussion ended with continued debate over data, context, and how to balance anti-Semitism concerns with broader civil-rights protections.

Transcript Highlights:

• , white students, Hispanic students, and black students in California.
• And we can do that by emphasizing health, well-being, safety, family engagement, and student connectedness
• We always saw how students were much more engaged when they saw the relevance of what they were studying
• students.
• We have strong family and community partnerships that enhance student engagement through collaboration

Committee: House Education

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It engages civic engagement among our students, and that is the bill. Very well.
• Well, we want to engage our students in such a great civic opportunity as working at the polling locations
• scary for students.
• , or that would promote or engage... ...the defunding of student activities related to diversity, equity
• What about student clubs where students from minority groups gather?

Summary: The subcommittee first heard HB 461, which would allow registered or preregistered students to volunteer at polling locations to earn community service hours, including on weekends. The sponsor and several supporters, including the Duval County Supervisor of Elections and League of Women Voters representatives, said the bill would promote civic education and give students firsthand experience with elections. After brief questions and overwhelmingly supportive testimony, the committee voted unanimously to report HB 461 favorably. The committee then took up HB 1071, an omnibus education bill described by the sponsor as reinforcing parental rights, student safety, early learning accountability, and oversight of scholarship and instructional programs. Members adopted eight amendments, including provisions on charter school discipline during improvement plans, child care and attendance accountability, medically accurate embryologic/fetal development materials, school space calculations, reading notifications, law enforcement access to campuses and canine units, lab school admissions criteria, and the composition of the FHSAA advisory council. Debate and testimony focused heavily on the bill’s provisions restricting DEI- and activism-related spending, the fetal development video requirement, and the law enforcement amendment; supporters framed the bill as promoting merit, safety, and parental rights, while opponents warned about vague definitions, censorship, and potential impacts on students and school programs. Public testimony on HB 1071 was extensive and sharply divided. Supporters included organizations such as Florida Voice for the Unborn, the Christian Family Coalition, and various individuals who backed the fetal development instruction and limits on DEI-related spending. Opponents included Planned Parenthood Florida Action, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Equality Florida, the ACLU of Florida, the Florida Education Association, teachers, parents, and students, who argued the bill was too broad, could chill instruction and student activities, and could introduce ideological content into health education. The transcript ends during closing debate on the amended bill, before a final vote is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Did the student have more than one sexual partner?
• We support strong and enforceable student privacy protections, and we agree that student data should
• And so we want to make sure that students and families have a way when their students' information is
• ... ...students and families have a way when their students' information is being used inappropriately
• So students can still look up this information.

Summary: The committee first heard AB 1159, which would update California student data privacy law for educational technology and college-level platforms. The author and supporters argued that students’ personal information is being collected and used far beyond educational purposes, including sensitive health and demographic data, and said the bill would limit misuse and add stronger privacy protections. Support came from privacy, labor, education, and civil rights groups, while opposition from college store and industry representatives focused on narrowing the definition of “operator,” preserving institution-related communications, and concerns about the bill’s private right of action. Members raised questions about how the bill would affect scholarships, financial aid, adult students, consent, and litigation; the author said the bill includes a right to cure and notice to the Attorney General. The committee voted 4-0 to pass the bill to Appropriations, with the measure placed on call. The committee then took up AB 1709, which would set a minimum age of 16 for social media accounts on platforms with specified addictive design features and create a youth safety commission. The author, pediatric and safety advocates, and several public supporters argued that social media companies intentionally design compulsive features that harm youth mental health, sleep, and development, and that the bill is a necessary product-safety response. Opponents argued the bill is overbroad, may be ineffective, raises First Amendment concerns, and could cut off vulnerable youth from important online support networks. Members focused heavily on possible amendments, especially a non-addictive feed option for younger users and strengthening the commission; the author said he was open to those changes and to further work with the committees. The bill was moved to Judiciary on a 5-0 vote and placed on call. At the end of the excerpt, the author began presenting a third measure, AB 2076, which would strengthen California’s Parents’ Accountability and Child Protection Act by adding nitrous oxide to the list of age-verified dangerous products, banning purchase with gift cards or store credit, and increasing penalties for large sellers. The author described nitrous oxide as increasingly accessible to minors online and cited enforcement gaps in the current law, but the transcript cuts off before testimony or action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• Third, we offer relational, meaningful student engagement and enhanced advisement that centers on the
• students.
• We engage over 1,100 prospective students through culturally grounded platicas.
• This program engaged 20 high school students from seven schools in four days of career exploration, college
• which we engage students and schools of social work statewide in February of this year. to translate

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Student success means recruiting more students than other programs.
• So it’s not just recent students. These students go back a ways.
• We’re also seeing student engagement in this space. We see that in different ways.
• But if they're highly engaged in student organizations, student government, they're doing food drives
• To K-12 students.

Committee: Joint Higher Education Institutions Committee

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Students.
• </c><00:04:24.720><c> our</c> me to our staff our students our me to our staff our students our families
• in a variety of student subgroups.
• Imagine a world where every student feels engaged, inspired, and empowered, where safety, care, and compassion
• c> and</c> student feels engaged inspired and student feels engaged inspired and empowered<00:08:49.760

Committee: Senate Education Policy

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These are real students.
• data and student privacy.
• So we have students that are full-time, we have students that are part-time.
• So we have students that are full-time, we have students that are part-time.
• in the student veterans of California. and investing in the students in the student veterans of California

Summary: The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education heard updates on several higher education budget items, beginning with a pulled follow-up item on the State Library’s administration of the Imagination Library. The chair said the committee had received new documentation from the State Library and the Department of Finance late the prior evening, and staff would review it before deciding whether additional oversight or accountability measures are needed. The committee then turned to the California Community Colleges budget request, with Chancellor Christian outlining strong post-pandemic enrollment recovery, asking for 3% enrollment growth funding, changes to the three-year average formula, removal of the 10% growth cap, and support for several one-time and ongoing initiatives including the Common Cloud Data Platform, credit for prior learning, AI literacy, Rebuild L.A., veterans services, Calbright College, and the Chancellor’s Office. Senators raised concerns about district reserves, part-time faculty conditions, veterans’ credit pathways, and fraud prevention in enrollment systems; the chancellor said the system is using DMV and other identity verification tools, AI screening, and audits, and that reported final enrollment numbers are clean. The committee then reviewed the student-centered funding formula. The Department of Finance described the governor’s proposal to fully repay $408.4 million in deferrals, provide a 2.41% COLA, and add one-time funding to cover current-year apportionment costs, while the Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended prioritizing the proposals within available Proposition 98 funding. Community college finance staff said most districts are growing, many would benefit from current-year funding rules, and that without the proposed apportionment funding districts could face a deficit factor and reduced course access. Members asked about infrastructure prioritization, deferred maintenance, safety, accessibility, and campus police; staff explained that life safety projects are prioritized first, followed by modernization and growth-related facilities, and that colleges are built to high safety standards under the Field Act. Enrollment growth was discussed separately, with Finance and LAO supporting the governor’s 1.5% growth proposal split across two fiscal years, while noting that growth is being driven in part by dual enrollment, regional demographic shifts, and unemployment. The Chancellor’s Office said 54 of 72 districts grew year over year and that funding more growth could help districts move off hold harmless status, though some districts face long-term demographic challenges. The committee also heard from Calbright College President Agita Menon, who described Calbright’s role serving adult learners statewide, its completion and wage gains, and the governor’s proposed $38 million ongoing funding. The LAO recommended transitioning Calbright to the student-centered funding formula beginning in 2027-28, arguing that the current proposal lacks a clear funding rationale and performance linkage; Calbright responded that its competency-based, non-credit model is structurally different and should be funded separately, while agreeing to continued accountability reporting. Finally, the committee received an update on the Community College Higher Education Student Housing Program. Finance said the governor proposes about $11 million ongoing General Fund for debt service on approved student housing projects, and that 11 projects are in the financing pipeline, with two completed, three under construction, four in working drawings, and two in preliminary plans. Finance also noted that some projects have withdrawn and that about $81 million in bond authority remains unallocated, which the Legislature may need to address going forward.

Transcript Highlights:

• students?
• our students.
• Chair, that families are able to engage a little more, that students are able to engage a little more
• Are we looking at engaging high school students in these programs?
• Because I see the potential that if we engage these students in their junior or senior year and help

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• to engage students in experiential learning.
• Through project-based learning, we help students engage with an increasingly complex information ecosystem
• </c><00:14:23.760><c> students</c><00:14:24.079><c> in</c><00:14:24.320><c> experiential</c> to engage
• students in experiential to engage students in experiential learning.<00:14:25.920><c> Many</c><00:14
• </c> students engage with an increasingly students engage with an increasingly complex<00:14:49.360><

Committee: Senate Higher Education

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 20,000 students, FTE.
• We assess that impact through their engagement. The more color we see, the more engagement we have.
• Are our stakeholders engaged?
• You got 300 students somewhere.
• We're really engaging all of our partners to prepare our students for success and careers in a variety

Committee: Senate Education Pre-K - 12

Summary: The Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee met to discuss the needs of rural school districts and the role of Florida’s three regional education consortia: the Panhandle Area Education Consortium, Northeast Florida Educational Consortium, and Heartland Educational Consortium. Executive directors and several rural superintendents described the consortia as member-led organizations that provide shared services, professional learning, leadership development, grant support, cooperative purchasing, risk management, IT/cybersecurity help, and back-office assistance that small districts could not afford to provide on their own. They emphasized that rural districts are often very small, have limited staff, and must still meet the same state reporting and compliance requirements as large urban systems. Testimony focused heavily on teacher recruitment and retention, alternative certification, and the difficulty of staffing specialized roles such as CFOs, MIS directors, IT staff, and content-area teachers. Superintendents said many new hires are career changers or alternatively certified teachers who need consortium-supported training, and several argued for more flexibility in funding so districts can raise salaries and compete with neighboring districts and nearby states. Members also asked about the impact of declining enrollment, homeschooling, and voucher-related school choice; superintendents said those trends are reducing FTE and creating budget instability, while also requiring districts to right-size staff and programs. Several speakers described the financial strain on rural districts, including rising insurance costs, transportation costs, and the challenge of forecasting budgets when enrollment changes after the school year begins. One superintendent recounted major hurricane damage and said consortium risk-management support was essential to recovery. Others said the consortia help districts pool resources for property and health insurance, payroll, student data systems, and procurement, and that this shared approach saves money and improves services. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Among other things, this prohibition does not apply to the use of biometrics to determine student engagement
• This prohibition does not apply to the use of biometrics to determine student engagement when it is used
• especially, speaking of Black History Month, how Black students and other students of color are treated
• If a student had... Yes.
• A statewide consistent policy would help students focus, participate more, and actually engage with one

Summary: The House Education Committee heard several bills related to special education records, artificial intelligence in schools, financial aid access, educator preparation, school health, and student mobile device use. Substitute Senate Bill 6268 would require OSPI to keep an online public record of final special education community complaint decisions for 20 years; the sponsor and several parents, attorneys, and open-government advocates said the records help families, schools, and researchers understand past decisions and remedies, while no one testified in opposition. Substitute Senate Bill 5956 would limit school use of automated decision systems, school surveillance technology, biometric data, and facial recognition in student discipline and safety contexts; the sponsor and supporters said it would prevent harmful false positives and discriminatory impacts, while an industry witness warned the bill could unintentionally reduce school safety by limiting emergency facial-recognition uses. Committee discussion focused on the bill’s scope, especially whether it affects classroom grading or only discipline-related decisions, and staff noted the bill does not require teacher training. The committee also heard Substitute Senate Bill 5841, which would add financial-aid application data to the High School and Beyond Plan platform and require students to receive information about the Washington Opportunity Scholarship Program. The sponsor said the bill would make aid status more transparent and easier to track, especially for families facing language or access barriers, and a student advocate testified in support; a committee member raised concerns about privacy for immigrant and DACA students, and the sponsor said the portal would be opt-in and guided by privacy protections. Senate Bill 6278 would codify and update Professional Educator Standards Board review of teacher and principal preparation programs, including program standards, educator role standards, evidence, and input from P-12 partners, while allowing field placement plans to be submitted on a less frequent schedule; PESB staff said the bill largely reflects current practice and adds flexibility. Substitute Senate Bill 5240 would expand who may administer epinephrine in schools and allow use of any available epinephrine when a student with a prescription on file has anaphylaxis; school nurses supported broader access to stock epinephrine but warned against using one student’s medication for another and raised legal and ethical concerns, while the sponsor emphasized faster response in emergencies. Finally, Substitute Senate Bill 5346 would direct OSPI to study and report on school mobile-device restrictions and update digital citizenship resources to include research and best practices on student phone use. Staff said OSPI already has some guidance, but the bill would create formal legislative reports and expand the state’s digital citizenship materials. The committee began taking testimony on that bill as the hearing time ran short, and the chair noted there were ten people signed in to testify.

Transcript Highlights:

• Improved literacy and math instruction will lead to increased student engagement, higher achievement
• and family engagement.
• With student engagement, students are becoming more engaged during their literacy lessons, and initial
• TK students.
• That we prepare for our students, we will see more students wanting to eat those meals.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I taught students that special needs and neurotypical students.
• taught students who were students at every grade level from first through 12th across English and math
• Hi, I'm a student at Sac State University and part of Students for Quality of Education and Student for
• I'm here on behalf of Black Student Union, Students Against Fascism.
• Filipinos Igniting Engagement.

Committee: House Education

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:46.639><c> and</c> where we have classes and students and where we have classes and students
• </c><00:31:05.200><c> they</c> least one of the clubs the students they least one of the clubs the students
• that</c> inequity of access for students that inequity of access for students that live<00:44:19.000>
• Why doesn't all the schools engage with community?
• </c><01:00:08.920><c> with</c> schools engage with schools engage with community<01:00:11.319><c> that

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then we'll also be engaging student to student, so doing peer-to-peer engagement.
• And then we'll also be engaging student to student, so doing peer-to-peer engagement.
• And then we'll also be engaging student to student, so doing peer-to-peer engagement.
• Mike Dean: It is kind of self-explanatory, and then we'll also be engaging student to student, so doing
• peer-to-peer engagement.

Committee: Senate State and Local Government

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• : Did the student have more than one sexual partner?
• We support strong and enforceable student privacy protections, and we agree that student data should
• And so we want to make sure that students and families have a way when their students' information is
• ... ...sure that students and families have a way when their students' information is being used in a
• So students can still look up this information.

Committee: Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:14:47.160><c> to</c> plans of eligible blind students to plans of eligible blind students to
• The bill addresses directly the need for evaluation of the students blind and low vision.
• But I have seen the effects of students when they're young if they don't learn Braille early.
• The bill addresses directly the need for evaluation of the students blind and low vision.
• But I have seen the effects of students when they're young if they don't learn Braille early.

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Rouse, student transfers. Amendment number 49 by Ms. Rauch, student transfers. Senator Rauch.
• Tarr, timeout, student isolation, and classroom redirection standards.
• Amendment 25, timeout, student isolation, and classroom redirection standards. Senator Tarr.
• student is perceived to present a threat to themselves or others.
• To develop statewide truancy and engagement standards. Senator Tarr. Mr.

Keywords: 1212, all