Transcript Highlights:

• During the review period, the program awarded $1.87 million in scholarships to a total of 379 students
• Legislative audit tested 10% of students who participated in the program for scholarship eligibility
• Students participating in the program attended cultural, Pandemic.
• and things of that nature for those students who are participating in this program.
• 56% of the students that were in the program, which is not really a very bad number, really.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• WICHE offers three major student access programs. WICHE offers three major student access programs.
• And then the professional student exchange program is PSEP.
• the attention often that our student access programs do.
• access programs they were called student exchange program but we are excuse me, student access programs
• , they were called student exchange program.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Senate Education Committee of Reference met for sunset reviews and first heard a presentation on the Credit Enhancement Eligibility Board from the Governor’s Office. The presenter explained that the board, created in 2016, has no dedicated staff or administrative budget and is supported by existing budget and policy staff and the Treasurer’s Office. The board’s purpose is to lower borrowing costs for qualifying schools by using a guarantee fund to enhance credit ratings, and it has largely been used by charter schools. Because the board has reached its statutory leverage cap and has not met since 2022, it is currently in a monitoring role, but it must remain in place to honor guarantees if any approved financing defaults. The committee asked about financing maturities, demand from schools, and whether a shorter continuation period would make sense. No public testimony was offered, and the committee voted to recommend continuing the board for 10 years, until July 1, 2036. The committee then reviewed the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WICHE’s president described the interstate compact, its regional role in higher education access, workforce development, and data services, and its major student programs: the Western Undergraduate Exchange, the Western Regional Graduate Program, and the Professional Student Exchange Program. She highlighted tuition savings for Arizona students and the state, the return of many PSEP graduates to practice in Arizona, and additional cost savings through cooperative purchasing and technology contracts. The committee asked no substantive questions, and it voted to recommend continuing WICHE for 10 years, until July 1, 2036. The final major item was the Arizona Department of Education School Safety Program performance audit, followed by testimony from the department. The Auditor General reported that the program has grown substantially, especially after expansion to counselors and social workers and increased appropriations, but that ADE did not consistently ensure schools complied with program requirements. In a sample of 16 schools, most had issues such as missing or incomplete operational plans, inadequate safety team activity, incomplete required training, missing activity logs, or reimbursement requests lacking expenditure reports. The audit said these problems reduced the program’s effectiveness and increased the risk of improper spending, and it recommended stronger monitoring, written procedures, and better documentation review. ADE accepted the findings and said it is implementing the recommendations through more direct staff oversight, training requirements tied to funding, encrypted submission of emergency plans, site visits, and representative desk reviews. The discussion then shifted to whether emergency plans should address federal law enforcement actions; the director said the plans are designed for campus safety threats generally and do not specifically contemplate ICE enforcement. The committee took no vote on the audit presentation and adjourned after discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• lunch at the non-program price and that a school may sell the student that entree if the school has one
• lunch at the non-program price and that a school may sell the student that entree if the school has one
• lunch at the non-program price and that a school may sell the student that entree if the school has one
• lunch at the non-program price and that a school may sell the student that entree if the school has one
• specifically. 37% of high schoolers in Minnesota are students of color. 35% of PSO students are students

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I had students who are 10th- and 11th-grade students.
• Every single student counts in that top half because every single student is a student.
• And that's a morning and an afternoon program and probably roughly 10 students in each class.
• And that's a morning and an afternoon program and probably roughly 10 students in each class. and probably
• program costs, program this, they request that.

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the March 4, 2026 minutes, and received a lengthy Department of Public Instruction presentation from Stanley Schauer Jr. on North Dakota student performance data in math and ELA, with comparisons between students with disabilities and students without disabilities. Schauer explained the assessment systems used, the 1% alternate assessment cap for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, the absence of 2019-20 data due to the pandemic, and how state standards are set by North Dakota educators. Members asked about cohort trends, the role of alternate assessments, grade-level patterns, and whether the state should focus more on reducing the novice category than on moving students from approaching to proficient. Schauer also discussed the new NDA Plus assessment, the state’s planned growth model, and the possibility of future breakdowns by disability category or by schools using science-of-math approaches. Special education educators testified that students with disabilities continued to receive services during COVID because of FAPE obligations, which likely helped limit learning loss, and emphasized that IEP teams focus on individual growth rather than only proficiency buckets. Committee members then shifted to special education funding and possible funding models. Brandon Bombach of Grand Forks Public Schools presented on the state aid formula, focusing on the special education weighting factor and arguing that the current formula does not adequately respond to growing student needs because it counts enrollment but does not adjust when the number of students with IEPs rises. He used examples to show that a district can have the same enrollment and receive the same weighting even if the number of students needing services increases. Members discussed whether the formula should be tied more closely to actual need and accountability, and the chair indicated that the committee would continue gathering data and ideas for a later meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• wanted a program for younger students.
• <01:34:51.120> So,<01:34:51.360> we a program for younger students.
• So, we a program for younger students.
• So, um just a plug for the funding and to keep this program going for our students.
• going for our to keep this program going for our students.<01:39:44.560> So,<01:39:44.800>

Bills: HF3421

Keywords: early literacy, reading instruction, teacher preparation, teacher candidates, teacher licensure, educator licensing, Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, PELSB, field experience, supervised practicum, evidence-based reading, science of reading, literacy methods, teacher training, preservice teachers, school-based experience, reading intervention, Minnesota education policy, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• students the direct admission program students the direct admission program shifts<00:58:28.799>
• our students enroll in postsecondary<00:59:23.240> programs<00:59:23.680> they<00:59:23.839
• to ensure that all of this program to ensure that all Minnesota<00:59:55.319> students<00:59:
• My question is, um, regarding how the schools promote this program for students during their high school
• their this program for students during their this program for students during their High<01:15

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• programs.
• educational program to this.
• in the ESE program.
• It's higher education programs.
• We're currently serving over 70,000 students, however, program funded by Osceola County Called Co Prosper

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And you all have heard the data, but students who are in CTE programs graduated over 90% and we...
• Sometimes students need to be enrolled in an alternative program.
• Most states are moving away from allowing K-5 students to participate in virtual programs.
• These virtual programs don't graduate students. I think their graduation rate is like 5%.
• 1.5 program units for every student above the 1%.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm also a UC student and a former community college student.
• Though I do hope to see this program expanded in the future to include vulnerable students even more
• and the student population.
• student programs and services workers, apprenticeship instructors, or supervisor of health positions
• Counselors, librarians, student services, faculty, and programs like EOPS, CARE, Next Up, DSPS, CalWORKs

Summary: The committee heard several higher education bills. It first approved the consent calendar, which included SB 67 and SB 619. The main discussion centered on SB 437, which would direct the CSU system to develop a fair, evidence-based process for verifying whether someone is a descendant of a person enslaved in the United States, as part of the state’s reparations work. Supporters said the bill fills a gap left by the Reparations Task Force and would create a transparent, credible lineage-verification process; opponents argued genealogy methods already exist, the bill would waste money and delay action, and some raised constitutional concerns. The committee took a vote on SB 437, but the roll was left open after the initial tally showed three ayes and three noes. The committee then heard SB 790, which would allow California to join the interstate reciprocity agreement for online postsecondary education. The author and supporters said the bill would improve consumer protections for California students taking out-of-state online courses and help California institutions compete more effectively by reducing the burden of seeking separate state approvals. Opponents, including University of Phoenix and other groups, argued the bill conflicted with the existing reciprocity framework, could exclude some institutions, and might not actually secure California’s entry into the agreement. The committee voted 3-1 to pass SB 790 as amended to the Business and Professions Committee, with the roll left open. The committee also heard SB 391, which would authorize the Community College Chancellor’s Office to charge fees for research partners seeking access to data. Supporters said the office is absorbing significant unfunded workload from data requests and that fees would help recover costs; opponents, including the California Teachers Association community college association, warned the fees could create barriers for faculty and smaller researchers. Members discussed possible exemptions and implementation details. The committee voted 5-1 to pass SB 391 as amended to the Appropriations Committee, with the roll left open. Finally, the committee heard SB 685, a pilot program to provide cost-of-attendance assistance at four CSU campuses for students who experienced homelessness in high school. Supporters said it would help students cover housing, food, and transportation costs and reduce dropout risk; members asked about eligibility and implementation, and the author explained the bill would use McKinney-Vento homelessness designations and target students at risk of “summer melt” and college homelessness.

Transcript Highlights:

• This program allows students to take advantage of programming offered in a neighboring school that may
• > to<00:46:17.359> take This program allows students to take This program allows students
• So we can't provide Perkins-funded vocational and technical programs for our students.
• So we can't provide Perkins-funded vocational and technical programs for our students.
• So we can't provide Perkins-funded vocational and technical programs for our students.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's harmful for students. It causes a reduction in student achievement on average.
• Both for public students and for private school students.
• . students.
• You see student outcomes go up.
• So you have a K-12 program of study really, a high school program of study, and. college program of study

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative F said the program pays the $150 tuition cost that students would pay, but if students
• grades 10, 11, and 12, there are more students in the program.
• Representative Glad said the program pays the $150 tuition cost that students would pay, but if students
• grades 10, 11, and 12, there are more students in the program.
• <00:56:01.960> and<00:56:02.119> we students involved in the program and we students

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Education Funding Committee met in executive session and first took up HB 193, which limits the maximum credits per course eligible for the Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Program. Representative Ladd said the bill clarifies that eligible courses may not exceed four credits and was requested by the community college system. Representative Earth offered an amendment to make the bill effective on passage, which the committee adopted 18-0. The committee then approved HB 193 as amended by an 18-0 OTPA vote and placed it on the consent calendar. The committee next retained HB 295, concerning School Building Aid program funds, after Representative Spillsbury said the building aid bills were complex and needed more work. The motion to retain passed 18-0, with the chair explaining that retained bills can be revisited later and that related language could be moved among building aid bills. HB 354 was not acted on because the chair said the Department of Education and others had suggested possible changes that should be worked out first. HB 366, another school building aid bill, was also retained 18-0 for the same reasons as HB 295. The committee then considered HB 494, which funds the math learning communities program. Representative Earth offered an amendment to flat-fund the program, reducing the proposed increase by a net $50,000 and keeping funding at current levels for the biennium. After discussion about budget pressures and the program’s role in supporting math instruction and professional development, the amendment passed 18-0, and the bill as amended was approved 18-0 and placed on consent. Finally, the committee took up HB 515, which would repeal charter public school eligibility for state school building aid. Representative Popovici-Muller moved inexpedient to legislate, arguing charter schools should not be treated differently from other public schools, while Representatives Luno and Damon opposed the motion, saying charter schools differ in governance and financial risk and should not receive limited state building aid. The motion failed 10-8, so HB 515 was sent to the regular calendar. The committee assigned Representative Damon to the minority report and Representative Popovici-Muller to the majority report, with a noon deadline the next day. The committee then began HB 716, an appropriation for the dual and concurrent enrollment program. Representative Ladd described the program as a successful affordability measure that saves families money and supports college access. Representative Earth offered an amendment to flat-fund the program at current levels, reducing the proposed increase by $500,000 in each year of the biennium. Shannon Reed of the Community College System said the change could limit enrollment or the number of funded courses, though students could still take additional courses at their own expense. Representative Ladd explained the program’s tuition structure and said the funding would help meet demand; the transcript cuts off before the final vote on HB 716.

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
• The program allows these students to earn badges that designate that the students have acquired specific
• Without that clarity, schools could automatically place autistic students in this program rather than
• And there's a lot of other students with different exceptionalities that could benefit from this program

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:

• This is a universal program. So any Texas student is eligible to apply.
• How does a child enroll into the program? I'm sorry? How does the child enroll into the program?
• Many private schools who are whose students or. low-income students.
• Parents are happy, students are happy. The students are learning.
• Not the student.

Bills: HB3, HB3

Keywords: education savings account, educational expenses, certified educational assistance organization, school choice, funding, special education, tuition reimbursement, emergency communication, public safety, interoperability, Texas Interoperability Council, grant program, emergency communications, public safety radio, first responders, radio system, dispatch, 911, emergency management, Texas Division of Emergency Management

Transcript Highlights:

• But we can't do that until we have a solid program that the student is in. Dr. Wright. Dr.
• So I'm looking at, you know, 15 to 20 students that would be in that level D program.
• Secondly, we do get students from other states that are coming from a Level D program, and when you don't
• So when they do that, that means they're identifying the extraordinary costs that this student or program
• is costing..." "...extraordinary costs that this student or program is costing them, and then that helps

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee met to discuss special education funding and retention, beginning with approval of the prior meeting minutes and then hearing a presentation from North Dakota United on a statewide special education survey and retention rubric. Presenters described how the rubric and survey were developed from special educator input around four domains: paperwork and due process support, workload, student and staff safety, and paraprofessional management. They reported high levels of stress and burnout, including increased workload, difficulty taking prep and lunch time, concerns about mental health, and widespread difficulty filling special education positions. Committee members questioned the survey’s lack of a general-education comparison group, the interpretation of terms like “rarely” and “sometimes,” and whether results could be broken down further by district size, unit, or disability area. The survey results showed the weakest area was workload, with respondents reporting caseloads increasing without corresponding adjustments, little additional support or compensation when workloads rise, and few negotiated-agreement protections. Paperwork and due process also scored poorly, with many teachers saying they rarely receive dedicated time during the duty day, often work outside contract hours without compensation, and take work home on evenings and weekends. Student and staff safety scored somewhat better but still showed gaps in crisis follow-up, notification about violent behavior, protective gear, and leave options after incidents. Paraprofessional management also drew concern, especially low pay, insufficient staffing, limited administrative support, and the burden placed on teachers to supervise and train paras. Several teachers then testified directly about the practical impact of these issues. One special education teacher described the job as combining instruction, legal compliance, and paraprofessional supervision, often requiring work beyond contracted hours and contributing to burnout and turnover. Another testified that special education case managers are effectively doing three full-time jobs and that the paperwork and caseload demands are a major reason people avoid or leave the field. Committee members discussed whether the problems are primarily local or state-level, whether more funding would solve them, and whether changes to the funding formula or weighting for high-cost students might be needed. No formal vote or action was taken beyond a recess and return to order for the next presentation, which continued the discussion of possible special education study objectives and potential policy directions.

Transcript Highlights:

• > approved not students uh has 29 approved not students uh has 29 approved programs.<00:24:26.880
• if a home education student is accessing programs within the school, the state reimburses the school
• It's different with the EFA program because the EFA students are actually receiving money through the
• > EFA<01:22:15.360> students<01:22:15.760> are program because the EFA students
• And so it would create those tough... program that either EFA students um are program that either EFA

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Virtual hybrid programs enable students to remain enrolled at their in-person campus while taking a portion
• Another student had a baby her junior year, and, uh, she had to step into our virtual program, take care
• She's a hybrid student.
• So these would be students who are part of the public school system participating in classes, programs
• less than 4000 students.

Bills: HB117

Keywords: county regulation, impervious cover, land use, unincorporated areas, environmental management

Transcript Highlights:

• And so only 5% of the students that are in the education tax credit program now would stay there, and
• you could take in additional students into the education tax credit program.
• could take in additional students into the education tax credit program.
• <03:36:15.920> for<03:36:16.160> students preparation pilot program for students preparation
• Uh, I've seen students blossom. I had a program like this at my school.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Without a dedicated allotment, arts programs are often the first to be cut, leaving behind the students
• A cost paid by our students, our teachers, and our programs. We had to make tough decisions.
• Programs often go unfunded or entirely unsupported, depriving students of transformative learning and
• Funding the Fine Arts Allotment would allow more students access to quality fine arts programs.
• These grants help schools implement innovative and effective programs for students with autism, and we

Bills: HB2

Keywords: public education, teacher compensation, certification, funding, school finance, educator rights, education funding, charter schools, staff compensation, state aid, retention allotment, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, are those programs, the federal free and reduced lunch program and our state farm to school program
• What percentage of the student bodies are actually participating in the lunch programs?
• school lunch when it's a default program, a community-wide program, I assume that goes up Program, I
• There are eight states that provide free meals to all students, either a required program or something
• Teacher student loan forgiveness programs.

Keywords: 916, all