This week saw increased legislative activity with several new bills advancing through the process. Board members should particularly monitor HB 0127/Required Instruction in Cursive Writing (Overdorf), which is now scheduled for committee hearing on November 18th at 1:00 pm before the Student Academic Success Subcommittee—this bill would mandate cursive writing instruction and demonstration of proficiency by specified grade levels. Additionally, HB 0045/Sexual Offenders and Sexual Predators (Plakon) has progressed to the Judiciary Committee after committee substitute text was filed on November 6th, revising residency restrictions and employment screening requirements for convicted sex offenders near schools. Two new bills were also filed: HB 0331/Reproductive Health and Instructional Materials (Hart), requiring annual school board approval of reproductive health instructional materials, and HB 0305/Statewide, Standardized Assessments (Harris), which has now moved to the Education Administration Subcommittee. Of note, HB 0103/Local Business Taxes (Botana) is scheduled for discussion during the Office of EDR’s Revenue Estimating Impact Conference on November 14th, though no votes will be taken. HB 0145/Suits Against the Government (McFarland) has now advanced to the Budget Committee after passing its first committee. Most other bills remain in their initial committee assignments with no significant movement. Next week marks another committee week. Stay tuned for future updates.
Reports provided by Dr. Kim McDougal, Arrow Group
FSBA Bill Report
K-12 Education Calendar
Education-Property Tax Bill Report
