We have completed week 5, passing the halfway point of session. In case you have not yet seen it, the side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate Pre-K – 12 budget proposals was sent out last week and is available on our website. Both budget proposals passed out of their respective full committees and are expected to be heard on the floor of each of their chambers later this week.
***Many of our members continue to express concern over the House and Senate proposals to cut the add-on weights by 50%; this would impact AP, IB, AICE, CAPE, and early graduation. If you have not already done so, please work with your superintendents, your district lobbyists, and other staff to identify the potential impacts to your add-on weight courses in your districts and share that information with your local chambers, economic development councils, and other business and industry leaders in your community. Encourage them to engage with your delegation, as well as members of the House Budget and Senate Appropriations Committee members and staff to communicate potential impacts to your local communities.***
Our team at GrayRobinson is once again providing us with our bill tracker. All of the bills we are tracking are listed on the report in numerical order. Bills that align to our platform are highlighted in yellow. A few of the bills to highlight:
- SB 166 Administrative Efficiency in Public Schools by Sen. Simon continues the deregulation work started last year. This bill once again changes the graduation requirements to use the ELA assessment and Algebra I EOC to count for 30% of the total grade, permanently removes the cost per student station and makes adjustments to teacher evaluations. The bill passed unanimously on the Senate floor.
- SB 1470 School Safety by Sen. Burgess works to address the concerns from the implementation of last year’s HB 1473 School Safety bill including providing some flexibility regarding the keeping of some doors/gates unlocked. The bill also would create and maintain a list of approved exemptions. The bill passed unanimously out of its last committee (Fiscal Policy) and is ready for the Senate floor.
- HB 1367 School Attendance by Reps. Booth and Trabulsy would require the State Board of Education to establish a statewide attendance policy that defines types of absences, including chronic absenteeism, and provide guidelines for documentation and reporting. The bill was passed unanimously out of its last committee stop, the House Education and Employment Committee.
- HB 809 School Social Workers by Hunchofsky exempts school social workers from specific educator certification requirements. The bill passed unanimously in the House Education Administration Subcommittee.
- HB 679 Term limits for members of County Commissioners and District School Boards by Rep. Salman would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2026 to implement term limits for county commissioners and would move the school board members term limits to the constitution instead of being in statute. The bill was heard in its first committee with much objection to putting the referendum on the ballot; it passed the House Education Administration Subcommittee 11 to 6.
- HB 949 Wireless Communication Devices on School Grounds by Rep. Busatta would prohibit the use of wireless communication devices by students during the school day; this would eliminate the ability for school boards to create policy prohibiting the use of devices during instructional time only. The bill would also mandate school boards to provide designated areas within schools where students can use wireless devices with permission of a school administrator. The bill passed unanimously in the House Education and Employment Committee.
