Statehouse Express: Season 3 Episode #2
Hi! I’m John Elcesser, Executive Director here at INPEA, and welcome back for another episode of the Statehouse Express! It’s hard to believe but this is the last week for committee hearings for this first half of the legislative session. The House Education Committee met for the last time on Monday and the Senate Education committee have their last meeting before crossover on Wednesday. Legislative Activity will now move to the full chambers as bills that passed out of committee will have second and third readings before the full House or Senate. Just as a reminder, during second reading, bills can be amended. Sometimes for the good, and sometimes for the bad. During third reading, amended bills are voted on by the full House or Senate. Bills that pass on third reading then go to the other chamber and start the process all over again at the committee level.
Last week, the House Education Committee heard five bills. Only three have any potential impact on non-public schools.
- HB 1107 a various education matters bill, has a stipulation to establish an advisory commission for the new special ed ESA program. 1107 passed out of committee 12-0
- HB 1251 requires the DOE to apply to the US Dept of Ed to establish and operate an innovative assessment system. This system would only assess students in grade 3, 5, 8 and 11. This bill will be voted on Monday.
- HB 1252 would establish Education Enrichment Accounts. These accounts would be for students performing below mastery on ILEARN. Students would receive $500 in their account to utilize for enrichment services. Schools or districts can match the $500 if they choose to. The bill passed out of committee 12-0 and was referred to the Ways and Means Committee because it had a fiscal or a cost.
On Monday, House Ed heard HB 1041 which deals with sports participation. The crowd was standing room only. There was passionate testimony for and against the bill. It focuses on not allowing students who are transitioning from a boy to girl to participate in girl sports. As written, it places enforcement responsibility at the school level. It calls for a local school grievance procedure. Lots more to come on this bill I’m sure.
The Senate Education Committee met last Wednesday and heard 8 bills. A meeting that lasted 6 hours until 7:30 pm that evening. There were only two bills that had non-public school implications.
SB 123, a bill dealing with Dyslexia, was going to require non-public schools to follow the same requirements passed a few years ago, for public schools. Chairman Raatz offered an amendment that removed the requirement for non-public schools. The amendment was agreed to by the entire committee. (Rs and Ds) which was surprising!
SB 331 the ESA fix-up bill was amended and passed out of committee by a vote of 8-3. It now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee where there is concern that it will be stripped down removing all of the fixes that impact non-public schools. Senate Appropriations is scheduled to hear the bill on Thursday of this week. If your Senator is on the Appropriations Committee, you are encouraged to reach out and ask that they pass SB 331 as it was passed out of committee. The fixes are very important if non-public schools are going to choose to participate in the program.
This week we have two information sessions scheduled about the new ESA program. These sessions will be recorded.
Senate Ed is scheduled to hear 9 bills this Wednesday. Fortunately, most of the bills don’t impact non-public schools. One bill which has failed in the past, SB 82, deals with a requirement for all seniors to complete a FAFSA. The language includes Choice schools. We’ll see if it gets any more traction this year.
Both the House and Senate Ed committees have heard bills dealing with material harmful to minors. This includes books in libraries or assigned within the curriculum. In both committees, there was lengthy and divisive testimony. The good news is that non-public schools have been able, so far, to stay clear and we are not currently included in these bills.
As I shared earlier, our attention now shifts from committees to what happens in the full chambers. We’ll keep you posted.
So until next time, stay well and we’ll see you back right hear for the next episode of the Statehouse Express!
