Regular Session Bills of Note
HB 3220 directs the State Board of Career and Technology Education to develop a certification system for teachers and instructors in the technology center school districts. The certification system must be competency based and shall reflect industry standards and skills.
- HB 3220 passed the Senate floor this week
SB 936 was amended in committee.
The bill's new language (an amendment offered by Speaker McCall) stipulates that if a school district has agreed to pay all or some of a teacher’s share of retirement on behalf of the employee, the district may no longer use that amount to meet the minimum salary schedule requirements.
- SB 936 barely passed out of committee with the new language, but it is now eligible to be heard on the House floor.
SB 1569 is an apportionment reform bill. It provides that
in a budget shortfall year — “off the top" funds (such as Teachers’ Retirement System Revolving Funds, before they were excluded in the newest version of the bill) would have to be reduced by the same percentage as the overall General Revenue shortfall. The amount taken from the “off the top” funds (such as the ROADS fund) would be put in a fund to help the legislature spread out the money and fill holes from the General Revenue fund.
- SB 1569 was scheduled to be heard in the House Appropriations & Budget Committee on Monday, but was laid over in committee. Since this was a deadline week for bills to pass out of House A&B, this bill is dormant and will not be moving forward this session.
SB 1370 allows additional flexibility for students who choose to follow core curriculum graduation requirements. For these students, it adds successful completion of one year of a full-time, three-hour career tech program or any other mathematics course with content and/or rigor equal to or above Algebra I to the courses that meet the mathematics requirement for high school graduation.
- SB 1370 is expected to be heard Monday on the House floor.