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Make sure you bookmark our Advocacy Website. It is a one-stop shop with resources for advocacy as well as our Bill Tracker and Archived Policy Updates.
Here is a quick-stop of links you can use during General Assembly:
Up-Front Summary:
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February 15 was a busy day in both chambers. We were present for most of the Senate Public Ed Subcommittee and provided testimony on HB 2405; which ended with a 2-2 tie vote.
- Not all bills in LIS have been updated as of 2:20pm on Feb 15; keep an eye on our tracker for updated information.
- The 'big unknown' remains to be the budget and what will happen with the bills that land on the governor's desk at the end of session. We are watching closely; we understand that if the two chambers cannot agree on a budget, the biennium budget that was adopted during last session will remain the budget moving forward until next year.
Below is a list of bills (still in play) our Policy Team supports and those we oppose. Other bills we are either watching or have decided not to track. You can see our full bill tracker HERE, which contains more information including each bill's current status. Additionally, each bill listed below is linked to its page in LIS.
Bills we Support
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HB 1526 Student literacy measures; scope; students in grades four through eight. (2/15 - Reported from Finance and Appropriations)
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HB 1762 School boards; Teacher Reengagement Program established. (2/7 - House Block Vote (99-0))
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HB 1884 Board of Education; students with disabilities; assessment frequency. (2/7 - House Passed (99-0))
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HB 2124 School psychologists; staffing flexibility. (2/13 - Senate passed (40-0))
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HB 2457 Public elementary and secondary school teachers; certain training activities; frequency; report (2/15 - Passed by for the day)
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SB 890 Veterans' Teaching Licensure Support Fund and Program; established. (2/15 - Reported from House Ed (22-0), referred to Appropriations)
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SB 1109 Board of Education; College and Career Readiness for English Language Learners Grant Program and Fund; established. (2/6 - Senate Passed (39-0); Referred to House Ed on 2/9)
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SB 1175 Student literacy measures; scope; students in grades four through eight. (2/13 - Reported from House Ed with substitute (22-0))
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SB 1215 Compensation of public school teachers and other Standards of Quality-funded positions; competitive rate. (2/13 - Reported from Appropriations (21-0))
Bills we Oppose
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HB 1461 Department of Education; uniform system of discipline for disruptive student behavior. (2/13 - Assigned to Public Ed Subcommittee)
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HB 1909 Public elementary and secondary schools; establishment of opportunity classrooms. (2/15 - Defeated in Public Ed Subcommittee)
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HB 2269 Certain federal pandemic relief funds for public education; certain conditions; emergency. (2/15 - Defeated in Public Ed Subcommittee)
If there are bills we may have missed or bills you have a question about, please reach out to our Executive Director, Chris Jones at vaeducatorcmj@gmail.com.
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