Wyoming Education Association - Legislative Update February 12, 2019

WEA Legislative Update | February 12, 2019

Action in the Senate today:

HB 0078 – Education major maintenance funding – Passed third reading

HB0024 – National board teacher certification – Passed third reading

HB0133 – Hathaway expand Wyoming scholarships – Passed Committee of the Whole

In Senate Appropriations Committee:

HB0279ENG – Pari-mutuel commission – distributions – This bill was amended to remove earmarking the surplus $4.5 million from the school foundation program to the general fund.

HB0132 – Hathaway scholarship award increase – Passed out of committee

General Appropriations Conference Committee:

Community colleges: the committee agreed to a one time funding of $2.75 million to fund one year of insurance premiums. This is to cover both the new positions and the current premium shortfall. The committee left in the bill a policy requirement to complete a study on longitudinal data collection that is used statewide.

K-12 External cost adjustment (ECA) – this is still sitting in committee; it was discussed yesterday and laid back until later today.

Action in the House Today:

Concurrence votes:

The house did not concur on the following bills:

HB 22 – Teacher accountability

A conference committee of Representative Paxton, Representative Summers and Representative Barlow was appointed.

HB 23 – Education accountability

A conference committee of Representative Freeman, Representative Brown and Representative Flitner was appointed.

These committees will meet with the conference committee from the Senate to work out the differences in the bills.

SF 129 – Education reporting requirements passed second reading amended

SF 22 – School district personnel definitions and SF 43 Hathaway scholarship eligibility both passed third reading and will now go to the Senate for a concurrence vote.

Tomorrow on adjournment the House Education Committee will hear the following bills:

SF 111 – Community College Bachelor of Applied Science programs

SF 120 – Student expulsion hearing requirements

TRACK CRITICAL BILLS

Track bills that are critical to public education through the WEA Bill Tracker.

WEA Bill Tracker February 12, 2019

WEA at the Jonah

Jonah building. February 7, 2019.

From left: WEA Executive Director Ron Sniffin, House Minority Whip, Representative Charles Pelkey.

From left: WEA President, Kathy Vetter and WEA Government Relations Director, Tammy Johnson. February 12, 2019.

From the Capitol to the Classroom, Stay Informed With WEA!

You can join the unified voice for public education when WEA makes a call to action by visiting our new WYOEALobby webpage . You will find:

Information about current bills before the Wyoming Legislature;
Talking points on critical issues facing Wyoming educators;
Ways to take action in support of public education;
Contact information for your legislator.

This new webpage is designed to help you become a Cyber Lobbyist from your own community.

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