Tag: Senate education committee

Competing Tennessee ESA Proposal Set for Wednesday Committee Discussions

The Center Square
Kids Reading

The Tennessee Legislature’s debate on education savings accounts will continue Wednesday when competing versions of the bill are heard by the Senate Education Committee and House Education Administration.

Both versions involve a significant number of the ESAs, which will start at $7,075 and can be spent by students and families on school-related expenses such as private school tuition.

Both proposals involve 20,000 ESAs statewide starting in the fall with eligibility determined on some level by income.

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State Senators Spar over School Choice in Pennsylvania

The Center Square
Students in class

While the Pennsylvania budget stalemate remains, senators argued over the importance of school choice and increasing public school funding at a committee hearing in Reading.

The Senate Education Committee met Tuesday to discuss “student opportunities for success,” hearing from parents of children in public and private schools in Reading, as well as public school leaders of Reading School District.

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Ohio Republican State Senator Reynolds Introduces Bill to Preserve Student’s Religious Expression

Hannah Poling

Even though public schools in Ohio cannot close for all religious holidays, a Republican state senator says that students don’t deserve penalization for observing them and that schools should treat them as legitimate absences.

Senate Bill (SB) 49 known as the “Religious Expression Days” Act sponsored by State Senator Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) aims to require local boards of education to draft “non-exhaustive” lists of religious holidays and excuse students for up to three days each academic year.

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Education Voucher Program Works Its Way Through the Pennsylvania Senate

The Center Square
Pennsylvania Capitol Building

The Pennsylvania General Assembly has moved another step closer in creating a scholarship program for students in underperforming schools to transfer elsewhere.

HB2169, narrowly passed in the House in April, would grant a $6,800 Lifeline Scholarship to students in the bottom 15% of the lowest-performing schools and allow them to use the money on tuition, tutoring, and other educational expenses.

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After Senate Committee Kills Sen. Chase’s Ivermectin Bill, Capitol Police Direct Upset Supporters to Leave

Eric Burk

Virginia Capitol Police directed upset members of the public out of a Senate Education and Health Committee meeting after the committee killed Senator Amanda Chase’s bill aimed at protecting medical providers who prescribe ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19.

“This bill is about a patient’s right to life. A patient has a right to life and should not be prohibited from potential life-saving medication by a hospital, a pharmacy, or other administrative agency. Patients should be able to make decisions about their care and treatment in conjunction with the knowledge and expertise of their treating physician,” Chase told the committee on Thursday morning.

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After 23 Years, a New Proposal Calls for Partisan School Board Elections

Casey Owens

 After 23 years since legislation from 1998 shifted Florida school boards to be nonpartisan, Florida Senator Joe Gruters on Tuesday proposed a bill to reverse course and make school board elections partisan again.

Gruters, a Republican from Sarasota, filed the bill SJR 244, which was approved by the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee and is awaiting further review.

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Tennessee Senate Education Committee Recommends Passage of Legislation Enabling Governor to Override School Closures

Corinne Murdock

If local officials decide on emergency school closures in the future, Tennessee’s governor may have the power to override them. This, according to a bill recommended for passage by the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. Its companion bill in the House was passed on first consideration on Monday, gaining a little progress since its filing last month.

The bill would also grant all local education authorities (LEAs) with the sole power to open or close schools during an emergency as defined by the Tennessee Code. However, if the governor, local health board, or public health official were to issue orders to the contrary, then the LEA’s decision would be nullified. The bill also noted that the governor’s authority would supersede the authority of local health boards and public health officials. 

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Ohio State Senate Committee Continues Debate on Bill to Allow Schools to Open

Admin

A bill to allow schools in Ohio to open this fall is prompting more questions than answers.

“Any decision on reopening schools next year must be driven by guidance from public health officials,” Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, told members of the Senate Education Committee. “The coming school year is unlikely to look like anything that has preceded it. Schools will and should reopen when public health standards can be met.”

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Members Named to North Carolina’s Influential Senate Education Committee

A.P. Dillon

North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-D30) has announced the members of the influential Senate Education Committee. Co-Chairs this session are Sen. Deanna Ballard (R-D45), Sen. Rick Horner (R-D11), and Senate Majority Whip Jerry Tillman (R-D11). Tillman and Ballard have also been named as Education/Higher Education Appropriations co-chairs. Sen. Tillman has been a long-time leading Republican on education policy in the Senate and is entering his ninth term as a legislator. Prior to becoming a lawmaker, Tillman was a teacher. Tillman was a leading voice in the fight to repeal Common Core in the state. After a commission tasked with reviewing the controversial standards failed its assigned task in 2015, Tillman said the legislature would take action. That action never came and Common Core remains as the state’s academic standards. Ballard is working on her second term and serves as director of the office of the president/CEO for Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization headquartered in Boone. She also works with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association based in Charlotte. Berger also named Horner to the Appropriations/Base Budget, Health Care, Judiciary and Pensions, and Retirement and Aging committees. The Senate Education Committee is made up of five Democrats…

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