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Assembly adjourns for the session, passing bills impacting school boards
After a long day that continued well into the night, the Assembly convened for what is expected to be the last time this session. It was a day filled with emotion, with lawmakers receiving the State of the Tribes Address prior to the start of proceedings, and several representatives giving farewell speeches on the floor. That did not get in the way of a busy calendar day however. The chamber took action on several bills impacting school boards.
The Assembly voted on a number of proposals ranging from school safety measures, to teacher licensing and preparatory programs, to local campaign finance changes, to a bill amending certain aspects of Act 20’s timeline. In our previous post we reported that AB 1069/SB 990, which as amended makes the first administration of the new statewide reading screener in the 2024-25 school year optional, had stalled in the Assembly. SB 990 had previously passed the state Senate with the screener amendment. It was subsequently added to the Assembly calendar for yesterday (2/22) as a special order of business. The Assembly late last night added a new amendment (Assembly Amendment 1) that made changes to the training providers portion of the bill. SB 990 was approved as amended (with the screener language intact) and sent back to the Senate for concurrence in the new amendment. The Senate is expected to meet again in mid March. (more…)
Amended legislation to delay reading screener/allow CESAs to provide literacy training appears stalled in Assembly
The Senate will be holding a full chamber session today (February 20th) to vote on numerous bills, including several that directly affect K-12 education. The chamber will be mirroring much of the Assembly’s action that is planned for later in the day. While the Senate is expected to meet a few more times into mid-March, the Assembly will be meeting for the final time on Thursday (February 22nd). This means that any action taken today by the Senate, that has not previously been approved by the Assembly, will face tough odds of making it to the governor’s desk.
One of the bills that is up on the Senate floor calendar (Senate Bill 990) would allow CESAs to provide early literacy training required as part of 2023 Act 20. This bill had an amendment added that makes the first administration of the new statewide reading screener in the 2024-25 school year optional so schools have enough time to train staff, set up IT and other prep work. It had come to our attention from multiple school administrators that there is strong concern and uncertainty in the timeline for acquisition of the statewide screener and whether there will be sufficient time for schools to implement it in time for the 2024-25 school year. This amendment is needed to make the timeline more manageable and increase the likelihood for successful implementation of the new statewide reading screener.
Since the Assembly will be wrapping up their work for the 2023-24 legislative session, it is very important that the Assembly Bill 1069 (Assembly companion to SB 990 with identical language/amendment) make it to the Assembly floor this week. It is currently not noticed for Tuesday or Thursday. It is our understanding that vendors are objecting to CESAs being allowed to compete with them to provide training to schools on early literacy. If you share these concerns and support this amended bill, it is vitally important to contact your state Assembly Rep. ASAP.
Other education bills being voted on in the Senate today are below. Read the WASB’s previous blog post for more information on the Assembly session. (more…)