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.
Read below to see the education bills that passed the Assembly yesterday. Please reach out the GR team if you have any questions!
On to the Governor
SB-313 Fail to Stop for Bus (James, Jesse) Increased penalties for failing to stop for a school bus. Passed, (Voice Vote)
SB-742 Teacher Certification (Knodl, Daniel) An alternative teacher certification program for an initial license to teach. Passed, (Voice Vote)
SB-822 Campaign Finance Reports (Knodl, Daniel) Local candidates filing campaign finance reports and making an appropriation. Passed, 97-0
SB-916 Refugee Resettlement (Tomczyk, Cory) Requiring local governments to designate an individual for consultation required under a federal program regarding refugee resettlement and assistance. Passed, 62-35
Awaiting Senate Approval
AB-210 Wearing Tribal Regalia (Joint Legislative Council) Pupils wearing traditional tribal regalia at a graduation ceremony or school-sponsored event. Passed, (Voice Vote)
AB-214 Teaching License (Joint Legislative Council) A lifetime license that authorizes an individual to teach an American Indian language in an American Indian language program and modifying rules promulgated by the Department of Public Instruction. Passed, (Voice Vote)
AB-542 Firearm Detection Software (Callahan, Calvin) Grants to schools to acquire proactive firearm detection software and making an appropriation. Passed, (Voice Vote)
AB-779 Apprenticeship Awards (Oldenburg, Loren) Apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship completion awards, career and technical education incentive grants and completion awards, technical preparation programs in school districts and technical colleges, creating an individual income tax credit for completing an apprenticeship program, rejection criteria for part-time open enrollment applications, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, and providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures. Passed, 62-35
AB-968 Threat Detection Grants (Callahan, Calvin) Appropriating money for grants to schools to acquire proactive threat detection equipment and software and making an appropriation. Passed, 90-7
SB-990 Literacy Training (Stroebel, Duey) Mandatory early literacy professional development. Assembly Amendment 1 Added, Passed as Amended, (Voice Vote) Must return to Senate for concurrence on Amendment.
AB-1050 Office of School Safety (Novak, Todd) Position authorizations in the Office of School Safety and making an appropriation. Passed, 95-2
