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Senate approves sweeping education code cleanup, removes statutory social‑emotional learning language
Summary
The Senate passed House Bill 10 02, a large 'deregulation' education bill that strips many older statutory provisions and removes several mentions of social‑emotional learning from state code. The measure passed 31‑18 after heated floor debate.
A sweeping education code “clean‑up” bill that removes more than a hundred outdated statutory provisions and some current policy language cleared the Senate amid strong disagreement about the role of social‑emotional learning in schools.
The bill’s author, Senator Ross, described House Bill 10 02 as a large technical overhaul: “We spent an awful lot of time on this bill…there’s some 200 plus sections of code that are affected by cleaning this up,” he said on the floor, adding that the bill removes duplicative or obsolete items.
Why it matters: Supporters and many school stakeholders said the bill reduces unnecessary regulatory burden on local school systems and modernizes code. Opponents accused sponsors of using the “deregulation” label to remove substantive protections and expectations—most prominently language endorsing social‑emotional learning (SEL) and trauma‑informed practices—from state law.
Floor dispute focused on SEL and the secretary of education’s qualifications. Senator Yoder argued the bill removed statutory recognition of social‑emotional learning and that the change was substantive, not merely technical: “When we decided to say that social emotional learning will not be a value that we say every child…we actually decided to take that out of this bill,” Yoder said on the floor.
Senators who supported the overhaul said local school officials and district leaders had asked for less prescriptive state code and that many changes are housekeeping. Senator Goode and other supporters noted stakeholder backing for many of the bill’s elements.
Outcome and next steps: The Senate passed House Bill 10 02 on third reading, roll call 31 ayes to 18 nays. The bill goes back to the House and could be the subject of further negotiation in conference. Because the measure edits many parts of the state education code, interest groups on both sides said they expect follow‑up work and potential clarifying amendments in the coming weeks.
Votes at a glance House Bill 10 02 — Education code clean‑up (deregulation): passed on third reading, roll call 31 ayes, 18 nays.
