House Education reviews proposed changes to H.480 covering secretary search, device limits and school safety

The House Education Committee on May 20 reviewed a package of proposed changes to H.480, touching on the timetable to begin a search for a new secretary of education, a model policy limiting student cellphone and social-media use, cardiac emergency-response requirements for athletic events, and other technical provisions.

Committee members said the measure now specifies that, within 30 days, the governor must send a letter to the state board requesting that the board initiate the secretary search process, rather than the search simply “start within 30 days.” Members debated the practical difference between a one-month and a three-month start, and discussed a subsequent 60-day step in the timeline for the search process. The committee noted that the precise point at which a search is considered to have begun had been a subject of earlier concern.

The bill’s new chapter on student devices and social media — described in committee as a “phone and social media” policy — was revised to clarify which…