House Education committee reviews draft committee bill on class size, district lines, calendars and school designation

The House Education Committee met Feb. 19, 2025, to review a draft committee bill intended as a working vehicle to coordinate a suite of education reforms including class-size minimums, a statewide school calendar, shared data systems, and district/district-line work; the committee did not take any formal votes.

Committee chair (name not given) opened the session by saying the committee had received "a lot of information" and that "it is time for us to move forward in making some big and hard decisions" using a draft committee bill as a document to work from rather than as a final proposal.

Beth, committee staff/witness, walked members through the draft and repeatedly cautioned that the document was "unedited" and intended as a working vehicle. She said the draft borrows language from previous bills and contains placeholders and typographical issues that would require conforming amendments before any final bill could be enacted.

The draft directs the State Board of Education, through the Administrative Procedures Act, to update the Education Quality Standards (EQS) to include class-size minimums. The proposed class-size minimums, as presented, would take effect in fiscal year 2027 and set average class-size minimums at 12 for kindergarten, 15 for grades 1–5 and 18 for grades 6–12, with exceptions allowed for specialized high school and career-technical education courses.

Members raised multiple questions about the draft class-size language. Representative Harpold and other members asked how "multi-age" classrooms and elective or advisory groupings would be treated; Beth said the draft allows the State Board to create exceptions but that the committee could specify narrower language. Representative McCann and others warned that rural districts and smaller schools could face staffing challenges if rigid minimums apply everywhere.

The draft also directs the Secretary of Education to develop and publish a statewide school calendar to be in effect in the 2026–27 academic year. The draft sets a target date for the Secretary to produce the calendar (on or before Sept. 1, 2026) and to present required statutory amendment recommendations by Jan. 15, 2027. Committee members flagged bargaining- and holiday-related complications and noted existing voluntary regional efforts toward a common calendar.

A separate section of the draft would authorize the Agency of Education to procure shared systems: a financial data management system for districts and a student data system. Beth noted the state had tried previously to build shared systems and that past attempts stalled and were costly.

The draft contains language on school designation and minimum school-size intent language tied to previous bills (H.122). Under the draft, a district could designate a school to serve resident students who would otherwise face more than specified travel times (e.g., more than 45 minutes to an elementary school or 75 minutes to a high school). For an independent school to be eligible for designation the draft borrows four criteria (regional CTE center; charter by the General Assembly; a public-school qualification on 6/30/1991; or designation as an employer of teachers for retirement purposes) and requires the school to meet at least three of the four criteria.

The draft also includes intent language that, on or before a to-be-determined date, public schools operating some subset of grades 6–12 should have a minimum average daily membership of 600 students and that the state should drive school construction aid using standards for quality, geographic accessibility and enrollment trends. Beth and members repeatedly cautioned that intent language does not compel action without implementing policy levers and that additional statutory direction would be required to achieve the draft's stated aims.

One section would prohibit a district from closing an existing public school and then providing education for resident students solely by paying tuition to other public or approved independent schools; instead the district would be required to designate three or fewer schools as alternatives. Members asked how transition and grandfathering for currently enrolled students would work; Beth said transition mechanisms have been drafted in prior iterations and options could be provided as a menu for the committee to consider.

A recurring, cross-cutting topic at the meeting was district consolidation and drawing district lines. Committee members expressed broad interest in reducing the number of districts to gain scale and cohesion but also raised practical concerns about the order of operations, unintended consequences (debt, staffing, facility condition, bargaining obligations) and the public-engagement process required to redraw lines. Several members suggested producing a range (rather than a single number) for consolidated-district targets and asked for mapping and GIS work to be completed quickly so the committee could see how different district counts would map to inventory and savings assumptions.

Multiple members emphasized the interdependence of changes to district size/lines, the funding/formula work (ways and means), school-size minimums and class-size rules. Members cautioned that district consolidation alone would not automatically close small schools or create classroom-scale savings without accompanying funding and policy changes.

The committee scheduled testimony for the next two days from superintendents, business managers, and other witnesses to better understand operational impacts. Beth and members agreed that the draft was a vehicle to focus public discussion and that the committee would return to specific sections (for example, class size and district lines) after receiving additional testimony.

Ending: The chair closed by urging continued side discussions and by noting that the committee would receive substantial additional testimony "to enlighten us as to the challenge ahead." No formal directives or votes were recorded when the transcript ends.