Committee advances education bill creating 20,000 scholarships and $2,000 teacher bonus; debate centers on funding and hold-harmless protections

The committee on Jan. 28 advanced House Bill 6,004, a sweeping education measure that would create 20,000 education scholarships, add a $2,000 nonrecurring bonus for teachers, and reallocate sports wagering revenue to support school facilities and other priorities. The committee vote to report the bill to Calendar and Rules was 21 ayes and 6 nos.

What the bill would do: Leader Peter Lambert, sponsor of the bill in committee, said 20,000 scholarships would be available in year one—10,000 for families under an income cap (cited in committee as 300% of the federal poverty level threshold used for eligibility) and 10,000 on a no-cap, first-come-first-served basis. Lambert described the proposal as drawing $25 per student from sports wagering receipts to a facilities fund, creating targeted funds for distressed and fast-growing local education agencies, and providing a $2,000 bonus to classroom teachers if the local school board accepts the payment into payroll.

Hold-harmless and local impact: A central point of discussion was a hold-harmless provision to protect districts from immediate funding declines due to student disenrollment. Lambert and supporters said the bill would guarantee a baseline of funding (the sponsor described it as preserving the LEA’s prior-year TISA allocation as a floor) so that small fluctuations in attendance would not immediately reduce state support; members representing rural districts said that assurance would provide stability for small systems that have experienced enrollment losses.

Questions and concerns: committee members pressed fiscal assumptions in the bill’s fiscal note, including estimates of how many scholarship recipients would be from public schools versus already enrolled in private schools. Representative Clemens questioned modeling that suggested most scholarship beneficiaries might already attend private schools; Lambert said national comparisons used in the fiscal note were imperfect and defended the program’s design. Members also debated the mechanics of the $2,000 bonus—Lambert said the payment flows through districts and requires a school-board resolution to accept the bonus for local payroll processing to avoid unfunded mandates.

Vote and process: After extended debate and a tabling motion on an amendment earlier in the hearing, the committee recorded a roll-call vote of 21 ayes and 6 nos and reported House Bill 6,004 to Calendar and Rules.

Next steps: The bill will be scheduled by Calendar and Rules. Sponsors and opponents indicated further debate is expected on the floor and during Rules, including questions about long-term fiscal impacts and reporting requirements for scholarship recipients.