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Committee clears bill simplifying education renewal zones, widening professional development access statewide
Summary
Senate Bill 77 passed after sponsor Senator Eads said it cleans up statutory language as the program name changed to Office of Education Renewal Zones, removes the application requirement so services can be offered statewide, and broadens districts' access to professional development.
Senate Bill 77, which revises the state's education renewal‑zone law, passed the Senate Education Committee after sponsor remarks and a department clarification.
Senator Eads said SB77 cleans up language after the office name changed from the Division of Education Renewal Zones to the Office of Education Renewal Zones, clarifies the program's purpose and removes an application requirement so services can be offered statewide rather than only to formally designated zones. He said the change is intended to avoid inefficient overlap and to give districts access to a wider set of professional‑development offerings.
Missy Wally, director of special projects in the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, told the committee the substantive change is removing the application process and confirmed services are currently offered virtually with in‑person options available. Committee members asked whether operational practices would change; Wally said the removal of the application is the principal operational difference and that schools and cooperative organizations would be able to access services across the state.
No members of the public signed up to testify. A motion was made to pass the bill and the committee approved it by voice vote.
