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Senate Education Committee passes four bills on higher education and technical institutes
Summary
The Senate Education Committee passed four bills in the same hearing: SB 56 (amending Higher Ed Coordinating Board membership), SB 96 (repeal of vocational housing-construction authority), SB 108 (repeal of annual reporting requirement for vocational technical centers), and SB 119 (move Riverside vocational/technical school to another agency).
The Arkansas Senate Education Committee passed four bills after a presentation by Microsoft/CertiPort on Imagine Academy.
Senate Bill 56: An act to amend membership of the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board (technical changes). Anne Plummer of the Department of Higher Education told the committee the bill would reduce the number of board members required to have previously served on an institution board from six to three and confirmed other statutory composition requirements remain (congressional district representation and limits on members from the same institution). A motion to adopt the bill was seconded, the committee voted "aye," and Senate Bill 56 passed in committee.
Senate Bill 96: This repeal would remove statutes that authorized state-supported technical institutes to purchase lots, build homes and sell those homes as part of construction-trade vocational training. Department staff said the authority has not been used since fiscal year 2009 and schools now have other funding options; the committee moved and passed the bill.
Senate Bill 108: This bill repeals language requiring annual reporting by vocational technical centers to the legislative education committees. Department staff said centers had not been submitting these reports and that local boards currently analyze the data; members discussed compliance and practice and then approved the repeal.
Senate Bill 119: This measure concerns moving Riverside vocational and technical school to another agency. Department of Career Education staff said the agency had reviewed operations and that curricula approval and other practices differed from the original statutory construct. Committee members asked about funding and employment of instructors; staff said instructors are employed by the Department of Corrections and that the Department of Career Education does not provide funding for the correctional school. The committee moved and passed the bill.
Each item passed after a motion and second; the hearing transcript records committee members saying "aye" and confirms passage in committee, but it does not include roll-call vote names or tallies in the public excerpt.
