Senate committee advances five education bills on scholarships, virtual schools, civics and district approvals
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Summary
A Senate committee voted favorably on five education-related bills, including prohibiting Promise scholarship funds for co‑requisite courses, authorizing Workforce Pell Grant program approvals, updating virtual‑school and special‑education language, requiring a civics exam for graduation, and extending innovative‑district application timelines with a 45‑day deeming provision.
A Senate committee advanced five education-related bills Tuesday, passing each measure by voice vote after brief discussion and a handful of amendments.
Tamara, a committee staffer, summarized each bill to the panel. "Senate Bill 340 would prohibit Promise scholarship awards from being used to fund co requisite courses," she said; senators moved and the committee passed the bill favorably by voice vote.
The committee also approved Senate Bill 406, which Tamara said "would direct the governor to approve eligible programs for Workforce Pell Grant programs and provide requirements for the state workforce development board with regard to eligibility, approval, and financing of those workforce Pell Grant programs." The panel passed the measure by voice vote.
Senate Bill 382 — a virtual‑school measure — was amended to incorporate the contents of Senate Bill 383 and to change a publication reference from the statute book to the register. Senator Shane moved the substitute that would add SB 383 to SB 382 and change the line referencing publication to the register; the substitute passed. During discussion, Senator Hill asked whether a provision in the bill regarding contracting for special‑education services was present in the text. Tamara said the substitute would add the intended material. The committee also agreed to an amendment that clarifies Department of Education monitoring of the state assessment program, language the staff said was requested by the Department and agreed to by proponents.
Senate Bill 381, which Tamara described as requiring instruction that "provide students with an understanding of communist and socialist regimes and ideologies" and requiring students to pass an American civics exam to graduate high school, was passed by the committee.
On Senate Bill 384, which would extend the application deadline to operate as a public innovative district from Dec. 1 to May 1 and would deem certain applications approved if not acted on in a statutory time window, senators debated whether the bill's 30‑day deeming deadlines were too short. Senator Argebreit and others said the state board meets monthly and recommended a longer period; Senator Starnes warned a longer review period could create a "silent veto" that would cause districts to lose a year of hands‑on training. Senator Hill proposed a 45‑day substitute, which the committee adopted, changing four references in the bill from 30 days to 45 days. The committee also approved a conceptual amendment to add the word "board" where staff had noted a missing word.
All five measures were passed out of committee as amended by voice vote. The chair said the panel would not meet on Monday because it had no further bills and adjourned.
What happens next: Each bill advances to the next procedural step in the Senate (not specified in the transcript). The committee record indicates voice votes were used for these actions; no roll‑call tallies were recorded in the transcript.
