Committee reports four additional education bills out of committee; most passed unanimously
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Summary
The committee voted to advance four more education bills: paid bereavement leave for educators (reported as passed with fiscal impact absorbed by SDE carryover funds), expansion of allowable digital payments for college savings, a $50 million SRO/school safety plan, and adding 20 minutes of recess for full‑day kindergarten; all four were reported as do‑pass, mostly by unanimous votes.
The education committee advanced four additional bills on Wednesday, reporting each as do‑pass out of committee.
Senate Bill 1204 (presented by Representative Geiss) would provide three days of paid bereavement leave for educators and support personnel. When asked about fiscal impact, the sponsor said the State Department of Education has carryover funds from maternity leave and could absorb the cost so no new appropriation would be required; committee members did not debate further and voted 7–0 to report the bill out of committee.
Senate Bill 1989 (presented by Acting Vice Chair Representative Osborne) would add digital peer‑to‑peer payment networks and other digital payment methods as acceptable ways to add money to college savings accounts. There were no questions and the committee voted 7–0 to report the bill as passed.
Senate Bill 1189, introduced as a continuation of the committee’s school resource officer plan, included a $50,000,000 allocation for SROs and other school safety measures. The sponsor said the bill would allow districts to hire SROs or use funds to harden schools; Representative McCain asked for examples and the sponsor reiterated the bill’s intent to support hiring and local safety measures. The committee voted 7–0 to report SB 1189 as passed.
Senate Bill 1481, presented by Representative Osborne, would add 20 minutes of recess for full‑day kindergarten. Representatives asked whether the extra recess could apply to other bodies and raised concerns about half‑day programs, testing days and compliance. The sponsor said the bill applies to full‑day kindergarten and that implementation and special circumstances could be handled through rules or accreditation; the committee voted 7–0 to report the bill as passed.
Why it matters: the bills affect classroom time, employee leave, school safety funding and access to college savings contributions. Most measures were noncontroversial in committee and advanced on unanimous do‑pass recommendations, but members asked procedural and implementation questions on recess scheduling and school safety.
