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Committee approves bill to codify DSCYF education unit and clarify staffing
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Summary
The committee voted to release HB313, which codifies the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) Education Unit, clarifies pay structure and staffing for 49 educators in secure-care and related facilities, and aligns unit-count and funding rules.
Representative Williams presented House Bill 313 to codify the DSCYF Education Unit and put its staffing, qualifications and pay structure into statute. The sponsor said the unit employs 49 educators including content-area teachers, educational diagnosticians, school psychologists and transition specialists, and that the bill formalizes existing staffing, ensures the unit aligns with Department of Education requirements and provides a clearer foundation for pay and qualifications.
Meredith Sites, Chief of Staff with the Children's Department, and John Dunn, a teacher at the Ferris School, told the committee the department and its educators support the bill. Sites said the children's department supports the bill and thanked Representative Williams and DSCA for collaboration. John Dunn, who represents the Special Schools Education Association, said the language clarifies job qualifications, pay consistency and unit-count treatment for students in DSCYF facilities.
Bill Doolittle, a volunteer advocate, praised the core of the bill but warned that additional language referenced as sections 2405 and 2407 (not yet finalized in publicly available amendment text) appeared to be broad and could create funding or transition risks for students. He urged the committee not to move provisions forward without clear amendments and funding certainty.
The committee voted to release HB313. Chair Williams cast an affirmative vote and the clerk announced the motion carried. The bill was developed, the sponsor said, in collaboration with DSCA, DOE, DHR and OMB to avoid conflicts between code and DOE regulations.
The bill does not add new programming but formalizes the unit, according to the sponsor; committee members were given an opportunity to ask questions about unit counts and funding timing.
