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Committee adopts department-requested charter exemption and clarifies regional education agencies' procurement authority
Summary
The committee approved SB 2485 (department-requested) clarifying that charter schools are exempt from certain requirements when a program did not receive department grant funds, and approved SB 2494 with an amendment to replace an acronym and explicitly allow regional education service agencies to engage in bulk purchasing.
The Senate Education Committee approved two department-related education bills in the same session.
Senate Bill 2485, described as a department request, clarifies that charter schools are exempt from the requirements of a specified section if the program did not receive grant funding from the Department of Education; it also restores certain requirements to the authorizer board when a program did receive department grant funds. The chair explained the department requested the change and then, with no questions, the committee advanced the bill by voice vote.
Senate Bill 2494 was presented by Senator Sarah McMahon, who said a recent auditor's report showed regional education service agencies lacked clear authority to group for bulk purchasing. McMahon proposed an amendment to strike the acronym (RISA) and ensure the statute consistently uses 'regional education service agencies' or 'educational agencies.' The committee adopted the amendment by voice vote and then moved the bill forward as amended.
Both measures were advanced by voice votes with amendments and clarifying language; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript.
