The Hotlist Watchlist
Education legislation to watch for the week of March 13 - 17
Welcome to the Hotlist Watchlist. A roundup of education legislation to keep a close eye on this week. A few things at the top.
Arkansas Governor Sanders signed her education-overhaul bill into law. The law includes reforms that are representative of trends across state legislatures. The Arkansas LEARNS Act funds student vouchers, including funding for private or homeschooling. The bill also raises starting teacher salaries from $36,000 to $50,000. State legislators continue to discuss vouchers and teacher salaries this session.
Vouchers for All
Ohio and Florida are considering bills that would expand voucher funding for any student regardless of income. While Florida’s bill passed through important House and Senate committees last week, the future of Ohio’s bill is uncertain, with an expected price tag of more than $1 billion.
Currently, ten states have education savings account programs. Unfortunately, efforts to pass “universal” school choice or voucher programs are emerging from hardened political divides.
Addressing teacher salary and pathway challenges
While Congress considers a national minimum teacher salary, state legislatures take up concerns about their local dwindling teacher workforce.
The Pennsylvania Senate education committee hosted a special hearing about the teacher workforce shortages in elementary education, special education, foreign language instruction, career technical education, and English language instruction. The hearing covered conflating issues like declining enrollment and a low proportion of teachers of color in most districts across the state.
Meanwhile, Illinois Governor Pritzker proposed a 3-year teacher pipeline grant program offering signing bonuses and housing stipends to attract new teachers.
FEATURED LEGISLATION
UT HB 308, now enrolled, removes the State Board of Education requirement to use a letter grade to assign an overall rating and amends school turnaround and leadership development provisions that reference letter grades under the school accountability system.
Learn more about Utah’s community-guided approach to redesigning accountability.
Learn how Utah built its portrait of a graduate spanning preschool to postsecondary indicators.
KY HB 3198 implements the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact Commission (Compact), requires school districts to conduct exit interviews and directs the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to develop a reporting system for exit interview results. The KDE must maintain and operate an online statewide job posting system, expand the GoTeachKY Ambassador program, and review the alternative pathway teacher certification process.
Last week, Colorado Governor Polis signed the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact.
You can learn more about the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact efforts of the Council of State Governments and the Department of Defense.
KS HB 2224 increases the number of school days and hours that must be provided by school districts each school year to 195 school days consisting of 8 school hours per day or 156 school days comprised of 10 school hours per day.
Learn how instructional time varies across the U.S.
MS HB 1369 changes how the Department of Education calculates the per-pupil costs and the adequate funding level for each student.
Learn about Tennessee’s 2022 school funding overhaul.
IL HB 2396 beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, each school board must establish a kindergarten with full-day attendance.
You can learn more about the long-term impacts of implementing full-day kindergarten.
ID SB 1100 requires K-12 students to use the bathroom of their biological sex.
OR SB 283 requires the Department of Education to conduct a study to determine how to address the workforce shortage in education.
BILL UPDATES
The New Mexico House of Representatives passed the Align School Reading Materials bill that incentivizes school districts to use high-quality literacy curricula aligned with reading science.
ICYMI
EdAllies released their inaugural podcast AmplifiEd.
Ed Allies is a Minnesota-based organization that partners with schools, families, and communities to ensure all Minnesota students have access to a rigorous and engaging education. In this episode, EdAllies Margaret Sullivan and Josh Crosson give a background on what they do at EdAllies and bring their own stories into this inclusive conversation.
Dr. Christine M. T. Pitts serves as Senior Policy Fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, overseeing policy leadership and external affairs. A teacher and researcher by training, she previously led research and evaluation for Portland Public Schools. Pitts also served as Policy Advisor at NWEA, overseeing state and federal policy to advance equity and innovation in educational assessment. Follow her for more updates on Linkedin, Instagram, and Twitter.