Latest news with #SenateCommitteeonEducation
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana Senate committee approves bills for St. George school district; EBR warns of $140M hit
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — A Louisiana Senate committee approved two bills Wednesday that would pave the way for the creation of an independent school district and board in the newly incorporated city of St. George. Sen. Rick Edmonds (R-Baton Rouge) authored the legislation, Senate Bill 234 and its companion measure, Senate Bill 25—both of which cleared the Senate Committee on Education. SB 234 outlines the structure and transition for the proposed St. George Community School System, while SB 25 is a constitutional amendment that must be approved by voters statewide to grant the district full authority. St. George Mayor Dustin Yates told the committee the proposal fulfills one of the city's core promises: providing stronger educational options for families. 'This has always been about putting our kids first,' he said. SB 234 would create the legal framework for a new school system and school board within the city limits of St. George, which became Louisiana's fifth-largest city after winning a 2024 Louisiana Supreme Court decision to incorporate. If passed, the school system would begin operations on July 1, 2027, following a multi-year transition process. The bill proposes the governor appoint an interim superintendent and a seven-member interim school board, drawn from local nominations by legislators. That board would draft district maps and establish governance plans before the first election of board members. Louisiana released school scores. Did your local schools make the grade? SB 234 also outlines how students, buildings, school buses, funding, and other resources would be transferred from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System to the St. George system. The two systems would be required to enter agreements allowing continued access to magnet and charter programs and ensuring state and local education funding follows the student. SB 25, the constitutional amendment, would appear on the Nov. 15, 2025 statewide ballot. If approved by voters, it would give the St. George district the same constitutional authority granted to parish school systems, including the ability to collect property taxes and receive state education funding through the Minimum Foundation Program. But not everyone supports the move. Dadrius Lanus, who represents District 2 on the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, warned of the potential financial blow to EBR Schools. He said the system could lose $140 million in local revenue to St. George. 'We have done everything possible to fix a lot of concerns and the problems that you've heard today for the very reason why St. George wants to break away,' Lanus said, pointing to the district's ongoing realignment plan that includes school closures and consolidations affecting over 10,000 students. The plan is scheduled to go before the school board in May for final approval. The St. George school system proposal has been years in the making. A similar plan was proposed more than a decade ago but failed to move forward due to challenges with funding and the inability to pass a constitutional amendment. The latest proposal resolves many of those past concerns, according to Edmonds, including issues with district boundaries. Trump signals shift in tone on China tariffs Trump signs executive orders on school discipline, education reform Louisiana Senate committee approves bills for St. George school district; EBR warns of $140M hit How will RFK Jr.'s autism data collection work? Trump adding two 'beautiful' flagpoles to White House grounds as part of his 'touches' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The student and teacher on R.I. Board of Education can't vote. This bill would empower them.
Sen. Alana DiMario, a Narragansett Democrat, presents legislation that grants voting rights to student and teacher representatives on the Rhode Island Board of Education before the Senate Committee on Education during a March 26, 2025, hearing. (Screencap/CapitolTV) A student and a working teacher already have seats at the table of the Rhode Island Board of Education. They just can't vote on any matters of importance. But they could under a bill sponsored by Narragansett Democratic Sen. Alana DiMario heard Wednesday evening before the Senate Committee on Education. DiMario's bill would grant voting privileges to Council on Elementary and Secondary Education's ex officio members, the state's Teacher of the Year and the head of the Student Advisory Council, which is composed of high school sophomores through seniors. 'They could come to the meetings, they could participate, but they weren't truly decision makers,' DiMario said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. Decisions by the commissioner of the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) are still subject to the approval by the eight-member Council on Elementary and Secondary Education. This K-12 council is part of the larger 17-member Board of Education, first established in 2014 to oversee all levels of education from kindergarten to university. Membership across both councils is determined by governor appointees. The House version of the bill, led by Rep. David Morales, a Providence Democrat, was introduced on Feb. 28 but has yet to be scheduled for a hearing. DiMario's bill was held for further study Wednesday by the Senate committee. In her testimony, DiMario cited Article 12 of the Rhode Island State Constitution, which allows the General Assembly to 'adopt all means which it may deem necessary and proper to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education.' 'I believe that allowing for the Teacher of the Year as well as the chair of the Student Advisory Council, to have full voting seats on that council will be a means to that end,' DiMario told her fellow senators on the committee. This year's bill layers together two previous legislative efforts. RIDE announces the state's Teacher of the Year from the prior year's batch of District Teachers of the Year, an honor determined by the district's own teachers. The state's top teacher was granted a voteless seat at the table in 2023, although the bill became law sans Gov. Dan McKee's signature. Sen. Valarie Lawson, an East Providence Democrat who is president of the National Education Association of Rhode Island, led the legislation for the student voting powers in recent years. But Lawson, who began her tenure as majority leader in January, has 'a lot on her plate,' DiMario said. So this year Lawson and DiMario combined their efforts into the current bill, which features both women plus eight other Democrats as sponsors. An overfull plate was also one of the reasons cited by RIDE in its public opposition to the bill at Wednesday's hearing — a concern relayed from Gabriella Bautista Bolvito, the current chair of the Student Advisory Council and a senior at Classical High School in Providence. In her written testimony, Bolvito wrote about one of the first K-12 council meetings she attended, in which the council members were readying the fiscal 2026 budget. They could come to the meetings, they could participate, but they weren't truly decision makers. – Sen. Alana DiMario, a Narragnsett Democrat 'I knew little of what a budget entailed but was happy to be present in the conversation and to have the opportunity to give my input when necessary,' Bolvito wrote. 'As a 17-year-old with only an intro level Macroeconomics course in my back pocket, the prospect of potentially having to vote on a matter as serious as RIDE's budget is daunting. Although I hold several leadership positions. RIDE's area of focus is still foreign to me.' Bolvito did not attend the hearing, but quoting parts of her testimony in person for the Senate committee was Andy Andrade, special assistant to the commissioner for legislative relations at RIDE, who also argued that, rather than the power to contribute to K-12 council decisions, students would be better served by sitting on their local school boards. 'It seems to me that the best place for a student…would be to be a member of their local school committee, where they have a vested interest, where they know the issues, and they would be, I think, much more effective in that role,' Andrade said. 'A commitment as a voting member would be challenging for any student with many responsibilities in and out of school.' Sen. Tiara Mack, a Providence Democrat who has previously supported lowering the voting age, disagreed. 'I was a little disappointed to hear that one of our students didn't feel like they were given the tools or empowerment to engage civically within our state at a variety of levels,' Mack said. 'I think our young people are smart, and when given the proper tools, empowerment and resources, I believe they can engage in multimillion dollar decisions … and I think we should be giving our young people more opportunities to authentically engage in civics.' Two people spoke up on behalf of the bill in person, while a packet of nine written submissions from members of Young Voices, a youth-led Providence nonprofit focused on empowering students of color in the state's urban core, rallied in support of the bill. 'People constantly ask us to be involved civically, but then we lack the opportunity to do so,' Krissia Diaz, a Classical student, wrote in a testimony. 'Give us the opportunity to have a real say as to what happens in our schools. . 'We need to pass this bill, youth deserve to use their voice rather than have decisions made for them by officials who haven't stepped foot in a school for more than fifteen years.' It's not unheard of for states' boards of education to grant voting rights to student or teacher representatives. Massachusetts gives its student education board member voting rights, making it one of seven states that did so, according to 2022 data from the National Association of State Boards of Education. Some states have guardrails in place, like Maryland, which gives its student representative a say in the boardroom without being able to vote on personnel matters or certain appeals, according to state law. As for teacher representatives, their governing powers on school councils also vary by state. DiMario said the bill eliminates the need to identify and appoint new representatives for the student and teacher council seats, as they would be filled by existing office holders. The Teacher of the Year would sit on their council seat the year following their tenure as the state's top teacher. DiMario's bill would use the Senate, rather than the governor, to appoint the two new seats. 'I do expect that there could be some questions about that separation of powers issue,' DiMario said, adding that she's not sure if the governor would support the legislation. A spokesperson for Gov. Dan McKee did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. 'I think it's a fundamental approach to policy, I believe very strongly in that whole idea of 'Nothing about us, without us,'' DiMario said. 'We can only make our best decisions about what is going to solve a problem when we talk to people that are closest to that problem. To me, this is just a piece of that.' 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Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon representative counters bill against book bans by reading explicit excerpt
PORTLAND, Ore. () — In opposition to a bill that would limit book bans in Oregon schools, a state representative read an explicit excerpt of a novel found in a library for students. The passage of would immediately prohibit schools from banning certain material from libraries due to their subject matter or on the basis of the author's identities that are protected under Oregon's anti-discrimination laws — like race, gender identity and sexual orientation. It would also push for schools to enforce requirements for the removal of said books. Some Oregon DMV offices experience staffing shortages ahead of Real ID deadline The Senate Committee on Education voted to pass the bill on Monday morning. Just a few hours later at the House chamber, Oregon Rep. Dwayne Yunker countered the measure by reciting a sexual passage from 'The Haters' by Jesse Andrews — a book that a mother attempted to get pulled from the North Valley High School library. 'She guided me on my back and pulled on the bottom of my briefs,' Yunker read, in part, from page 265 of the novel. 'I pushed them over my knees and feet, and was really naked and not hard at all. She straddled me and pulled her top off. Her breasts flopped out, and I saw them.' Coos Bay man faces federal charges for making, distributing child pornography The Grants-Pass-based representative's presentation was interrupted when Rep. Kevin Mannix objected to it due to its 'lascivious and obscene' nature, before Rep. David Gomberg called the House at ease. Following a brief break, Gomberg reminded legislators of the rules against indecent or profane language on the House floor. Mannix then interrupted Yunker once again when he proceeded to read the explicit passage from the book. When Yunker began his presentation for a third time, he instead noted recent sexual abuse cases in Oregon schools — including the accused of child sex abuse and within the St. Helens School District. Man dies after late-night SE Portland shooting Continuing to offer sexually explicit materials in school libraries 'normalizes such behaviors,' according to the representative. 'There's increasingly focus on the authorship of books, rather than evaluating whether the content is appropriate for young readers, and alarmingly, [it] is now easier for children to access rated-R materials from school libraries than obtain the super content from a local movie theater,' Yunker said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
