Updated January 26, 2001

The Schedule

House and Senate versions of the budget will be presented Sunday, February 4. “Cross-over day,” the last day for each house to act on its own bills, is February 6.

The House Education Committee meets Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. in House Room C and Fridays at 9:00 a.m. in the Appropriations Room. The Senate Education and Health Committee will meet on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. in Senate Room B. Sub-committees will meet periodically throughout the session. Click for a schedule of weekly meetings.

The Issues

Education funding figured prominently in budget amendments submitted by legislators this week. More than a half-dozen amendments to increase teacher salaries were submitted in the House and Senate. They range in the amount of the increase from 3.5% to 7.5%, some are effective in December and others in July, and they cover either just teachers or all instructional and support positions. Other amendments would restore the 100% state payment for the retired teacher health care credit and provide additional funding for: (1) technology assistants in elementary and middle schools; (2) alternative education programs; (3) school health; (4) summer school remediation transportation services; (5) at-risk four-year olds; (6) reading teachers; (7) school resource officers; (8) reduced class sizes in grades 4-6 and (9) reading teachers. A language amendment related to school construction states that it is the intent of the General Assembly that the Governor appropriate $55 million in general funds in each year of the 2002-2004 budget for the School Construction Grants Program.

Nearly 2,500 bills and resolutions were introduced in the 2001 General Assembly.

This week, two bills that have garnered much media attention were approved in committee. The House Education Committee approved a bill HB613 to require the phrase “In God we trust” to be posted in a conspicuous place in each public school. The Senate Education and Health Committee approved a bill SB1331 that requires students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each school day, except if they object on religious or philosophical grounds. School boards must establish rules of conduct that prohibit disruptive behavior during the Pledge, with violators subject to suspension from school.

At this writing, the House Education Committee was slated to consider a handful of bills that propose the use of multiple criteria for student performance and school accreditation. The bills call on the Board of Education to use multiple criteria in determining the accreditation status of schools (HB2163), to establish a sliding scale of test performance for earning a verified credit based on the test alone or in combination with classroom work (HB2394), and to establish guidelines on additional criteria for awarding a verified unit of credit to students who pass a subject course but fail the relevant SOL test (HB2122)

Below is a continuation of last week’s list of significant education-related bills that have been introduced. Please click for a listing of all bills assigned to the House Education and Senate Education and Health Committee.

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