Hite Capitol Update – January 22nd, 2021
The second week of session brought with it a packed schedule of committee and subcommittee meetings, discussing and advancing important legislation in the Education, Judiciary, Ways & Means, and Information Technology committees. As chair of the House Education Committee, I chaired two committee meetings this week, where we assigned our first batch of bills, and advanced our first bill, HF 5, to the House Floor. The House ended the week debating and passing new House rules for the 89th General Assembly.
One of the legislature’s top priorities this year will be to ensure every family who wants 100% in-person learning has access to it. This week, Representatives Landon and Gobble took the first step to ensure parental choice in education by introducing a bill that gives the decision-making power back to the parents when it comes to their child’s education. The bill states if a public school or an accredited nonpublic school offers both in-person and online learning instruction, the parents and guardians will determine which instruction method their child will use. I look forward to considering this legislation in the Education Committee in the coming days and weeks.