Hite Capitol Update
by Dustin Hite
This week was the second funnel, which means a bill must make it through committee in the other chamber in order for it to be alive for the session. It also means that it is the last week of committee meetings, with the exception of Ways and Means and Appropriations. These two committees are “funnel proof” and bills in these committees are not subject to the deadline.
This week in the Education committee, we considered six bills that the Senate sent over. These bills dealt with topics from drivers’ education for home schooled students, to Medicaid reimbursement for schools, to recognition for licensed behavior analysts. I would like to highlight two bills that we passed. Senate File 265 allows the parents of a student to hold their child back a grade for this year. We have heard quite a bit about the learning loss of students, and this bill gives parents the final say in whether or not their child is ready for the next grade.