Education Committee - Senate

Sir will come and present Senate bill two eighty seven and then I'm gonna turn this over to Senator Elliott after this and she can run house bill eleven oh one eleven a two because the rest of mind of the bills are mine so come back as quickly as I can so the center services take your time okay so Senator Hester has an amendment to his bill And so M. and members let me just say quickly am I appreciate Senator Hester appreciate you working with me on this issue and on this bill we we went three while I was M. traveling to put this amendment on the bill so what we have talked about with the lottery scholarship revenues and this is the reason behind his amendment for the bill today he wants to move forward with the portions of his bill that don't affect the lottery revenues and the reason why that amendment was important for us is because we collectively are working to resolve the issues of using basically present present fines to fund the scholarships and that's really a bad way of doing business for basically kind of put it on a credit card and then hoping and praying we have the revenues at the end of the year to give out the scholarships and so. Not good practice personally in your business or obviously with taxpayers dollars so we're working on that effort is a huge drafting efforts are really give a shout out to tailor into the department of ed in higher ed and all the folks that are working on that with us so that's the purpose for this amendment so I have a motion to adopt the amendment. And a second all those favor say aye an amendment is adopted Senator Hester if you'll present your bill as amended. Thank you members this is a very simple build allows someone here on legal status and H. force their parents to hear on a work visa to be eligible for the governor scholarship that they have rightfully earned we we believe that there are two students in Arkansas that this affects at this time there could be more but you know there's a young lady that went to kindergarten first and second grade with my oldest daughter they are now seniors and she has earned the scholarship and and as other students and I believe they when they burned it we should allow them to to receive it we have an answer any questions are there any questions for Senator Hester on the bill. Any questions right time sensitive nature do you want to just explain that because you may be do you need to make a motion to suspend the rules or anything to try to meet that because of the weather well yes we were hoping we could do this last week basically March first is the last day to apply for the governor to sing scholarship and if we get out of here today off the floor in this what we have to do the amendment tomorrow on the floor then get off our floor Wednesday it'll be on house committee Thursday the author for Monday the governor's agreed to sign it I believe still Monday in in and then the department will have some they have some ability for some discretion whether the levels kids until midnight or until maybe one more day or something to get their stuff that the department hasn't said exactly but they have some discretion for the students the important is to stay on staff to get it to the governor's desk Monday which is the last day to apply okay so I think that's just important discussion because of the weather so. It it's important for the members of the Senate Education Committee to have that discussion in case you do make that motion or feel like we need to make motions to try to expedite the process. And I personally don't have a public that I'm not sure if other members but it might be a good idea to just move to expedite the process yes tomorrow on the floor with a minute that I may ask to add this to the end of the county would okay I think I would be I mean if if it's a if it's the pleasure of this committee to pass your bill I should say that I'm getting a little bit ahead the horse that then I I just make that recommendation yeah I'm an engineer if you if I may I I I do feel compelled to to I think this is something that's really important that I definitely support because when students in this that they are to get it you know they don't make their own decisions about when they're right here but I and in full disclosure I think also since we're talking about we started out talking about lottery as I said to madam chair I am proposing a bill that I hope to be able to work within the confines of everybody who's working on the lottery to return the eligibility to two point five four nineteen which I hope I can get your support on that too since you're in here and I think it's important for people to know that that will be a part of that discussion or it will be a stand alone bill by itself because we're talking about eligibility what we did in this case we had some kids eligible eligible then turned around and said to them you are no longer so I think that is just as egregious and somebody you have qualified and we're not going to get it to you so I would certainly support what you doing. All right I'll take that as a motion motion the second all those in favor say aye aye and opposed I was meant to shoot anyone here to speak for against the bill. Eight C. nine motion passes thank you Senator Hester thank you centerman Committee thank you and I will turn this over to Senator Elliott to run the next two bills make it slow. Okay. Which of the next. A. One eleven. Senate bill to use. I'm not we're we're going to we're going to we're going to do. six we did okay so are not the bill's going to be one one oh one there's a list right this way members our next bill will be screened to go slowly but HB one one oh one Senator start to understand your are you presenting that bill okay all right you're recognized to present to us Senate bill one one oh one. I guess speak slowly. Thank you meant to. Colleagues I appreciate that I hate to say this usually comes back to bite me that to I don't know how faster so this will go because there's no known opposition to the. In a lot. These two bills both eleven oh one eleven oh two or from the school boards association as part of their legislative package as you know read a Representative in this on the house side certain campus school board and he asked me if I'd run these on the Senate side eleven a one first is to keep proportional a statute that's been on the books since the nineteen thirties just kind of give you a refresher school boards or the only public entity that can actually be called into a meeting by a petition and there's five ways to co school board into meeting course they have to meet once a month that's already required by law that a president of a school board can call a meeting the secretary of the school board and call a meeting or three members of the school board calling meeting and then there was this last one that with the signature of fifty people they could be forced into a special called meeting since that has not been changed since the nineteen thirties you can imagine schools look a whole lot different than they did ninety years ago and so fifty people in the nineteen thirties might have been a large proportion of the school members now that we have schools that are in the tens of thousands of patrons they're just asking us to make this a little more proportional so they're asking that we keep fifty or one percent up to two hundred on this petition process and that's essentially what the bill does it changes that petition process only to where it's either fifty electors or up to two hundred to keep it proportional to the school size. I'll be happy taking questions any questions from our members. Anybody out of center Chesterfield you're recognized yes thank you and I'm glad for the explanations and. Because it concerns me because I think it ought to be as citizens I have access to school boards. Should have access to us as well because people can come ninety or give testimony with just only one person of interest in my great concern was that we are making it harder the in for the people who elected us to be able to call us into account if you if there is one percent. Of the school of the school district if you have. A hundred thousand folks and you know that that's a lot of signatures that you've got to have in order to have it and I'm just really concerned about moving it to that level. And I guess I should have spoken to Representative Evans about it because as a former president of the school board often might not have wanted to meet with them. But they were allowed to meet with me and the school board with fifty folks interest so I'm I'm a little concerned about it I don't know if it's enough for me to vote against it but I am concerned that because I don't want to be harder and likely to be. I understand senator I think representatives worked with that that's why the one percent is in there not selectors not to say the size of your a school district to school district maybe twenty thousand kids but it may have you know that two parents each you know forty thousand later so it's one percent but they put a cap on that up to two hundred and so no matter whether it's a hundred thousand people or forty thousand people they don't have to go beyond the two hundred and so you know if you think about it in proportion than fifty people may live on one street that is that Representative of the whole school district and so I think that was where the idea come from thank you. All right thank you scented Senators are any further questions from anybody anybody in the audience who want to speak for or against the bill. There is not to us Senator Sturch you have motion do pass by after August motion do pass and second all the any any further discussion if not all those in favor the bill I. All those opposed no okay the bill passes. Of thank you Senator Sturch. Okay. Stretching stretching starting House Bill yes good available on house bill eleven oh two and I the same your present inside as well okay. All right thank you recognized thank you mentor thank you colleagues this is also thanks in part of the school boards association package essentially what the bill does is it doesn't change the amount of hours the school board member has received with their training as you know they have continuing education hours that they have to have all it does is it to a prioritizes some topics for those discussions so thanks to the hours are not increased but it is just saying that they will cover two topics in particular if you look on page two lines nine and ten information regarding school safety and student discipline they wanted those specific topics in the legislation as part of their ongoing training so that's what the bill does is you know we already have requirements for disproportionately at by school districts and so this with and encourage those school board members to know what those reports and their contents are for their particular school that they serve so like I said it does not change the total number of training hours but does specify the topics in these two regards I'll be happy to take any questions. Any questions anybody. It's not anybody in the audience want to speak for or against the bill. That being the case if there's no further discussion I want to take a motion motion to pass and second. You can do both I do I thank. You. Okay great one but not so much here okay all those in favor of the of the motion do pass I. All those opposed no okay The motion passes yes. Your. Hi is it on the is. But I think it has to be it doesn't have it has to be on the agenda for today is sixty three okay I'm not going up so far okay. provision Arkansas concerned attendance of commissioners I would certainly think that would be fine so I am going to as I'm sharing my answer is yes and the the commissioners here so. The Secretary. Thank you service as a commissioner shall be able to accommodate any on his or her behalf should that person I'd be able to attend or chooses not to attend yeah I entertain any questions. There any questions from anybody our commissioner since you're here and we don't see anything in here to discuss this icing that's going to be the case and if not and you want to speak for against the bill if not I'll just a motion adoption a motion to do pass so second yes okay all those in favour II those opposed no all right very good is there anything else in here so in a sense I mean I I don't know how I for one don't want somebody else bills the vision screening room that one strikes me as something that is not. Yes you under that. This is great where is Senate bill sixty the very first one it's it's simply just click makes clarifications about vision screening I appreciate a good vote. Now. You want to look at it for just a second and. We have some fun well we already. Yeah. All right what was somebody needs to just who's running who's going to run the bill I am okay. All rights reserved bill you're recognized yes so I'd appreciate if you would end up to be a long vision screening. Okay is that there's a motion to I do pass their second. Okay all those is there anyone in the audience you want to speak for or against this bill. For the record I I you know this was one ninety it seems really really important I read this is not doing harm all those in favor of the motion say aye. Those opposed no. Okay The motion passes. Senate that sixteen sixty three move return. How it just a second.