Shifting Gears.  No meeting of the E-12 conference committee today, but there has been a bit of a change in how things will unfold from this point forward in the education realm.  HF 140/SF 4--the bill that would establish the Professional Educators Licensing and Standards Board--will now travel separately and will not be a part of the negotiations over the remainder of E-12 funding and policy.  The Senate had folded this legislation into its version of the omnibus E-12 funding and policy bill while the House did not.  Last week, the decision was made for the Senate to pass its version of the bill separately (the House had passed it last month).  There are enough differences in the bills so that there will be a conference committee that will likely begin its work next week.

The E-12 conference committee is slated to meet tomorrow at 1 PM in Room 200 of the State Office Building.

In other news, Representative Jenifer Loon, chair of the House Education Funding Committee, held a press conference today to tout the House's position on early childhood scholarships.

Here is the video of that press conference.

Link:  Representative Loon Early Childhood Scholarship Program