A Quick Run-Through on the Last Two Days.  We are being treated to a full slate of education-related hearings with the Senate E-12 Finance and Policy Committee meeting yesterday and the House Education Finance Division and Education Policy Committee meeting today.  The Senate tackled several bills on Monday, the most notable bill heard was Senator Nelson's SF 3351, a bill that would allow private duty nurses to accompany students on school grounds under doctor's orders relating to the student.  There are a few concerns regarding that bill, but that's not the big story regarding what happened yesterday.  Senator Nelson amended two provisions--bills that actually fell by the wayside at the end of last session--onto SF 3351.  The first provision would allow districts to serve special education students with IEPs in a non-related area to receive services under ADSIS programs.  The second would allow districts to perform functional behavioral assessments as a stand-alone and not require them to be part of a comprehensive evaluation of a students.  What this move signals is an attempt to find a way to move non-controversial (or relatively non-controversial) measures through the Legislature this year and not have them get caught up in an uncertain end-of-session scenario.  As you recall, a lot of policy initiatives died in 2018 because they were contained in the nearly 1,000-page supplemental budget and policy bill that the Governor vetoed.  The fact those measures died gummed up the works last session, as most of them came back again and given the change in control of the House, many had to be re-heard and go through the process again.  Of the bills now contained in SF 3351, only the ADSIS provision has been heard in the House and it is now on the House floor after gaining committee approval.  There are a number of avenues that can be pursued, but it's a positive sign that the House and Senate are trying to find ways to move non-controversial items through the process.  Another bill heard on Monday would extend districts' ability to utilize E-learning days.  That bill is Senator Paul Anderson's SF 2259.

The House Education Finance Committee spent its morning on three bills that were considered last session, but did not make it into the final budget agreement.  Of these, the most notable bill is Representative Rena Moran's HF 3356, a bill that would provide grants to school districts to address trauma issues.  This year's bill is slightly different than the version considered last session, but the basic thought behind the bill remains the same:  childhood trauma has become a major issue in many schools and this grant program would help provide needed staff development and other services to address the effects of trauma.  The House Education Policy Committee heard five bills, the two most prominent bills were authored by Representative Heather Edelson.  HF 3106 would create a standardized assessment task force and HF 3107 would allow an innovation zone partner district to use a nationally-recognized high school academic assessment (likely the ACT) instead of the MCAs.