Week of February 21 to February 25, 2022
Jim Karleskint
The first half of the legislative session has been completed. Turn around took place this week. Turn around is considered a critical time for legislation. The intent of turnaround is to have taken action on the bills that have been heard in the respective chamber. If a bill hasn’t received action in chamber the bill is to die. However, that isn’t really the case. For example, there were 18 bills in the House that died due to no action. There were 36 bills that were referred back to a committee, this is called being “blessed”. There were 8 bills “blessed” in the Senate. A blessed bill can be sent back for consideration. Most of the education bills that we have been following were not brought above the line for consideration, most were “blessed” and sent back to a committee. I will continue to follow bills and keep you posted on their status.
Legislators ended consideration of bills on Wednesday and went home for a short break. The House adjourned shortly after 12 noon and the Senate later in the afternoon. Legislators return to the Capital on Tuesday, March 1st. As you know there have been many pieces of legislation given consideration so far this year. Since most of the bills that were passed out of committee were not acted on but were “blessed”, these bills will be given consideration as the session continues. It is speculated that with many of these bills there will be an attempt to tie them to the budget. Time will tell.
If you have the opportunity, I would recommend you contact any of your legislators to discuss some of the legislation under consideration. The “Parents Bill of Rights” has received a great deal of discussion. Many parents, teachers, school administrators, and board members have contacted legislators to express their opposition to these bills. There is a “Parents Bill of Rights” in both the House and Senate, they are separate bills but nearly identical. The one point I would suggest you mention when discussing this legislation is this legislation is government overreach. So, if you haven’t contacted your legislator please do. They need to hear from you.
Some members of SQE visited the Capital on Wednesday. There were opportunities for school leaders and board members to meet with and talk with legislators. Wednesday was a crazy day for many in the Capital. There were conflicts with meeting times, but most were able to speak to who they wanted to talk with, even if the meeting was a short one. Hopefully next year more SQE members will be able to attend.
This is a short newsletter this week. If you have questions about specific legislation don’t hesitate to let me know. I am happy to help in any way I can. Till next week.
