Earlier this week, Senate Democrats brought forward an education bill that fails to address many of the concerns that schools have had since last year’s legislation passed. Despite the “historic investments” that Democrats have touted all year, many schools ended up facing budget cuts. They were not given nearly enough funding to comply with all of last year’s new mandates, and this year, we have another bill that adds additional mandates onto schools. Everybody warned Democrats that last year’s mandates and spending directives would create significant problems for schools, and unfortunately this year’s bill adds more mandates.

One troubling portion I want to highlight is the implementation of a statewide standard for health education in schools. Many sensitive topics are often discussed in this area of education, which is why these standards were left to local discretion. This process prioritized local control and allowed parents to have a direct say in curriculum, since those decisions were made close to home. Under this new mandate, current standards will expire in the 2026-2027 school year, and will be replaced with standards decided upon by the education commissioner. This is a clear overstep by government, it eliminates local control, and it will require many schools to purchase new materials to support the curriculum. I offered an amendment to remove this burdensome mandate, but it was not accepted.

To address budget shortfalls, I also offered an amendment that distributes new funds equally through a one-time per pupil allowance, which would give our schools more flexibility to put funding in the areas they need it the most. Every school is different and has different needs. This would have resulted in about $100 for every student. Flexibility is the key here – rather than mandating spending for specific uses, this unencumbered funding would give schools and districts the ability to use the money wherever they feel it is most needed and would allow them to better address their students’ needs. Unfortunately, this amendment also failed.

I offered an additional amendment that would have given schools a three-year window to implement new mandates and would have also given them the flexibility to transfer last year’s funds from one account to another as needed. This would have been done through a school board resolution, and would have been a lifeline for our schools, as they struggle to adapt to last year’s sweeping mandates. This would not have resulted in any funding reduction. School boards understand their districts far better than the state does – they know their abilities and limitations, and they know their needs best. I offered this amendment to both the Education Policy and Education Finance bills, with the hope that Democrats would understand how important this flexibility is for schools. Unfortunately, this amendment was rejected on both occasions.

Last year’s mandates removed the flexibility that our schools need, and this year’s bill adds even more mandates. We’ve heard from districts across the state – that they are struggling to balance their budgets under new costs, despite the increase in funding. Senate Republicans attempted to improve this bill and address their concerns in various ways, but Democrats chose to press forward with a number of controversial measures. I’m disappointed with this bill because it fails to address the concerns of schools, and rather than working with schools, it adds more mandates that will only worsen their problems. These efforts will only hurt our schools in the long run, and our students deserve better.