this is the budget bill. amendments will be rated and scored as they pertain to education, but the bill in general will not.

Medicaid expansion will help provide access to families and single parent homes. Children miss school when family members are sick either due to transportation or to help take care of the home in rural areas. Medicaid expansion will help to ensure healthy families and students who don't miss school which has a significant positive impact on their student performance.

This bill would change the law so that educators would not be allowed to run for, or hold state office. WEA believes that it is invaluable to have educator input in the legislative process though representation and this bill would remove that ability for representation. The bill is anti-democratic in nature and in it's effect.

amending award timing for the Hathaway scholarship program; amending eligibility requirements as specified; amending the calculation of unmet financial need; amending the calculation of scholarship amounts; deleting obsolete language

merging the reserve and expenditure accounts; increasing the available balance in the expenditure account; modifying investment of funds; increasing scholarship awards as specified; making conforming amendments; transferring funds; and providing for an effective date.

This bill proposes to increase districts operating balances and cash reserves from 15 to 30% for FY 2022 to FY 2026. This measure is taken to allow districts to spend revenue on COVID relief programs and measures within their districts including educator salaries and bonuses. Districts are reimbursed so increased reserves and operating balances allow them to spend while maintaining their previous reserves and not cutting into dollars allocated through the block grant.

This proposed legislation would allow for the creation of the Wyoming Tomorrow's Scholarship Program. All earnings from the Wyoming's tomorrow scholarship endowment fund would be allowed to be invested and the returns on those investments would be allocated to the appropriate entities for scholarship purposes.

requiring health care facilities, governmental entities and providers of essential services to offer reasonable accommodations as specified to persons unable or unwilling to provide proof of immunization; providing for a vaccine monitoring period before an immunization may be mandated for school children; providing that requiring immunization as a condition of employment is a discriminatory or unfair employment practice as specified

The bill contains a transfer of all unencumbered, unobligated funds in the Wyoming State Penitentiary Capital Construction Account (WSPCCA) to the School Capital Construction Account (SCCA) for the purposes of funding school district major maintenance. FY 22, 23, 24 addition of $10 million. FY 25 an addition of $95 million.

The bill proposes to increase the severance tax distribution cap by $45 million and creates a new severance tax distribution under the new proposed cap to the SFP. The distribution is 22.5% to the SFP ($45 million annually) but does this by reducing severance tax distribution to the general fund and Budget Reserve Account.

WEA is monitoring this bill as the state of Wyoming has a significant issue with the "School to Prison Pipeline" practices.

This proposed bill would allow BOCES to apply, through a grant process, for federal or state funds to help fund those services provided by BOCES

WEA will continue to monitor this bill and its progress legislatively. WEA firmly believes in utilizing the state standards setting process within WDE and SBE to determine standards, including social study standards. Potential issues arise regarding teaching to a test that may detract from other valuable lessons that are needed to meet state standards.

WEA is monitoring this bill.

This bill provides a COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for our retirees.

This proposed bill has substantial constitutional issues, (state and federal). this bill would chill the teaching of social studies and has onerous penalties which are intended to intimidate. Void for vagueness, violates Wyoming's constitution Campbell cases "complete, modern and quality education" provision. First Amendment Violations (preventing what ideas can be taught and proscribe others)

WEA is monitoring this bill as it pertains to future elections, senate and house seats.

Provides a COLA to our retirees

This bill would greatly restrict local control and districts ability to respond effectively to public health emergencies such as the COVID 19 outbreak through the requirement of masks. This bill posses a substantial public health and safety risk for our schools.

This bill would provide a salary adjustment for educators corresponding to the Wyoming Cost-of-Living Index (WCLI) averaged over the previous three years for the portion of each employee’s salary that is less than or equal to $80,000 per year

WEA is monitoring this bill as it pertains to state lands and may have implications for leases on school lands.

this bill attempts to fund and establish private and parochial schools with k12 dollars

These are merely account management bills that update the distributions

This is merely an update to the common school account

This is the Budget Bill. Amendments that pertain to education will be scored, where as the bill in general will not

WEA recognizes how difficult it may be to rate this appropriately. As such, WEA will monitor this bill. However, substantial issues arise when discussing the ECA which is housed within this bill. The ECA is grossly underfunded. Inflation applies to cost of service not just cost of goods and the cost for education will always continue to rise. It is imperative that our cost be accurately adjusted for inflation which in this bill it is not.

This bill creates a new endowment fund, the Wyoming Community College Investment Fund (Endowment Fund) and transfers $1,000 from the General Fund to the Endowment Fund. The investment earnings from the Endowment Fund are deposited within the Wyoming Community College Income Account (Income Account), created by this bill. WEA advocates for funding for our Community Colleges across the state.

Another iteration of previous bills. Like older bills it attempts to define the following terms: neglect as including willful absenteeism. Board of trustees in each district must define habitual truant and willful absenteeism. Changes "policies" to "rules" then goes on to define "habitual truant" and "willful absenteeism." Potential contrary language. Allows for DA discretion whether or not to initiate proceedings in the case of willful absenteeism. Eliminates fine and jail time.

This proposed bill is set as a monitor currently as there are many details that need to be determined. WEA recognizes the importance of K-3 literacy and the impact on students academic success and WEA advocates for all measures that will improve student reading. Questions arise to PD, implementation, and efficacy.

A matter of transparency, this bill will codify the education resource block grant. WEA can support this bill as long as it is not a mechanism to make changes to the block grant model.

This bill adds an additional month to the payment schedule of ad valorem taxes on mineral production. This may decrease the SFP by $9 million in FY 2022 and increase every yr (2023 $800k, $100k in 2024) and a decrease of $400k in 2025. WEA cannot support bills that decrease education funding.

Currently, this bill is only being monitored by WEA and receives no positive or negative tabulation.

This bill would permanently shift the additional one percent constitutional severance tax from the PWMTF and CSPLF (funding education in perpetuity) to the Highway fund and Community College Commission. Those dollars are to be provided to students to fund education in perpetuity, not to fund other agencies or programs. This is an attempt to shuffle funds away from education to other programs/accounts without violating the ARP acts MOE and without providing any solutions to longer term issues.

WEA is monitoring this bill as certain provisions may apply to education.

This proposed legislation is contradictory to the WEA's Legislative Platform position of "Safe and Bias-Free Environment." WEA advocates for student LGBTQ rights and equity in practice. This bill violates those principles.

WEA is monitoring for future election purposes

This proposed legislation is legislative overreach. The bill will overburden classroom educators with additional lesson filings in the name of transparency. Transparency is not an issue in our districts. Secondly, it proposes to by-pass the social studies standards setting and review process by legislating standards. This is not the role of the legislature but of WDE, SBE and classroom educators.

This bill proposes to establish a Wyoming seal of biliteracy and an advanced distinction Wyoming seal of biliteracy for conferral by a school district to a graduating high school student who is proficient in English and one or more world languages.

Has a very unlikely, but possible negative impact to the School Foundation Program

WEA is monitoring this bill as it pertains in part to education

the bill is prohibitively proscriptive and has substantial constitutional issues including void for vagueness as well as the intent behind Art. 7 Section 11 banning the legislature from dictating what texts to use.

this would substantially limit districts from being able to expend any federal funds (ESSER or ARP) without prior legislative consent.