 our lives. Welcome. This is the Education Committee and the Vermont House of Representatives on April 16th and we are continuing our discussion on S16 and this is related to what it will eventually be titled a task force on equitable and inclusive school environments and we don't have our Ledge Council in at the moment but I thought there's been quite a bit of work that's been done by Representative Brady and I thought we would walk through these sections and see if there's anything further that we need to discuss in this. I know there was just a question about finding so Representative Brady or Jesse could you bring that up? Thanks, Jesse. 16 and this is draft 3.1 so let's go through this so let's just take a look at the findings did we end up with some Vermont statistics on findings? We don't I already I saw a catch up above I'll get to Jim that if we've renamed the task force we have to rename line 3 and act relating to. Yes that gets I think that gets done at the bottom because we can't do that until I think he there's a way of doing that. So the findings are not okay yeah most of these findings are still what was in it coming over from the Senate most of them are national all of them are national sorry and on page two it's highlighted there's a new finding added that was the suggestion from Rev James. As I remember didn't didn't Wendy Geller have some recommendations on findings? Nothing that would add any Vermont specifics their their stuff it gets we're about to get to their recommendations on the next page. Okay so Representative Austin did you have? Yes I'm I you know I was just thinking about last night I mean I I just would like just Vermont statistics on explosions and well what about what about line 7a there Serita? I'm sorry what is it? According to the AOE's report on exclusionary discipline from 2017 which I think is the most recent one we have 3600. I'm sorry I'm the wrong page hold on one second line 7. Yep I see it yeah page 3 bridging to bridging from page two to three. Would it be possible just to get the did you look at the data I mean just a percent of you know explosions and suspensions in Vermont and then how many were let's just say BIPOC students we don't need you know we don't need to know just in general in the whole state. There is a summary of finding I'm looking in the exclusionary discipline report the agency education finds that students who are non-calcation participating in free and reduced lunch programs that section 504 IEP's male or English languages are overrepresented in terms of numbers who experience explosion and the number of incidents including results in inclusion exclusion. Oh I like that you want to just add that should we add that as a finding? Yeah I think that's good. Boy how'd you find that so fast? Because I actually printed off the document. Sorry could we scroll down because it what's coming up next? Yeah it's oh yeah never mind it's there it's clearly losing it. Yeah to me the stats we're looking for are already in there. Yeah we're losing it here yeah okay I mean it's on page 3B exactly what you just said keep. Yeah they're kind of anecdotal I it's not a big deal there it is. Honestly I think it's going to be challenging and slow us down I'll be frank. Okay yeah and I think the point later in the bill is that we need to get this data. Yeah I think we we have it you know we could I think it would be one phone call but it's fine it's fine if you have a if you can you know put give us a specific language suggestion. Okay let me um I think I was you know if I talk to uh either Wendy Geller or yeah um yep. I would talk to Wendy more than just yeah just thank you. Yep okay so so B covers what we just said thank you. And now here's where we get into some of the big changes from AOE starting with eight that are highlighted this is where they had took pretty big issue with how lack of data was described and I will say in our side meeting they were pretty compelling that a lot of data does exist and so this is the language we landed on it can be hard to find. They certainly want to emphasize the privacy laws which does complicate getting a lot of this data. Yep this is good. So I I felt comfortable with it. I just had one uh letter C line 19 um seemed a bit unnecessary. Which uh which part Peter uh page 319 where it says you know even one available you you've got to be careful. Oh okay would you take out take out C entirely or just that phrase even one available? Uh no I take out the whole thing it just seemed a little preachy. Yeah you know but there's some truth to it we can misuse data like nobody's business. Yeah it just I don't know it seemed it seemed like not a finding but a scolding. I'm not I just a suggestion I'm not married to it people want to keep it in I certainly don't feel terribly strongly. Let me just take a quick look at that. Yeah what do we think? What do we think? Who thinks we should get rid of it? I can't see your faces up okay there we go. All right we've got two we've got three. Who thinks it should stay? And some of us are undecided. Aaron you have to be the type. Let's let's leave it it does no harm. That's what I was going to say it doesn't hurt anything. Okay so then going on to page four that's the last that last highlighted pieces there reworked language around findings and data. I'm not sure it really accomplished as much but it was did did this language come from Dr. Geller? Yeah and and Jess intended yeah yeah that's fine it's from AOE exactly okay okay okay so then we get to the task force nothing in the creation has changed we've updated membership again so now the school which one superintendents are back in is that right good yep they're back in G we've we've swapped out which restorative justice group so this is the one so um Lindsay confirms this this is she's uh on the leadership of the Vermont restorative collaborative so where there was concern about including up for learning they're covered yep thank you yep and then we added for the students on page six if you keep going on oh that they're appointed by the VPA in consultation with up for learning that's great okay so then um line 11 but again was an AOE suggestion essentially saying let's use the data we do have even if it's hard for a lot of people to find which seemed reasonable and now we're walking through there what the task force has to do so if we keep going on to page seven there's a highlight on page seven this is um Sarita this was your suggestion here of taking out social and emotional so that we're just thinking that these are related to students needs holistically I'm not saying it's just social and emotional uh e now I'm trying to think where this came from what if I best did this come from our testimony I mean it seems to the testimony we took from up for learning in the students yes yes and department of health right is that was that one there yes yes that was in department of mental health which I love their suggestion here that's right uh the line 17 is a critical one here that a lot of uh the work there were issues AOE had issues with what data would be available and FERPA and privacy laws so that's sort of a blanket statement to get at everything below it that there will be restrictions um and if we keep going down to the next page or page eight G was a sort of compromise and language particularly from Dr. Geller on uh she's got such a deep understanding of data and using it and using it well and what they have and trying to capture uh the sort of quality of you know it's not just a matter of having it but but knowing why there even why a secretary needs to collect why kid is out even you know she had a lot of I think helpful things to say about that J. Nichols might have as well but this is part of of what the task force is hopefully really doing that we need to get better garbage in garbage out that we you know that even if we have a lot of data it isn't necessarily of the best quality or not everybody in the data stream might know why they're doing what they're doing so that that's a nod to try to capture that okay going on to page nine again they're going to be disaggregating the data by a whole bunch of measures again this is just the work of the task force and a lot of disaggregation bringing us all the way to page 11 where we have changed the dates so that we've given them till January for the initial report and March for the final uh that must have been a good catch for Jim there that just getting rid of the task force when once we have to find out I'm just gonna ask him if maybe that should actually go until you know June 30th just to make sure yeah yeah I'm not sure that was a he must have caught that I didn't yeah let's let's just let's just ask him about that I'm just thinking that they get the report and then they're disbanded maybe they're going to give us the report maybe we need a little bit need a little bit longer right or we may have questions or yeah yeah yeah so let's let's just okay flag that for Jim okay uh for the appropriation that must have been his catch as well as I assume is updated because of membership yeah okay um then getting into section four uh just ensuring that the task force is going to get good cooperation and help and a substantial training from AOE on what already exists and where and how to access it the training I would like to take in as well yeah and we might that for that something to do with that next in depending on what happens for the rest of this year yeah um I mean I think the thinking is then hopefully they're also AOE does seem open to that they've done a lot of work on their reporting side and the software they use in the interface but that it's not perfect and so the task force will be deep in it may have recommendations for them of how to things they may want to change or have the I think there's an I know there's an outside vendor for the snapshot and some of that stuff so it gets of course into cost then but all right onto page 13 um D is so we are not touching independent schools the decision was was too messy and and extra messy because therapeutic schools are independent schools and are often dealing with you know some of the most complicated cases so and then this language poses an imminent threat of harm or danger was from Department of Mental Health um from from Ted and Department of Mental Health has suggested language on that and that's everything it stands now next work so the only thing that I have right now is that question about whether the the task force needs a little bit more time after their report and there's oh yeah I think uh Rupri has uh she she she should be a lawyer for sure but I always kind of wanted to so that I'm trying it out but I don't know neither an education just a future secretary so I just wanted the questions I know I had one were there other questions and I'm forgetting where we were with that I wrote it down a couple of things Jim so you got that on page 11 the end date I just jumped in okay um the two things then that we flag for possible changes so far are on page three we would like oh never mind we agreed not to take that out right sorry committee yep okay scratch that so that one's fine sorry page 11 the end date of the committee it's immediate right now after we get the report and we're worried that we may need to hear from them beyond that on page 11 yeah it's pretty typical that we put the next day in as is that okay but it's fine I can move that out how far out would you like a month a month I was thinking June 30th but but I don't if this is more typical to just end it on that day um is that you said generally what happens for the task force the next day it ends this way I've seen it yep it doesn't mean we can't talk to them I was gonna say it doesn't preclude them from coming in to testify right yeah have there you know if there've been any situations where they needed to haul them back in after they disbanded um no but moving the day's no problem either I mean it's it's whatever you want to do but an idea that's fueler yeah sorry I will say this is quite a group we're compiling yeah you know you've got a lot of expertise on that task force yeah uh some of the legislative changes that may come out of it might be thorny and um I don't much extend them I mean we're clearly going to need to hear from them after the 15th but that doesn't necessarily mean they can't just exist yeah April 15th if they need it you don't need it they don't do it I don't know does that change any money so I'm here April 15th yeah and that's not going to change any money right no um whether any others than other than than those points represented Brady that's all I have we have incorporated a lot of feedback from the field not every single thing but I will say this is a pretty well you know that we've represented a lot of interest taken included things from a lot of testimony right representative Austin yeah just I know this isn't going to happen but just philosophically I would have more students um on the task force and I know that's not going to happen because we're not adding anybody but I just um just want to say that just to kind of bring that forward how many students do we have two we have two two um bear in mind that uh this task force can call people into testify so they could have up for learning folks come in they could have a whole group come in and talk to them yeah um it's it's a matter of of yes no I think I hear you though fortunately we do know that there are groups that are meeting elsewhere we do know that up for learning for example has students that are our meeting so it's not like there aren't any meetings going on and they might do well to organize a presentation for the tax task force but I hear you on the need to keep our students involved um anything else a possibility is we could vote this out today which would mean it would sit on the calendar it would be on notice on Tuesday presented on Wednesday if that wait a minute this has to go to appropriations doesn't it Jim Daymarade there's a little bit of money in there right did we address this one before or yes so it would go to appropriations all six thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars of it which is currently on the general fund I believe right yeah so uh representative Brady would you be comfortable with us voting this out today and then it would mean that you'd probably be going off to talk to appropriations on on Tuesday or Wednesday okay and then probably a floor floor presentation probably the earliest would be Wednesday Wednesday of next week yeah okay um committee are you are you ready to to vote on this one this is really nice work I'm really pleased with this work so I would entertain a motion to approve um that they change rep probably jack 4.1 4.1 with that that one change correct correct yeah with one change I'll move that we approve version 4.1 of s 16 second or is it 1.16 and representative erison seconds it um discussion seeing none the clerk shall commence to call the roll representative conlon yes representative erison yes representative austin yes representative Brady yes representative brown yes representative hooper this is representative hooper of orange county I vote yes representative james yes representative tooth yes representative williams yes representative Coupoli. Yes. Chair Webb. Yes. 1100. Can we do it again? I'm sorry, I was getting my, so that was draft 4.1, right? Yes. Okay. And representative Brady, you will be the reporter. Okay. Yeah. This will be a good one. You won't believe what will happen when we do. Okay. Okay. Can you help me with the list of. Witnesses. Yeah. Of course. Thank you. Yeah.