During its first meeting of 2022, the Education Interim Committee approved items it will be considering between now and the 2023 General Legislative Session.

Education Interim Committee (reported by Jay Blain): The Committee adopted a prioritized list of study items to be considered in upcoming interim meetings. Prioritized items included required audits, consolidating public education prevention programs, ethnic studies school curriculum and public education accountability system redesign, among others. Legislative staff reviewed with Committee members the several of the proposed study items:

• Ann Millner moved to amend the Hope Scholarship study item to include parent involvement and other choice options. The motion passed.
• A Teacher Retention Audit presentation showed that stress was the leading cause of teachers leaving with pay being second. This is the same audit that was presented to Public Education Appropriations during the session. There was much discussion about the items from the audit. Questions were asked about how principals influence school climate and if they are trained in personnel management and relations. There was also a lot of discussion and speculation about the factors that cause stress in the classroom.