Legislative Priorities

For More Information

Any questions about the Board's legislative platform should be directed to:

J. Lee Schultz, Deputy Executive Director

Every year, the State Board of Education adopts an annual legislative platform that guides the Board's advocacy work for the year. At their October 2024 meeting, the Board adopted its 2025 legislative platform. The Board's platform is built around its mission of building an equitable and inclusive K-12 education system where every student is empowered with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a changing world.

Click here to see the Board's complete 2025 platform.

Major Themes of SBE's 2025 Legislative Platform

Priorites are: Fully Fund Special Education, Create Inclusive and Supportive Learning Environments, Enhance Relevance & Access to Powerful Learning Opportunities, and Build Strong Partnerships for Authentic Engagement

Legislative Requests

Continued funding to support the Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative

The Board is requesting continued funding to support the Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative. The Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative is grant project that provides schools with funding and professional learning to successfully transition to a culturally responsive Mastery-Based Learning model. The requested funding will support the current cohort of schools and expand to a third cohort, providing grants, professional learning opportunities, and a statewide network. The request also includes continued funding for evaluating the program and developing resources, ensuring that educators are equipped with the tools, support, and community needed for effective and sustainable implementation. Visit our Mastery-Based Learning webpage for more information on this project.

Administrative Needs

The Board is requesting the ability to pursue administrative solutions tailored to its unique needs, allowing for more efficient operations and greater responsiveness to the communities we serve. This proposal seeks to allow the Board and other small education agencies to access administrative services that are better suited to their specific needs, such as contracting with Small Agency Services, improving service quality and reducing workload.

Graduation Requirements Initiative

The Board is requesting funding to support FutureReady, its strategic plan initiative aimed at comprehensively updating high school graduation requirements. The funding will support broad stakeholder engagement through a task force, subcommittees, and community liaisons, with a focus on gathering input from underserved communities. This engagement will help shape modern graduation requirements that integrate essential skills such as financial education and digital literacy, promote interdisciplinary and inclusive learning, and better prepare students for success beyond high school.