[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6092849,"mediaKeyId","2852042-4b9eaa0d02fafd5ec2a3ec46c3e8a083","parentId",2852042,"title","Senate committee recommends 'do not pass' on bill to restrict school use as polling sites","audioSeconds",270,"startMs",2770000,"endMs",3040000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2852042-4b9eaa0d02fafd5ec2a3ec46c3e8a083&start=2770&end=3040","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2852042-4b9eaa0d02fafd5ec2a3ec46c3e8a083/thumbnail_2770000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6092849/North-Dakota/Senate-committee-recommends-do-not-pass-on-bill-to-restrict-school-use-as-polling-sites","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6092849-f3e24d6a6f692065969a473434dcda13/orig.mp4?Expires=1771121885&Signature=h8lYUhHAZWDzCa9Zv1UAt-00Y9iehXFS68X850mZ2nRPxI5JP3cK0lSrn4QpsrAcl0~AZMBUqs2lZY35Rfo7o2CMBbb0~y146lOnILjMVzigbvWW~9eUOsRDd7rsSRzxvlOygcaRkFV4hDm82tnOSscdlXsb2LIDoXsicihpa0HYfbcYmSoLELQvTIrJZYgIay5VAEeNo1FjKTD1Nkq05L-ePvUa~LC5pEOVM25xqUc~EsjOB7M5IeMRk1qEfXBhQV9LA6CNNXPxxH9cm4YugFmfjRVWjynmzsVaI5IXvQs4UeF0L0q-i3P2ofAPAEyVP8Z2joOQcHgvMi8fUNXhZQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota Legislature","date","2025-04-02T00:00:00Z","article","The Senate Education Committee voted 6–0 to recommend \"do not pass\" on House Bill 1387, a proposal that would have restricted certain school operations when voting occurs on school premises.

Committee members raised concerns about the bill's practical effects and its uneven geographic impact. Several senators noted that the largest instances of schools being used as polling locations were concentrated in Burley County and that many other counties do not hold major elections in schools. Committee discussion also flagged uncertainty about how to define and enforce a \"no contact\" zone — whether that would extend to parking lots, fence lines, or other areas — and the operational difficulty of ensuring separation between election activity and daily school operations.

\"I would prefer that this be a discussion that local county officials are having, and work it out because it is such... a very local problem,\" Senator Axman said, urging deference to local officials for resolving polling-site logistics.

After discussion, Senator Gearhart moved a do-not-pass recommendation; Senator Axman seconded. The committee voted 6–0 in favor of the do-not-pass motion. Senator Axman was recorded as the committee member who will carry the recommendation out of committee.

The transcript indicates the committee will revisit other bills next week and that members plan additional follow-up where needed; HB 1387 will not advance from this committee as drafted.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Education Apr 2, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Education Committee recommended a do-not-pass on House Bill 1387 after discussion about local variation in polling practices and potential burdens on families; the motion passed unanimously.","taxTitle","Education, Senate, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28902,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6092853,"Senate committee adopts O'Brien amendment, boosts funding for school spending transparency dashboard",940,1749000,2689000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2852042-4b9eaa0d02fafd5ec2a3ec46c3e8a083&start=1749&end=2689","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2852042-4b9eaa0d02fafd5ec2a3ec46c3e8a083/thumbnail_1749000.jpg","/articles/6092853/North-Dakota/Senate-committee-adopts-OBrien-amendment-boosts-funding-for-school-spending-transparency-dashboard","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6092853-95b10b9cc91c1691532d6041e722aabb/orig.mp4?Expires=1771121885&Signature=AuzjYOcSYadmy5It1moSazMek7gIWZd~UB9wAa3vpCcmL1EYwMS~rjKdPRDIgqJBunzXNV0iUyr9HG1AxlLIQsXukmW6NAiMYLFvX6o77sU1bKvxoM~9KqHNPX2xC~fFhEBnp01X0dzPrKw8WfxlBNULa4jR5U~kc2ig9MvbAw~y70Tn5LtJI0A3gc-Gpn~nNzYsrhVi9g0Ef9jpor7BEfL8VYLI2xIZG2gH07PJOSlzHkMIDZGV46fZdBcQ4zq9u8ZS0HBR77pM8Gp~FPYAEV9Z0LQznNH4Yf5PlELLBn185rmjpo0jREGZUKh5n9tapFu-nhMyFVtd8DVTacWJbA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Education Committee unanimously approved an amended version of House Bill 1329 that directs the creation of a standardized dashboard for school-district financial and spending data and increases the initial appropriation for the project.

Senators debated whether to keep the bill as a study or require immediate dashboard development; committee members endorsed the latter and adopted an amendment provided by Representative O'Brien that converts the study into a policy implementation with a larger appropriation. Committee members discussed a phased rollout to accommodate districts with limited technical resources.

Committee members noted the original bill language included a $97,000 appropriation for a study; the O'Brien amendment replaces that with a larger, implementation-oriented appropriation. Committee discussion referenced slide materials estimating year-one implementation costs and vendor estimates (cited from Oracle and IT partners) that approach $500,000 for initial development depending on phasing and scope. One senator said the necessary data already exists at the local level but that districts lack a uniform, digestible system to present it: \"We haven't provided a system that makes that easily digestible, reportable,\" Senator Axman said, arguing the committee should not wait two years for a study to finish when tools could be deployed sooner.

The committee approved the O'Brien amendment on a recorded vote of 6 yeas, 0 nays. The committee then voted 6–0 to give HB 1329 a due-pass recommendation and re-refer it to the Appropriations Committee. Senator Moshe was recorded as the bill carrier out of committee.

Members discussed phasing options (for example, by district size) and coordinated review with the Department of Public Instruction, school-board organizations, county officials, and the Secretary of State's office. The committee also discussed that the dashboard's modernized data collection could later streamline other reporting requirements for districts.

The matter now goes to Appropriations for fiscal review and potential funding allocation.","Committee accepted an amendment by Representative O'Brien to require a public dashboard of school financial data, increased implementation funding to $500,000, and referred House Bill 1329 to Appropriations by unanimous vote.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6092859,"Senate Education Committee amends and advances House Bill 1540 to create education savings accounts",1344,406000,1750000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2852042-4b9eaa0d02fafd5ec2a3ec46c3e8a083&start=406&end=1750","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2852042-4b9eaa0d02fafd5ec2a3ec46c3e8a083/thumbnail_406000.jpg","/articles/6092859/North-Dakota/Senate-Education-Committee-amends-and-advances-House-Bill-1540-to-create-education-savings-accounts","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6092859-f479f4dd074cf9f6e0c4d35a29429ea5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771121885&Signature=LzY65Bo0LzhzEv0zs53Rcj6J21IyUQYnJlRL~PuW1t5JQEMriguCvGF2cGmQS815NLw025QNr3aoxwRr7Xu1xVp~s3rfLadSx~RPADJN9C2KR5jBgrPj7eP8Ps1UELtPndOYXJkqSK~MDqZ60AzwnT571TWpQjp2a1QIvn55MirbcmnSX3R~4BvpMoUARUExlb4hjeiVptDdUSET9fsYbXwGSloi3maOcLJ9lt6Xdg0ajMipGTx000Gp-7MAm5FRbKvg~jON4F35bKAHxLrTVdsvIvwbbSYU4VG27ll-fhdBpFohmkPAuXadFnoUvUKmUih1YJfUxchE84yUBI7A5w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Education Committee on a voice vote amended and moved House Bill 1540, a bill to establish education savings accounts (ESAs) for eligible students, to the Appropriations Committee.

Senator Wabamont, who presented the amendment, told the committee that the changes respond to conversations held the previous day and aim to clarify eligibility and administrative roles. \"Based on the discussion we had yesterday, we made a couple more adjustments to, the amendment for House Bill 15 40,\" he said.

The amendment (4003) and the revised bill make several substantive changes: they state that participation is available \"regardless of household income,\" narrow some references to \"English language arts,\" remove homeschool references, and shift responsibility for approving certain expenses and audits to an administrator qualified by the Bank of North Dakota. The bill language nominates the Bank of North Dakota as the state entity that will qualify or contract an administrator, adopt rules under chapter 28-32 governing appeals and rulemaking, and manage deposits and refunds. The amended draft also allows the bank to bar participating schools or providers that fail to meet established standards, with an appeal pathway under chapter 28-32.

On testing and accountability, the amendment removes a clause that would have required the Department to pay assessment costs if a parent selected the state assessment; instead the participating (nonpublic) school will determine which assessments it uses and provide results to the Department of Public Instruction. The bill directs that aggregated assessment data provided to the Department may be limited to state assessment data when compatibility is an issue.

Committee discussion included procedural clarifications about administrator duties (for example, ensuring the Department is notified when a student graduates or terminates participation) and which costs or items qualify as permitted expenses. The amendment also struck duplicative language and made grammatical changes to use the term \"student\" consistently.

A committee member expressed substantive opposition during debate, arguing the program diverts state funding from public schools and can reduce per-pupil resources when students leave a district; that opposition was recorded without a named roll-call attribution in the transcript.

Actions taken in committee: the committee approved amendment 4003 on a recorded vote of 4 yeas and 2 nays. Following that, the committee voted to give HB 1540 a \"do pass\" recommendation as amended and to refer it to Appropriations; that motion also passed 4–2. Senator Wabamont was noted as the mover of the amendment and the due-pass motion, and Senator Gearhart seconded both motions.

The bill as amended now moves to the Appropriations Committee for consideration; the committee record shows a carrier will be identified to carry the bill forward in the full Senate.","The Senate Education Committee amended House Bill 1540 to define eligibility, assign administration to the Bank of North Dakota, and clarify program rules before voting to report the bill to appropriations.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senate committee recommends 'do not pass' on bill to restrict school use as polling sites

Senate committee adopts O'Brien amendment, boosts funding for school spending transparency dashboard

Senate Education Committee amends and advances House Bill 1540 to create education savings accounts