The Appropriations - Education and Environment Division on Tuesday amended Senate Bill 2354 to remove a $300,000 appropriation intended to seed a Department of Public Instruction grant program to defray schools’ costs implementing new phone‑policy requirements. After approving the amendment, the committee voted to recommend the bill as amended to the full Senate.

Why it matters: the amendment removes a state appropriation tied to policy language that requires local school districts to develop phone policies. Supporters of the amendment said existing national research and association resources make the appropriation unnecessary and that policy decisions should remain local.

What happened in committee
Senator Michelle Axman, the bill sponsor, had described the measure as a framework requiring local phone‑policy development with stakeholder input; she explained the $300,000 originally appeared as part of an earlier compromise to allow some districts to apply for grants to defray equipment or storage‑pouch costs. During committee, Senator Shibley moved to remove the appropriation language (page 2, lines 18–19 in the bill draft). The motion was seconded and carried on a roll call of committee members.

Roll call and formal action
The roll call recorded on the amendment showed all committee members present voting “aye”: Chairman Sorvaug; Senator Connolly; Senator Thomas; Senator Shively; and Senator Meyer. Following the amendment, the committee then voted to give the amended Senate Bill 2354 a do‑pass recommendation. The do‑pass vote also recorded unanimous aye votes from the members present.

Next steps
Senator Shively (mover) will carry the amended bill to the policy committee and then to the Senate floor with the committee’s do‑pass recommendation. With the appropriation removed, the bill retains its policy requirement for districts to adopt local phone policies but does not include state funding to run a grant program.