House Education committee approves S 227 draft directing AG to publish immigration resource guide

The House Education committee approved a final draft of S 227 on April 24, directing the state attorney general to create an immigration resource guide in consultation with the Agency of Education and to send annual updates to AOE for distribution to all superintendents and heads of schools.

Rick Segal of Legislative Council reviewed draft 3.4 for the committee, saying, "Subdivision B, the office of the AG shall review the guide at least once annually and send any updates made to the guide to the agency of education for distribution to all superintendents and schools." Segal said the draft also adds language requiring development and annual review of a model policy and recommended procedures that reflect requirements related to law enforcement and student privacy, and that the prior sentence obligating superintendents to develop and implement procedures was removed.

The draft sets a deadline for the immigration resource guide to be sent to AOE for distribution to superintendents and school leaders by 08/31/2026 and changes the effective date language so the bill would take effect upon passage and the governor's signing, rather than a fixed July 1 date.

After a brief opportunity for questions, the chair asked for a motion to approve S 227, version 3.4. The clerk called the roll; the transcript records affirmative votes from representatives Bridal, Brown, Joshua Dobrevich, Hartwell, Hunter, Emily Long, Case Long, Morgan, Quindy, and Chair Cottman. The clerk recorded the measure as approved by the committee.

Legislative Council staff said they would provide a clean copy of the finalized draft. The committee indicated it would be in session until 11 a.m. and prepared to move the bill to the floor for further consideration.

The committee's approval reflects changes that shift implementation responsibilities toward the attorney general and the Agency of Education and remove an earlier requirement that superintendents adopt and implement local procedures. The committee did not record any debate overturning those structural changes in the final vote.