Maine Education Matters With Matt & Matt

Matt and Julie cover some bills that have been SIGNED INTO LAW, some more that are PASSED TO BE ENACTED, and a couple that are DEAD. Plus: Matt is victim to a conspiracy and Julie was the prime conspirator.

Matt & Julie review the few bills that have VOTES in the House and/or Senate. 4 Vaccination-based bills (all basically dead), 1 IEP--based bill (moving on up #Jeffersons), and 1 PEPG bill (that would delay evaluations for the 21-22SY). Plus: Matt sends the podcast deep into the ethereal plane, and Julie tries to dive into the mind of one of the Ed Committee members.BIG shoutouts to @TableTopAudio for the sounds, and @PLearnMC for being an amazing podcast and good friends.Oh, and Matt ate a guinea pig.

Matt & Julie talk about previous curriculum mandates, new curriculum mandates, a process to oversee curriculum mandates... and more! We review Work Session votes from the week of May 17, 2021. Plus: Matt names his summer drink, and Julie starts off with an apology.

Matt & Julie are back with a review of work sessions from May 11+12. Highlights include a wild public hearing on LD 550 (Prohibiting Teachers from Engaging in Political, Ideological or Religious Advocacy in the Classroom), a #LadySmythSmackdown on bulling (yup... bulling), and a conversation on the 1,040 pieces of testimony that could only be related to one topic and one topic alone: immunizations and vaccinations. PLUS: Matt goes on a tangent and Julie lays some blame.

Matt & Julie recap another week in the Ed Committee that would make Hobbs and Shaw proud! #fastandfurious They look at all of the bills that were voted on by the committee during the week of May 3, 2021 and (#spoileralert) there were A LOT! Plus, they preview May 10 & May 13 public hearings. Plus: Matt forgets to tee up #LadySmythShoutOuts and fully expects to get the smackdown at our next recording!

Matt and Julie return to discuss a couple of weeks of committee votes, and to preview some upcoming hearing days: May 4: Safety/Bullying; May 5: Curriculum Mandate Day; May 6: It's Baaaaaaaaack...... It's All Immunizations and Vaccinations! Buckle up and get ready, folks!

Matt and Julie are BACK after a crazy couple of weeks to do a full-on BLITZ of recent work sessions. The dynamic duo covers work sessions from March 29, April 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, and 14... AND preview a couple of upcoming bills and work sessions that they're looking forward to... AND some #LadySmythShoutOuts!

Matt & Julie review testimony and work session reviews from March 29 & April 2. Matt also tries his hand at shoutouts, and Julie smacks down Matt... 2 twice! #spellingmatters

Matt and Julie preview 3 DAYS of upcoming public hearings: April 5, 7, and 9! Plus: Matt drops a RANDOM and VERY deep cut early '90s heavy metal reference, and Julie shares her love and appreciation for several members of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Matt & Julie preview Public Hearings on March 29 and April 2. Lots of School Board-focused bills on the 29th, and an old friend (?) begins to resurface on April 2. Plus: Matt tries to listen to his therapist and #LadySmythShoutOuts!

Matt and Julie break down the work session and public hearings from March 22 & 24, covering bills on Lifetime teaching certificates, 30-minute lunch periods, and a very aggressive bill about school sports and funding. Plus: Matt and Julie are taking applications and resumes for a new association, AND we learned that #LadySmythSmackdowns comes with a real price! Thanks for listening!

Things are super busy at the Ed Committee, as on March 17 they held a Worksession (4 Bills) and a Public Hearing (5 Bills)... and we listen, so you don't have to! Big topics on this episode: the SAT and Maine, Task Forces and March Madness brackets, and CTE!!! We also have callbacks to a previous host, including some amazing Fast & Furious and Borgnine talk!

Matt & Julie review testimony from the March 8 public hearing, and preview the March 17 public hearing (aka CTE day!). Plus: #LadySmythShoutOuts! #WeListenSoYouDontHaveTo"

Matt & Julie review the Worksession & Public Hearing Testimony from March 3, and preview the public hearings on March 8 and 12. Plus: Matt cringes, and Julie says "chutzpah" a bunch. A #LadySmythShoutOut and the first #LadySmythSmackdown... and it's ... ruff.

Matt & Julie review the work session votes and public hearing testimony from February 24; preview the March 3 public hearing, and take a quick look at some education bills going through some of the other committees. Plus: Matt wins a bet, Julie becomes protective, #LadySmythShoutOuts, AND the beginning of #LadySmythSmackdowns!

Matt & Julie review work session votes and testimony from the 2/17 Ed committee meetings. Plus: a wordsmithing gauntlet was thrown, and the challenge accepted. And then almost immediately failed. Also: lots of off-topic nonsense. #onbrand

Matt & Julie preview the Feb 17, 2021 Work Session and Public Hearing, looking at bills focusing on State/State's share of health insurance (LDs 84/293), establishing a committee to review instruction and curriculum mandates (LD 278), creating grants for computer science instruction professional development (LD 127), and reading proficiency (LD 138). Plus: Julie makes a bet and Matt chooses a Maserati... and #LadySmythShoutOuts!

Matt & Julie review testimony from the Feb8 Public Hearing. #SummerSchool grant pilot program (#LD44), eliminating prior approval for religious holiday absences (#LD55), and creating procedures for reporting concussions (#LD104). Plus: Matt makes a confession and #LadySmythShoutOuts! #ThankABill

Matt & Julie preview the February 8 Public Hearing: LD 44 (An Act To Establish the Summer Success Pilot Program Fund), LD 55 (An Act To Protect Minority Religious Groups by Eliminating the Prior Approval Requirement for a School Absence for a Recognized Religious Holiday), and LD 104 (An Act To Protect the Health of Student Athletes by Requiring the Establishment of Procedures To Report Concussions). Plus: Lady Smyth Shout-Outs, and Matt admits to being a terrible human being.

Matt & Julie do some updates from the DOE and talk about the extensive orientations the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee just went through. Plus, there are some spreadsheet updates AND a brand new segment: Lady Smythe Shout-Outs!