Policy

The Minnesota Department of Education created an online portal Thursday where people can report whether President Trump’s executive order to close the U.S. Department of Education affects local school communities.

Two bills now under consideration could change who gets to ride so-called electric-assisted bikes and similar conveyances. Some elected officials support letting kids as young as 12 ride e-bikes, with additional safety regulations.

House Bill 241 would bar new enrollment limits on virtual schooling programs until 2028. Critics say the legislation is another way to devote taxpayer funds to programs other than public schools.

The Florida State Appropriations Committee has proposed a bill that would create the Agency for State Systems and Enterprise Technology and replace the existing IT agency, the Florida Digital Service, by June 2026.

From IT decentralization to education spending transparency, state legislators are looking to cut waste, improve oversight and reshape agency responsibilities. Bills address tech, cybersecurity, procurement and outdated language.

The governor and lawmakers propose closing a state budget deficit in part by taxing large website and cloud computing providers. The state Senate minority leader questioned how the economy can grow if innovation is stifled.

Contrary to promises that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) would not be affected by cuts, the data-collecting agency was stripped of the vast majority of its workforce.

The Loveland City Council has approved a new technology fee on building permits that will generate enough revenue to pay annual maintenance costs and a new IT employee to support it.

A Request for Information in February on the federal “Development of an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan” has garnered responses from a variety of industry and public-sector stakeholders offering recommendations.

Enrollment in state work release can rise above 350 during the year. It now stands at 166 people, 12 of whom work remote. Lawmakers are considering a monthly fee for the laptops provided.

Like other state legislatures around the country, the Illinois General Assembly in the last couple of years has grappled with how to address a rapidly evolving technology that replicates human intelligence.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy conditionally vetoed a bill Monday that would criminalize the production and dissemination of deepfakes, which are deceptive, AI-generated images and videos.

The Georgia Senate is considering a bill that would ban cellphones in elementary and middle schools. Lawmakers say restrictions for high schools may follow once today's younger students are used to going without phones.

The new venture is designed to cut fraud from local government vendor payments and give agencies more insights into their finances. Participants in the program paint this gov tech push as fitting into the "DOGE era."

The Gen Z representative who authored the bill, which would give local district leaders some control over their own policies, told colleagues she remembered how distracting phones were when she was in school.

Evan Feinman, director of the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, has stepped down. He offered advice to stakeholders to mitigate any impacts on states from its pause.

Minnesota lawmakers are once again debating whether the state should lift a three-decade ban on new nuclear power plants in the state as a way to work toward a clean energy future.

Plus, Vermont has started work on its Digital Empowerment Plan; a new bill aims to prevent FCC from censoring broadcasters; Sonoma County, Calif., has approved offering some residents free Internet; and more.