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[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair, House Education Committee)]: Great. You're live. Okay. This is House Education, Wednesday, April 22, continuing our discussion of Senate Bill two twenty seven, an act relating to creating immigration protocols in Vermont schools. We have an opportunity to hear, as we like to do, from a young person. Lorena, welcome. If you'd like to introduce yourself, and then we'd love to hear what you have to say about the bill S-two 27.
[Lorena (student, Colchester High School; Outright Vermont)]: Hi, my name's Arena, and I'm a student at Colchester High School here representing Outright Vermont. I'm here today to ask this committee to please support the passage of two twenty seven. I wanna speak from my experience as a student. I have close friends and people in my community who I see and interact with almost every day who come from an immigrant background. These are people who work hard, who prioritize their education, and who have gone out of their way to advocate for themselves and for others in our community. What stands out to me is that they are doing all this while also carrying a level of stress that many other students don't have to think about. There is a lot of uncertainty outside of school about their families and things that go far beyond what most of us deal with day to day. And they still show up. They participate, they lead, and they are constantly fighting for change. That takes a huge amount of strength. But it shouldn't have to be hard just to feel safe enough to learn. Schools should be a place where students don't have to divide their attention between their education and what might happen during or after it. This is why the bill matters. This bill would help students walk into school with more certainty that they are in a safe environment. It creates clear policies that school can follow and help connect students with trusted organizations that can provide support if they are dealing with immigration related concerns. That kind of support makes a real difference. It means students don't have to figure everything out on their own while also trying to succeed in school. I see how hard my friends and community members are already working just to be heard and feel safe. Supporting this bill is a way to meet them halfway and give them the sense of security they deserve. Thank you.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair, House Education Committee)]: Thank you very much. I often think about I think one of the big motivations for this bill is exactly what you're talking about, which is allowing students to feel more secure when they are at school and parents to feel more secure about sending their kids to school. But it doesn't necessarily They wouldn't see a change sort of in how the date unfolds. Do you think, I'm sorry, do you think that if we were to pass this bill and it became a law, that sort of the understanding of what this bill does would trickle down to the students who it's really designed to protect?
[Lorena (student, Colchester High School; Outright Vermont)]: Do I feel like it would affect the students or like?
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair, House Education Committee)]: No, just that they would be sort of aware that they could feel more secure in their school as a result of this.
[Lorena (student, Colchester High School; Outright Vermont)]: I 100% think so. Just knowing that there's actual like steps involved to keep them safe is more than what we have now, or a lot of schools have now.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair, House Education Committee)]: Thank you. And where are you a student?
[Lorena (student, Colchester High School; Outright Vermont)]: Colchester High School.
[Rep. Peter Conlon (Chair, House Education Committee)]: Great. Any other questions from the committee? Well said. Great, thank you, and thank you for taking the time and preparing a great statement for us, and it's very helpful. Thank you. Have a great rest of your day. Thank you. Thank you. All right, so if people are feeling comfortable, I'm happy to chat with folks offline or whatever, but we'll have Rick back at 03:30 and have vote if people are feeling ready for a vote at that point in time. But in the meantime, I'm happy to chat with folks. You're gonna report the bill, so you're probably happy to chat with folks so we can be prepared for 03:30. Does that sound okay, everybody? Are we gonna be off the floor, like, thirty? Yeah. Is that your flight case? Yeah, alright, great. So we've adjourned until Let's post remind ourselves what we've got going on.