LEGISLATION HIGHLIGHTS

SENATE EDUCATION K-16 COMMITTEE

This was yet another major week for public education legislation as the Senate Education K-16 Committee held a hearing on several bills, including some of the Lieutenant Governor’s priorities.

• SB 12, dubbed the parental bill of rights for public education, addresses prohibitions on DEI practices, parental engagement policies, grievance policies, and open-enrollment. The bill:
  • Defines and prohibits DEI practices related to hiring, promoting differential treatment and developing policies, procedures or training programs (also in SB 1565 which was heard in the hearing as a standalone bill)
  • Establishes a required open enrollment policy for districts across the state in which districts are required to accept applications and fill all available positions for which they have capacity by a lottery and prioritize students in a specific order
  • Requires districts to develop a plan for parental participation and a parental engagement policy to address specific issues
  • Requires districts to adopt procedures to ensure parents are notified of changes in services provided, monitoring, or health screenings related to of a student's mental, emotional, physical health or well-being
  • Requires uniform grievance policies and timelines that would allow a parent to file a grievance up to six school weeks after a parent receives notice of an incident and requires districts to issue a decision within 14 school business days of the initial receipt of the grievance or an appeal
  • Establishes a grievance hearing examiner position at TEA to hear grievances after a parent has exhausted the local grievance options
  • Requires districts to obtain written consent of a parent before a student may be provided with human sexuality instruction that may not be included with any other notification or request and must be sent at least 14 days prior to the instruction (also in SB 371 which was heard in the hearing as a standalone bill)
  • Prohibits districts from providing or allowing a third party to provide instruction, guidance, activities, or programming regarding sexual orientation or gender identity to students
  • Requires districts to adopt a policy that provides for at least two opportunities for in-person conferences during each school year between each parent of a child and the child’s teachers
• SB 13 establishes provisions related to school libraries. Read a full summary here.
• SB 686 establishes a required open enrollment policy for districts across the state in which districts are required to accept applications and fill all available positions for which they have capacity by a lottery and prioritize students in a specific order. The bill defines capacity by the total number of students that may be admitted based on the most recent district facility plan less the students who are currently enrolled at that campus and allows districts to deny or revoke transfers for specific disciplinary reasons and to revoke a transfer for attendance issues.
• SB 204 requires trustees to complete training on the rights of a parent regarding the education of their child and requires TEA to develop a handbook explaining parental rights regarding education of their child
• SB 609 requires school districts to act in accordance with a policy adopted as a result of any requirement of law that imposes a duty to adopt a policy. This would also expand the Commissioner’s authority in appeals of school board decisions related to alleged violations of required school board policy.
• SB 400 requires districts to obtain signed written consent prior to conducting a psychiatric examination or a psychological or psychiatric treatment and defines psychological or psychiatric examination and treatment.
• SB 813 requires each ESC to establish a grievance board that has concurrent jurisdiction with the commissioner to hear grievances from anyone residing in the regional boundaries of the ESC that involve an action or decision by a board of trustees, the school laws of the state, or a provision of an employment contract of district employee if the violation would cause monetary harm to the employe if the aggrieved has exhausted their options under the local grievance procedure. The bill also identifies required timelines, processes, and composition of the grievance board.
• The Committee also heard SJR 12 establishing a constitutional right of a parent to direct the upbringing of their child and SB 112 which clarifies the parental right to records includes electronic records.

SENATE STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

The Senate State Affairs Committee also held a hearing on SB 19 which prohibits political subdivisions, including school districts, from spending funds to hire or contract with lobbyists or to pay associations that primarily represent political subdivisions and hire or contract with lobbyists.

Finally, SB 27 was filed today which is the Lieutenant Governor’s priority legislation regarding teacher rights and protections.

HOUSE PRIORITY LEGISLATION

On the House side, the Speaker’s priority property tax relief legislation was filed and scheduled for a hearing in the House Ways & Means Committee on Monday, March 3 at 10:00 am.

• HB 8 reduces the school district maximum compressed rate by 3.31 cents.
• HB 9, and the accompanying constitutional amendment, HJR 1, would exempt the first $250,000 of appraised value of business personal property from property taxation.
• HB 22 exempts all intangible personal property from property taxation.

The new permanent standing Subcommittee on Academic & Career-Oriented Education of the House Public Education Committee will hold its first meeting on March 5 at 2:00 pm to hear two bills.

• HB 20 creates an applied sciences pathway program administered by the Commissioner of Education. The program would include Commissioner-approved partnerships between school districts and institutions of higher education to provide dual credit courses for high school graduation and completion of a certificate program.
• HB 120 creates a grant program for school districts to establish JROTC programs and makes JROTC programs approved CTE programs. The bill also creates a high school advising program and provides $50,000 per advisor, increases the P-TECH allotment to $150 from $50 and bases it on enrollment instead of average daily attendance, provides additional funding for Rural Pathway Excellence Partnership Programs, and increases the New Instructional Facilities Allotment by $50 million.

You can watch the hearings live here or watch here after the hearings.

BY

THE
NUMBERS

• 5,294 total bills filed

• 965 public education bills filed

• 118 bills related to property tax

• 100 bills related to school district governance

• 83 bills related to school finance

Bills are prioritized based on the expected impact to the district or the level of public attention garnered by the bill, not based on the preferences of the district. High priority bills are either a state leadership priority, related to a Plano ISD legislative priority, would require significant resources to implement a change in district policy, practice, or procedures, or would otherwise significantly impact the district.

CAPITOL "TEA"

The Senate has been moving at a breakneck pace this session and several members and staffers have remarked on the speed comparing February to the pace at which March or April usually move during session. However, the House, because of its limitations and the lack of a known speaker until the first day of session, is moving slower. House committees began meeting this week and the House public education committee had its organizational meeting this week hearing from the Texas Education Commissioner who provided similar testimony to what he has provided in previous hearings.

Additionally, the House has scheduled three additional hearings over the next two weeks providing significant notice on the two top education priorities for the Speaker, HB 2, the House school funding bill and HB 3, the House ESA bill. The House Public Education Committee will hear invited testimony on HB 2 on March 4 at 8:00 am and public testimony on HB 2 on March 6 at 8:00 am. The committee will hold a single hearing for all testimony on HB 3 on March 11 at 8:00 am.

You can watch the upcoming Texas House hearings live here or watch them here after the hearing.

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