CAPITOL "TEA"

There are just 24 days left in the 89th Regular Legislative Session. The House will meet this weekend for the first time this session to pass bills ahead of impending deadlines. The last day for House committees to report out bills is Monday, May 12 and the last day for the House to pass House bills is Thursday, May 15. At this point in the session, general House calendars are very long meaning many bills that are on the calendars for Wednesday and Thursday may not be passed by the deadline. So non-priority House bills that are not scheduled to be heard on the floor on or before Tuesday will very likely not make it out of the House. That said, dead bills can become zombie bills as members look to attach their bill language onto other similar bills. Stay tuned as we barrel toward the end of the session.

The Senate continues to work on their version of HB 2, the school funding bill. As a reminder, here is how each chamber's school funding plan looks as it passed out of their chamber:

BY

THE
NUMBERS

• 1,481 public education bills filed
  • 2 have been signed by the Governor
  • 4 have been sent to the Governor
  • 3 have passed both chambers
  • 166 have passed the original chamber
  • 113 have passed out of committee

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.

LEGISLATION HIGHLIGHTS

UPDATES ON MAJOR LEGISLATION

• HB 4 is the House’s priority legislation regarding assessment and accountability. The bill:
  • Replaces STAAR with a nationally norm-referenced, through-year progress monitoring system for math, reading, and science that:
    • Assesses TEKS
    • Provides user-friendly updates within 24 hours of the test
  • Eliminates standalone writing tests and limits testing to federally required subjects only.
  • Maintains annual A–F ratings for campuses and districts
  • Maintains the 3 domains of the A-F ratings framework
  • Incorporates local indicators aligned to legislative priorities to show a more complete picture:
    • Workforce development at all levels
    • Early childhood readiness
    • Student engagement in extra/co-curriculars
    • Advancement for high achievers
    • Quality teacher development
  • Finalizes all rules by July 15 each year
  • Changes lagging indicators (such as graduation rates and CCMR) to begin with incoming freshman class
  • Requires legislative approval for major accountability changes to domains and indicators
  • Introduces expedited court process for accountability disputes
• HB 6 (House Version/Senate Version) is the priority school discipline bill. It passed off the House floor and was heard in the Senate Education committee yesterday. The Senate version of the bill is similar to the House version, but does have some key differences:
  • Both versions of the bill:
    • Allow school districts to discipline students who receive special education services prior to a manifestation review, as long as the discipline does not result in a change in educational placement
    • Clarify that only out-of-school suspensions are limited to three days
    • Allow students in grade levels below third grad to be placed in out of school suspension for conduct that threatens the immediate health or safety of other students in the classroom or that results in repeated or significant disruption to the classroom
    • Allow a campus administrator to reassign a student from out-of-school suspension to in-school suspension if the parent requests the reassignment and demonstrates that the student will not have adequate supervision if placed in out-of-school suspension
    • Add certain offenses to the list of mandatory DAEP placements
    • Make conduct that would have been subject to a mandatory expulsion if it occurred on campus subject to a mandatory expulsion regardless of whether it occurs on campus
    • Allow school districts to expel students to a virtual DAEP and requires that students expelled to a virtual DAEP be provided access to instructional materials and necessary equipment to access virtual instruction
    • When placing a student in DAEP or expelling a student, require the development of an agreement by school district staff, the parent, and the student that outlines the responsibilities of the parent and the student
    • Allow school districts to obtain a court order requiring a parent to participate in a meeting to develop the agreement
    • Create an expedited process for a district to obtain a court order placing a student receiving special education services in a different placement if the district demonstrates that the student’s continued placement in the current setting is substantially likely to result in physical harm to the student or another person.
  • The House version of the bill also:
    • Adds a limit on in-school-suspensions of 10 days
    • Repeals the requirement to place students in DAEP for possessing, using, selling, or giving to another person, a vape
    • Requires a minimum DAEP placement of 30 days for assault or terroristic threat against a school employee
  • The Senate version of the bill also:
    • Prohibits districts from exempting themselves from requirements in Chapter 37 under a local innovation plan, including designating a campus behavior coordinator
    • Makes school employees immune from disciplinary action for reporting a violation of Chapter 37 or an action taken in good faith to remove a student from a classroom
    • Requires a single person to be designated as the campus behavior coordinator and adds monitoring responsibilities related to disciplinary referrals
    • Expands teacher authority to remove a student from their classroom without the need for documentation
    • Requires the creation of a return to class plan for a student who has been removed from a classroom by the teacher prior to the return of that student to the teacher’s classroom
    • Allows for an appeal of the students’ removal from the teacher’s classroom
    • Makes in-school suspension length unlimited, but requires review of an in-school suspension every 15 days
    • Allows a student to be placed in DAEP for engaging in disruptive activities or disruption of classes if the behavior is intentional and repeated
    • Adds kidnapping and burglary to the list of offenses that trigger a mandatory expulsion
    • Makes assault against a district employee or volunteer and the offenses of exhibiting, using, or threatening to exhibit or use a firearm subject to mandatory expulsion
    • Prohibits TEA from withholding state funding or imposing a penalty on school districts based on the number of students removed from a classroom
    • If provided by the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, requires school districts to offer access to those services to all students, but prohibits school districts from requiring students to access the services or from referring to those services without parental consent
• HB 7 is the House’s “parental rights” bill. It has been voted out of committee but has not yet been scheduled for consideration on the House floor. There is significant overlap between this bill and two senate bills. As a result, the chambers are continuing to work on the language and a floor amendment may further refine the legislation. The bill:
  • Creates an Office of the Inspector General for education and transfers some of the Commissioner’s authority regarding appeals of school board decisions to the OIG
  • Provides the OIG with authority to overturn local school board decisions that do not violate the law
  • Makes significant changes to school district grievance procedures, including by requiring school districts to consider the merits of a complaint regardless of whether the complaint was filed in accordance with the applicable procedures
  • Expands the “Do Not Hire Registry” to include non-certified school district staff and shortens reporting requirements related to allegations of sexual misconduct.
• HB 19 imposes new requirements on bond elections and debt issuance. The bill:
  • Caps a district’s bond capacity at 20% of its local tax collections, which get smaller and smaller as compression continues
  • Requires school districts to match their exact ballot allocation, preventing them from responding to changing needs and restricting their ability to complete projects that are more expensive than first estimated.
  • Makes it harder for school districts to pay off bonds early, even though paying them off early saves interest payments for taxpayers.
  • Forces districts to hold bond elections in November, eliminating the May option and reducing districts’ ability to choose the most cost-effective election date.
• HB 123 and SB 2252 are companion bills that address early literacy and numeracy instruction and intervention. The bills require the Commissioner to select a Kindergarten readiness assessment for use by all school districts and a list of assessments for use in K-2 to assess literacy and numeracy skills. The bills also impose a significant number of requirements related to early reading and math intervention, including required tutoring and training for teachers. The bills provide some funding for both the training and tutoring, but phases out funding for tutoring over time.
• SB 10 is the Senate’s priority legislation that would require school districts to put up a poster of the ten commandments in every classroom if the posters, or funds to purchase the posters, are donated to the school. The bill passed out of the House public education committee and is expected to pass the House.
• SB 11 is the Senate’s priority legislation related to providing for a time of prayer and reading a religious text at school for students and staff. The bill addresses something that is already a protected right under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, however, it creates several requirements around how the period of prayer or reading of religious text must be implemented. The bill was heard in the House Public Education Committee and is currently awaiting a vote of the committee.
• SB 13 is the Senate’s priority legislation regarding the purchasing of library books. The bill would establish School Library Advisory Councils, modeled after School Health Advisory Councils, to make recommendations regarding library books, including reviewing proposed purchases of new titles for school libraries. The bill also requires school boards to approve any purchases of new titles for school libraries, after a 30 day public review period. The bill was heard in the House Public Education Committee and is currently awaiting a vote of the committee.
• SB 2253 is Chairman Creighton’s priority legislation regarding teacher preparation. The bill limits the ability of school districts to hire uncertified teachers, revises teacher preparation pathways, and adds incentives for individuals to become certified teachers. Some of the provisions in SB 2253 were in HB 2 as introduced and then removed from the bill, though others remained. The bill is currently awaiting a hearing in the House Public Education Committee. At this time, it is not clear whether the provisions from SB 2253 will be added back into the Senate version of HB 2, or if this bill will move.

COMMITTEE HEARINGS NEXT WEEK

As we move past certain deadlines, committees in both chambers are now shifting to hearing the other chamber’s bills. Currently, there are 11 senate bills related to public education scheduled for a hearing next week.

HOUSE PUBLIC EDUCATION COMMITTEE

• SB 12 is the Senate’s priority “parental rights bill.” It is unclear at this time how this bill will be reconciled with HB 7. Review a full summary of this extensive legislation here.
• SB 226 allows a child who is living under a parental child safety placement agreement to establish residency with a letter from the Department of Family and Protective Services.
• SB 413 requires the minutes of a board meeting to describe the votes of the board members on any item the board voted on, and requires the minutes and any resolutions to be posted within 7 days after the meeting. The bill also requires all school board meetings to be recorded and made available to the public within 7 days of the meeting.
• SB 1049 requires school districts to excuse absences of students to attend a course in religious instruction offered by a private entity for a maximum of 5 hours per week.
• SB 1191 requires the Commissioner to develop a standard method for calculating grade point averages and requires the average to include equal weights for AP, IB, dual credit, and OnRamps courses.
• SB 2398 requires TEA to develop a list of non medical academic accommodations a school district may offer to a student diagnosed with a concussion or other brain injury; requires the agency to develop a form for use by school districts describing the accommodations; requires school districts to adopt concussion response protocols for students who sustain a concussion outside of athletic activity

OTHER PUBLIC EDUCATION BILLS IN HOUSE COMMITTEES

• SB 427 makes municipalities and school districts that fail to file or publish annual financial reports as required ineligible for state loans or grants and provides an exception if the failure to publish is the result of a disaster.
• SB 546 requires all model 2018 or later buses to be equipped with 3-point seat belts unless the Board determines that the district can only afford to have two-point seat belts. If the Board determines the district cannot afford to equip buses with three-point seat belts, the bill requires the school district to report, by the end of the 2025-2026 school year, information related to the number of buses without three-point seat belts and the amount of financial assistance needed to equip buses.
• SB 965 prohibits school districts from limiting an employee's engagement in religious speech or prayer unless doing so is narrowly tailored using the least restrictive means necessary to achieve a compelling governmental purpose.
• SB 1453 clarifies that the I&S rate to maintain revenue rate is the rate that would provide the minimum dollar amount required to be paid to service the district's debt. The bill also redefines current debt service to be only the minimum amount required to be paid to service outstanding debt.
• SB 2623 relates to the provision of services to individuals experiencing homelessness near schools. The bill:
  • Establishes a safe schools and neighborhood task force to identify facilities providing navigation services to individuals who are homeless within 1,500 feet of a school safety zone;
  • Prohibits a service provider from providing the following services to individuals experiencing homelessness within 1,500 feet of a school campus: assistance to access shelter, meals, medical care, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, employment resources, housing placement, and other services necessary for reintegration to stable living;
  • Provides an exception that if the service provider demonstrates to the task force that the provision of services does not impact the school district, a service provider may provide services not closer than 300 feet to a school campus.

SENATE COMMITTEES

The Senate rules only require 24 hours’ notice to post committee hearings. While many committees have posted their notices further in advance, the end of session usually results in shorter notice as committees race to hear bills. As a result, no Senate Committees hearing education bills have posted hearings for next week at this time

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