(Mouse over the above slideshow and then click on the arrows to flip through photos from the event.)
Several hundred school board members and school administrators participated in the TASA/TASB Legislative Conference February 18, 2025, at the Downright Austin Hotel.
Major Issues Named by House Public Education Committee Chair
TASB President Rolinda Schmidt, a Kerrville ISD trustee, interviewed House Public Education Committee Chair Brad Buckley about the education issues he expects the Legislature to focus on this session.
School Funding
Buckley acknowledged the impact inflation has had on school districts and mentioned that a House bill on school funding would likely include an increase to the Basic Allotment (BA) to allow districts some flexibility in determining how to award teacher raises given different communities’ needs and challenges. He also mentioned the need for additional funding for special education and an expansion of the Teacher Incentive Allotment that would make it more accessible to smaller districts.
Student Discipline
Buckley talked about the need to reform Chapter 37 and said that he hears often that “it is time to give teachers more control in the classroom.” He said he expects the Legislature to include in that review of student discipline a look at vaping, in-school suspension, and student removal, among other things.
Early Childhood Education
Buckley addressed the importance of early childhood literacy and numeracy, and “getting a better handle on where our youngest students are” so we don’t miss “that ultimate launch point, the third grade.”
Chronic Absenteeism
Buckley said legislation has been filed that tries to address chronic absenteeism, which has become a major problem since the pandemic. He said there are different schools of thought on how to tackle that, including criminalizing it, which is the approach one bill that has been filed takes. But he also spoke about his bill from last session that allows districts to partner with nonprofits to take the softer approach of proactively going out and encouraging kids to come to school. He said that if your district has found a successful way of combating chronic absenteeism, he would like to hear about it.
Education Savings Accounts
Buckley said there would be a House ESA bill introduced this week that is like the Senate’s plan, but “prioritized in a different way,” to put first in line the students who have struggled the most, such as students receiving special education services and those from low-income families. “I think once we get vouchers out of the way, we’ll have a historic pro-public education session,” Buckley said.
School Safety
Buckley said that the Senate’s bill that doubles the school safety allotment to $200 million per year of the biennium will likely be the main bill on school safety, with a similar bill to be filed in the House.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Talks Funding, ESAs
Gov. Gov. Dan Patrick’s main points centered around public education being the largest portion of the state’s budget and the increases to that funding that have been made during his tenure. Patrick said that the Senate just passed a bill to raise the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, and that would benefit districts by “relieving pressure” on them to have to explain to taxpayers why their taxes are high.
Patrick said the Senate will pass a teacher pay bill that provides for a $2,500 increase for those who’ve taught for three years, $5,500 for those who’ve taught for five years, as well as an increase for teachers in rural districts. He said the bill would not raise the BA, but the $5 billion investment in teacher pay this session would “take the guardrails off” districts’ use of the BA, allowing them to use more of those funds on expenses other than teacher pay. (On the same day as this conference, SB 26 was referred to the Senate Committee on Education K-16, which will hold a hearing on it at 11 a.m., Thursday, February 20. See a summary of SB 26.)
Regarding ESAs, Patrick showed a graph representing the percentages of students attending various types of schools, with a projected 100,000 students using ESAs and 5.1 million students attending traditional public schools. “You don’t have to like it. I’m not trying to persuade you,” he said, “But your budget will be over $90 billion and $1 billion will go to school choice.” He added: “You have my commitment that we will always fund public schools,” noting that Texas has one of the biggest student populations so “we don’t have a choice.” Regarding an increase to the BA, Patrick said that while the state has a surplus now, there are not enough state funds each biennium to fund a large increase to the BA.
Reps. Talarico and Chairman VanDeaver Share their Perspectives
Martha Salazar-Zamora, TASA president and Tomball ISD superintendent, introduced the legislators and the panel moderator, Kevin Brown, TASA executive director. Chairman Gary VanDeaver, a former superintendent, and Rep. James Talarico, a former teacher, shared their viewpoints on several education issues before the 89th Legislature. VanDeaver said that increasing school funding via the BA “makes the most sense” as any increase to it would also trigger a teacher pay raise and also allow for local control. He said there is “less appetite” among lawmakers for a BA increase than he would like, however, and he urged trustees and administrators to share with lawmakers the impact an increase to the BA would have on their communities.
Regarding ESAs, VanDeaver said that any ESA legislation that passes the House must include “guardrails” to ensure such a program would not balloon into an expense that the state would not be able to fund in future years.
VanDeaver also spoke about a school safety bill he has filed that would give districts the option to fulfill the requirement of one officer per campus by hiring retired law enforcement officers and others.
Talarico expressed grave concerns about public education being under attack and encouraged trustees and school administrators to “double your efforts” in educating their communities about what will happen if school funding is not increased and the potential impact of ESAs on their local public schools. “Don’t push an agenda; don’t make it partisan. Just tell your constituents the truth,” he said.
Talarico also spoke about the importance of good classroom management and the need for educator preparation to return to including a focus on it to better equip teachers.
Other Insights into the 89th Session
Amy Beneski, TASA deputy executive director, Governmental Relations, and Kelly Rasti, TASB associate executive director of Governmental Relations, provided an overview that included the rosters of important House and Senate committees, major non-education topics of focus expected this session, and of course, the education issues to watch.
Beneski noted that Districts of Innovation should pay attention to any bills that may seek to eliminate their exemption from the law on school start dates and to contact their legislators to share the impact of eliminating DOIs’ flexibility in that area.
She also pointed out that bills have been filed that would make changes to when districts can seek bonds (prohibiting them for a certain period after a failed election) and that require supermajority votes to pass.
See their slide presentation for highlights.
