Capitol Watch Alert Archive
Senate Committees Announced for 87th Legislature
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced Senate committee assignments for the 87th Legislature on Friday, January 15. They include: Senate Committee on Education Larry Taylor, Chair Eddie Lucio, Jr., Vice Chair Paul Bettencourt Bob Hall Bryan Hughes José Menéndez Angela...
Day 1 of the 87th Legislative Session
The 87th Texas Legislature convened at noon January 12, 2021, with Department of Public Safety troopers in heavy attendance and full gear outside and throughout the Capitol and rapid COVID-19 testing tents set up at the north (the only public) entrance. After working...
TASA/TASB Urge Governor to Prioritize School Personnel for Vaccine
As noted in our December 11 Capitol Watch Alert, TASA has partnered with the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) to submit a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott and the COVID-19 Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel asking that they keep school personnel in mind when...
Contact Your Legislator about Extending Funding Hold Harmless Today
TASA, along with 22 other organizations, sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott on December 15, 2020, that urged him to extend the provision in TEA guidance that provides assurances of 100 percent ADA funding for the remaining 18 weeks of the 2020-21 school year for both...
In Support of School Personnel as Frontline Workers for Purposes of Vaccine Distribution
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a tremendous amount of uncertainty and hardship for school personnel, students, and families across the state. As the distribution of vaccines approaches, TASA is joining other education stakeholder groups in asking state and federal...
Senate State Affairs Committee Hears Testimony on Efforts to Ban Community Advocacy
The Senate State Affairs Committee met Tuesday, December 8, 2020, to hear invited testimony only on the interim charge that seeks to censor local governmental entities from having a voice at the Texas Capitol. The first to testify was James Quintero with the Texas...
TASA, Other Education Groups Urge Preservation of Members’ Representation at the Capitol
TASA and a number of other statewide education groups submitted a joint letter to the Senate State Affairs Committee on December 7, 2020, in advance of the committee's December 8 meeting on an interim charge related to "how governmental entities use public funds for...
Senate Education Committee Meeting 11/13/20
The Senate Committee on Education met Friday, November 13, 2020, to hear invited testimony on interim charges related to digital learning, special education, monitoring of legislation passed during the 86th legislative session, and best practices for providing...
Post-Election Look at Texas Legislature and SBOE
Although the winner of the presidential election is still unknown, we do have some definitive answers as to who won legislative races in the Texas statehouse. The party makeup of the 87th Legislature will look very similar to that of the 86th. The Senate will have 18...
News & Information Related to COVID-19
The following is a compilation of information and resources related to COVID-19 collected from state and federal sources, followed by a list of event changes/postponements/cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This page is updated daily. Also see our Remote...
SBOE Vetoes 3 Charters, Allows 5
At the State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting Friday, September 11, 2020, the board took final action on Commissioner of Education Mike Morath's list of proposed Generation 25 Open-Enrollment Charter Schools. By taking “no action” on any of the eight proposed...
SBOE to Consider New Charter Applications September 11
Please Contact your SBOE Member! On Friday, September 11, the State Board of Education will vote on eight new charter school applications — representing 18 new campuses across the state — that have been approved by Commissioner of Education Mike Morath. The charter...
TASA Statement on Texas Schools’ Need for Clarity, Consistency and Local Control for the 2020-2021 School Year
The start of the 2020-2021 school year is going to be difficult because of COVID-19. In spite of all the planning and expenditures for safety measures that Texas school districts have undergone with the help of the state, there are cases of COVID-19 in many...
TEA Announces Additional Reopening Guidance, Including Local Option for an Online-Only Start to the 2020-21 School Year
On July 7, TEA released public health planning guidance for the 2020-21 academic year. Given the latest developments around COVID-19, TEA is issuing important updates to the guidance today, July 17. School systems will now be able to temporarily limit access to...
TASA + 11 Education Organizations Ask Governor to Consider 5 Recommendations
On Wednesday, July 15, TASA, along with 11 other education organizations, sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott emphasizing that "the health and safety of the 5.4 million schoolchildren and more than 600,000 district employees is of paramount concern to the members of our...
Public Comment Open on New School Facilities Standards Drafted by TASA Committee
Public comment on proposed commissioner's rules on new school facilities standards is now open. The proposed revisions would remove an obsolete rule, provide an end date for the current school facilities standards rule, and create a new rule to implement the safety...
AASA Requests Superintendents’ Signatures of Support for E-Rate Funding
TASA's national affiliate, AASA, is requesting signatures of support from superintendents in Texas and throughout the U.S. to urge Congress to ensure that the next COVID-19 funding package includes $4 billion in direct funds to the Federal Communications Commission’s...
Governor Closes Texas Schools through End of 2019-20 School Year
Gov. Greg Abbott issued several executive orders April 17, including one that closes all Texas schools to in-person student attendance for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, as it "would be unsafe to allow students to gather." He noted that teachers are...
Comptroller Gives Insight on State Economy and Budget Outlook
Comptroller Glenn Hegar sat down with Ross Ramsey of The Texas Tribune April 7, 2020, to talk about the state of the Texas economy and its possible impact on the state budget. During the interview Hegar was not shy about using the term “recession” in describing the...
Senate Finance Committee to Meet March 24
The Senate Finance Committee will meet Tuesday, March 24, 2020, at 10 a.m. to hear invited and public testimony on several interim charges, which include: Information Technology: Review the state's major information technology infrastructure. Examine cybersecurity...