Capitol Watch Alert Archive

The following bills were passed by the 87th Texas Legislature and have been sent to and/or signed by the governor. For bills sent to the governor within 10 days of final adjournment, the governor has until 20 days after final adjournment to sign the bill, veto it, or...

HB 1525 by Rep. Dan Huberty finally passed both chambers. What started out as a “cleanup” bill from the passage of HB 3 in 2019 ended up becoming a 64-page bill covering school finance and other public education matters. The bill is now on its way to the governor’s...

The Senate moved two major pieces of legislation impacting schools Wednesday, May 26. HB 1525, also known as the HB 3 cleanup bill, was passed out of the chamber with 23 amendments. Highlights of the bill as passed out of the Senate include: Removes the requirement...

The Senate passed HB 999 on the evening of Tuesday, May 25. As amended by the Senate, the bill provides that an individual graduation committee may determine that a student is qualified to graduate without considering performance on any end-of-course state assessment...

The Senate Education Committee met Monday, May 24, and voted out the following bills, which will now go to the full Senate: HB 332 by Rep. James Talarico would permit school districts and charters to use state compensatory education funds for social and emotional...

The Senate Education Committee met Friday and Saturday, May 21-22, to hear numerous bills previously passed by the House. On Saturday evening they voted out the following bills, which will now go to the full Senate for consideration: HB 1468 by Rep. Keith Bell, as...

The House Public Education Committee held a formal meeting at Chair Harold Dutton's desk May 19 and voted out the following Senate bills already passed by the full Senate: SB 123 by Sen. Nathan Johnson (11-0 vote) incorporates social and emotional learning...

The Senate Education Committee posted notice for its second hearing of the week, to be held at 9 a.m., Friday, May 21. The committee will hear testimony on the following bills: HB 572 Dutton SP: Lucio Would authorize a school district or open-enrollment charter school...

The Senate Education Committee met Tuesday, May 18. They heard testimony on a number of bills in the morning, then voted out the following, which includes most of the bills on which the committee heard testimony earlier in the day: HB 547 by Rep. James Frank would...

The House Public Education Committee met Tuesday, May 18. Testimony was heard on SB 1716 by Senate Education Committee Larry Taylor. The bill would make permanent the Supplemental Special Education Services (SSES) program created in January 2021 by state leadership...

The House Public Education Committee held a formal meeting Monday, May 17, and voted out the following bills, which will go to the full House for consideration: SB 359 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst would require that the opt-out form for the FAFSA adopted by school districts...

The Senate Education Committee has posted a public hearing notice for 9 a.m., Tuesday, May 18. The committee will hear testimony on the following bills: HB 750 Burns SP: Perry Would require a school district that has a website to post its district employment policy on...

The Senate Education Committee met May 13 to hear testimony on the following bills: Sen. Donna Campbell laid our her bill, SB 1083, which would make sex education an opt-in course that requires written permission from a parent/legal guardian before a student could...

The Senate Education Committee will meet at 9 a.m., Thursday, May 13, to hear testimony on the following bills: HB 129 González, Mary | et al., SP: Zaffirini Adds to the topics that should be covered under essential knowledge and skills related to "digital...

On May 11 the Senate Education Committee voted out a committee substitute to HB 1525, the HB 3 cleanup bill. Chair Larry Taylor noted that there is still room for work to be done on the bill prior to final passage. The chairman said that school districts will receive...

The House Public Education Committee held a formal meeting May 11 during which they voted out the following bills, sending them to the full House for consideration: SB 168 by Sen. Cesar Blanco (companion to HB 1016 by Rep. Claudia Ordaz Perez) requires a school...

The Senate Education Committee held a formal meeting May 10 during which they voted out the following bills, sending them to the full Senate for consideration: HB 773 by Rep. Gary VanDeaver. As filed, the bill would require TEA to include students who successfully...

The Senate Education Committee met May 6 to hear testimony on five bills: Chair Larry Taylor laid out a substitute for SB 2094. As substituted, it would: remove grade promotion requirements tied to STAAR tests for grades 5 and 8; establish accelerated learning...

The Senate Education Committee will meet at 9 a.m., Thursday, May 6, to hear testimony on the following bills. Two have already been passed by the full House: HB 690 Metcalf SP: Zaffirini As filed, HB 690 requires a school board member to complete training on school...