The House Public Education Committee will meet at 8 a.m., Tuesday, May 9, to hear testimony on the following bills, many of which have already been passed by the Senate:
- HB 45 (Christina Morales) requires ethnic studies, including Mexican-American and African-American, instruction in K-12 public schools.
- HB 4756 (Gervin-Hawkins) requires TEA to establish, in collaboration with faith-based nonprofit organizations, a program for the development and operation of community-based learning centers in various school districts to provide students who qualify for compensatory education with access to: technology, tutoring services, mentoring services, social and emotional support, outdoor activities, art, sports, and more.
- HB 5181 (Hinojosa) requires that when the commissioner of education review the indicators of the state accountability system for public schools for the consideration of appropriate revisions, that he/she ensure a cut score necessary for a district to receive an “A.” This bill was added to the agenda May 5.
- SB 9 (Creighton, et al.) is the main “teachers’ bill of rights bill.” TASA and TACS provided written testimony on the bill when it was in committee, prior to being voted on in the full Senate. As passed by the Senate Education Committee, it provides a $6,000 pay raise for teachers in school districts with fewer than 20,000 students and an additional $2,000 for teachers in school districts with more than 20,000 students. SB 9 also increases allotments of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program, allows TEA to provide technical assistance for the TIA program, provides grants to retire/rehire teachers to offset certain TRS costs, adds children of teachers to those eligible for full-day pre-K, expands the teacher mentor allotment, strengthens teacher residency programs, and sets up protections for teacher contracts and student disciplinary plans. This is the text of the engrossed bill (as approved by the full Senate).
- SB 163 (Campbell, et al.) repeals the expiration date of August 1, 2024, from the written notice opt-in requirement for students to receive sexual education.
- SB 1131 (Blanco) authorizes the governing body of an ISD (in a county that borders the United Mexican States and that has a population of at least 450,000 and not more than 870,000) that holds its general election for officers on a date other than the November uniform election date to change the date on which it holds its general election for officers to the November uniform election date.
- SB 1630 (Bettencourt) is Sen. Bettencourt’s truancy bill. It requires each school district to establish and implement an attendance policy to inform parents and students at the beginning of the school year regarding the importance of attending school. It requires the school to adopt a notification system to notify parents whenever there is an excused or unexcused absence via text, email, or first-class mail. It also requires a meeting between a parent of a student enrolled in the district or school with a school counselor, principal, or appropriate administrator at the school when a student violates the established attendance policy. Lastly, it requires schools to establish guidelines to identify students in need of additional support and refer the student to in-school or out-of-school services aimed at addressing their failure to attend school regularly.
- SB 1720 (Kolkhorst) allows an individual reporting a threat of violence, etc., to elect to keep their identity confidential, except as necessary for the threat assessment team, district, or law enforcement. This bill was added to the agenda May 9.
- SB 2482 (Menéndez, et al.) creates a survey intended to be sent to superintendents, social studies and language arts curriculum coordinators, and principals to understand the utilization of Holocaust Remembrance Week. The bill is intended to help bridge resources available from the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission and inform long-term education and policy initiatives.
- SCR 9 (Springer) designates the first full week in April as Gifted and Talented Students Week for a 10-year period ending in 2033.
Find information on in-person testifying.
Find information on submitting comments related to agenda items electronically.
Watch a live broadcast of the hearing on Tuesday.
