Select Page

The Senate Education Committee called a floor meeting April 28, during which members voted out the following bills. Testimony on most of these bills was heard in either the committee’s April 22 or April 27 hearing:

  • CSSB 123 by Sen. Nathan Johnson would require the State Board of Education to integrate social and emotional skills into the TEKS for K-12, beginning with the 2021-2022 school year.
  • CSSB 168 by Sen. Cesar Blanco would establish active shooter drill requirements for school districts and charter schools that choose to implement such drills.
  • SB 180 by Sen. Eddie Lucio would strengthen the training that educators and principals in order to better serve and better educate students with disabilities.
  • SB 325 by Sen. Royce West would allow a district to expand a school based health center to include delivery of mental health services, including mental health education, and more.
  • CSSB 348 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst would grant parents authority under law to observe virtual instruction and review any teaching or instructional materials, or other teaching aids provided to the parent’s child while the child is participating in virtual or remote learning.
  • CSSB 998 by Sen. Bryan Hughes would allow Rusk County to order an election on revoking the county equalization tax under the procedures that governed such elections when the equilization tax was initially adopted.
  • SB 1082 by Sen. Donna Campbell would permit parents to review any curriculum materials used in human sexuality instruction provided to students and would also allow a parent to request that any instructional materials used in teaching human sexuality be sent home with the student upon parent request. Additionally, parents must be notified of their right to review curriculum materials. Finally, the bill would repeal the requirement that schools make all curriculum materials used for human sexuality instruction available for reasonable public inspection.
  • CSSB 1171 by Sen. Larry Taylor relating to the electronic administration of assessment instruments in public schools and to certain measures to support Internet connectivity for purposes of those assessment instruments. Testimony was heard on this bill on March 25. A new substitute was voted on by the committee.
  • CSSB 1232 by Taylor would create the Permanent School Fund Investment Management Organization and would transfer the responsibility for investing and managing the Permanent School Fund along with all powers, duties, functions, and programs of the Permanent School Fund to the organization, instead of the State Board of Education. Testimony was heard on this bill on April 15. 
  • CSSB 1444 by Taylor would authorize TRS to establish a regional rating method for determining premiums charged in different regions of the state for the benefits provided under a plan of group coverage established under the program. The bill would permit risk pools established under Chapter 172, Local Government Code with school district members to participate in the Texas School Employees Uniform Group Health Coverage.
  • SB 1792 by West would require school districts to establish a leave pool that has at least one day of personal leave per district employee in it. Employees must be allowed to voluntarily contribute to the leave pool.
  • CSSB 2023 by Powell would create the Texas Tutor Corps Program that would develop and support a statewide network of tutors as well as provide grants to certain qualifying school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. The bill includes several other provisions contingent on allocation of ESSER funds.
  • CSSB 2081 by Sen. Jose Menendez would require that pre-K classrooms maintain a ratio of no less than one certified teacher or teacher’s aide for each 11 students. The bill would permit the commissioner to exempt a district from this requirement, provided that the school district apply for the exemption no later than October 1 or the 30th day after the first school day that the district exceeds the required ratio.