Tuesday: House Public Education Committee to Hear Bills on School Finance, Teacher Pay, Opioids & More

The House Public Education Committee will meet at 8 a.m., Tuesday, April 4, to hear testimony on eight bills, two of which include some similar provisions:

HB 11 (Dutton, et al.)	HB 100 (Ken King, et al.)
Changes the manner in which the basic allotment is calculated under the Foundation School Program to reflect a formula where the base amount is the greater of $6,210; an amount equal to the district’s base amount from the preceding school year; or an amount appropriated under law	Requires the commissioner to establish a method for determining average enrollment for the purposes of funding that is provided based on average enrollment and changes the manner in which the basic allotment is calculated under the Foundation School Program to reflect a formula where the base amount is the greater of $6,210; an amount equal to the district’s base amount from the preceding school year; or an amount appropriated under law
Changes the formulas for the Small and Mid-sized allotments to be based on average enrollment instead of ADA and also provides provisions for transitioning to the change in formula.	Moves the Small and Mid-Sized District Allotment to a formula based on average enrollment instead of ADA
Increases monthly salaries for classroom teachers, full-time speech pathologists, full-time librarians, and full-time school counselors by $80 per month or a maximum uniform amount per month that is equal to the number of students in weighted ADA multiplied by $60 (whichever is greater)	Increases the monthly salary for classroom teachers, full-time speech pathologists, full-time librarians, full-time school counselors in TDCJ schools by $80 per month
Changes the salary schedule for classroom teachers, full-time librarians, full-time school counselors, and full-time nurses to reflect an employee’s certification and years of experience and to set a highest annual minimum salary	Amends the salary schedule for professional staff to be established based on the employee’s certification and years of experience
Increases the salary transition alloment to assist school districts with the difference in salary compensation from what they paid in the 22-23 school year as compared to what they must pay for the 23-24 school year.	Establishes a salary transition allotment during the 23-24 and 24-25 school years to assist districts with the transition from the previous formula funding and salary schedules to the ones implemented per this legislation.

In addition, HB 11:

Increases the teacher incentive allotment, with the maximum allotment not to exceed $36,000 (was $32,000) and the minimum allotment not exceeding $15,000
Requires the commissioner to establish and administer a grant program to award funds to reimburse a school district/open-enrollment charter for increased contributions paid to TRS associated with hiring a teacher who retired prior to September 2022
Prohibits school districts and charters from requiring a classroom teacher to complete hours of continuing education or other training in excess of the hours required of them as of January 1, 2023, except in certain circumstances
Prohibits the SBEC from imposing a sanction against a teacher on a probationary contract who resigns after the 45-day cutoff in certain specified cases.
Prohibits educator preparation programs from incorporating the reading instruction method referred to as three-cueing and instead include instruction on the science of teaching reading.
Makes other changes outlined in the summary provided in TASA’s Bill Tracker. (Search for HB 11.)

In addition, HB 100:

Increases the Transportation Allotment to $1.54 per regular eligible student or a greater rate set by the Legislature during appropriations
Creates an allotment for schools that provide an advanced mathematics pathway
Effective with the 2024-25 school year, the bill changes the School Facilities Allotment formula to be based on average enrollment or 400 instead of ADA.
Effective with the 2024-25 school year, the bill changes the formula for determining the guaranteed amount of state and local funds for a new project to use average enrollment instead of ADA.
Effective with the 2024-25 school year, the bill changes the formula for calculating wealth per student to use a district’s average enrollment instead of ADA.
Effective with the 2024-25 school year, the bill increases the multiplier from 0.275 to 0.2755 for educationally disadvantaged students who do not have a disability, but reside in a residential placement facility in a district where the student’s parent or legal guardian does not reside.
Makes other changes outlined in the summary provided in TASA’s Bill Tracker. (Search for HB 100.)

Other bills on the Tuesday agenda:

HB 114 (Ed Thompson) relates to the possession of e-cigarettes on public school property or at certain school events; creating a criminal offense.
HB 2164 (Guerra) relates to the monitoring of public school bilingual education and special language programs by the Texas Education Agency.
HB 2168 (Guerra) relates to measures to prepare students to teach bilingual education, English as a second language, or Spanish.
HB 2411 (Talarico, et al.) would permit the administration of opioid antagonists in public schools, charter schools, private schools, and institutions of higher education. School districts (public, charter, and private) would be permitted to adopt and implement a policy regarding maintenance, administration, and disposal of opioid antagonists at each campus in the district or school. Read a full summary by searching for HB 2411 in TASA’s Bill Tracker.
HB 2546 (Metcalf, et al.) would allow school districts to begin instruction for students for a school year on or after the third Wednesday in August if the district is designated as a district of innovation under Chapter 12A.
HB 2891 (Talarico) would permit a school district, open-enrollment charter school, or private school to adopt and implement a policy regarding the maintenance, administration, and disposal of glucagon medication at each campus in the district or school.

See the list of bills/hearing notice.

Find information on in-person testifying.

Find information on submitting comments related to agenda items electronically.

Watch a live broadcast of the hearing at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

This Month's Sponsor