The Senate Education Committee met on May 22 to discuss several bills and take action on pending business. The full hearing notice can be found here, and a link to the archive of the hearing can be found here.
This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics taken up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the discussions but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.
Vote Outs
CS HB 129 – (6-3)
- CS: Removes language regarding race, religion, and political orientation to avoid restricting what could be considered rhetoric to incite violence
CS HB 572 – (9-0)
- CS: Changes bill to a study on how competency-based educational programs can be implemented for non-traditional students – will be conducted over the interim
CS HB 999 – (9-0)
CS HB 1068 – (9-0)
- CS: Specifies non-salaried employees and clarifies other language
HB 1504 – (6-3)
CS HB 1754 – (9-0)
HB 2022 – (9-0)
HB 2256 – (9-0)
HB 2287 – (9-0)
HB 2497 – (7-2)
CS HB 2391 – (9-0)
HB 2554 – (7-2)
CS HB 2681 – (9-0)
- Committee Amendment #1 by Nelson added for fiscal responsibility and rolled into CS
HB 2756 – (9-0)
CS HB 2954 – Pulled down
- CS: Intent of the bill is to prevent suicide among young people and elementary school students, and provide additional resources to campuses for suicide prevention programs
- CS makes several changes, including process for superintendent notification of parents, and process for board approval for grant applications, as well as evidence-based and age-appropriate materials distributed only with informed parental consent
- Companion to SB 980
CS HB 3597 – (9-0)
CS HB 3819 – (9-0)
- CS: Requires that a student be in respiratory distress to receive asthma medication, and requires parents be notified and referred to a primary care provider on the day the medication is administered
HB 3864 – (9-0)
CS HB 3880 – (6-3)
HB 4525 – (7-2)
HB 1252 – (6-3)
CS HB 1468 – (8-1)
Bill Layouts
HB 2256 (Guerra) – Relating to creating a bilingual special education certification to teach students of limited English proficiency with disabilities.
- Paxton – Texas has the highest percentage of English second language students at around 20%
- Lack of ESL and Special Education teachers that can help students learning English
- Bill creates a SBOE certification certificate for Bilingual special education teachers to ensure the language and cultural needs of those students are met
David Fagan, Texans Care for Children – For
- Critical need for these bilingual services for special education students
- Teachers and families have expressed the need for these programs
- Demand will be high
Left pending
HB 2554 (Gates) – Relating to the operation by a school district of a vocational education program to provide eligible high school students with vocational and educational training under a plan for the issuance of a high school diploma and the application of certain student-based allotments under the public school finance system.
- Schwertner – Bill allows districts to create vocational education programs in which high school students can spend their last 2 years obtaining certifications and skills that can be used in the workforce
- Curriculum would be created by SBOE along workforce needs
- Menendez – Bill could cost $19 million from vocational programs, is there a separate funding rider?
- No there is not a contingency rider, will need the amendment on the floor
Left pending
HB 3400 (Paddie) – Relating to the transfer of certain public school students who are children of peace officers.
- Hughes – Peace officers and their families bear a lot of burdens, so this bill would allow peace officers to request their children be transferred to a new school district under fear for the child’s life
- The receiving district would not be required to provide transportation to the student
- Common-sense solution to a real problem that officers and their families face
Voted out 9-0
HB 4124 (Hinojosa) – Relating to student enrollment in certain special-purpose districts and the allotment under the public school finance system for those districts.
- Perry – SBOE has authorized Texas Tech and UT Austin to provide a special school district to provide full-time remote and asynchronous instruction to meet non-traditional students’ needs
- Military families and their children enrolled in schools move frequently and deal wit changes in curriculum and standards
- These special service districts would prioritize military-connected students to provide a continuum of educational services
- These districts can receive funding based off military-connected students even if they are out-of-state on deployment
Leo Lopez, TEA – On
- Perry – Could you explain the fiscal note for us?
- Did not see any fiscal note – the two colleges can opt in to the district program, will not cost anything of the state
- Students who would enroll in the special district are already enrolled in public schools
Voted out 9-0
CS HB 4465 (Dutton) – Relating to grants and federal disaster relief funds available to school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, and regional education service centers to provide services to students after a disaster in the state of Texas.
- Taylor – CS Provides grants from TEA Commissioner discretionary funds, plus COVID relief
- Districts will submit plants to TEA on the use of these funds annually, and submit for comment
- Students in need of remediation will be identified and assisted to get back on track
- Includes extended instructional time, remote instruction, curriculum innovation, air and water quality in schools, and accelerated learning, plus comprehensive summer and afterschool learning
Kenneth Flippin, US Green Building Council – For
- Specifically support improvements in air and water quality in schools
- Recommend including some additional language in the air and water quality section
- Should include funding for testing for air and water quality
Voted out 8-1
CS HB 4509 (Bonnen) – Relating to instruction on informed American patriotism in public schools.
- Taylor – Senate version is on the floor
- CS includes amendments that were added to the Senate version
- Includes documents such as writings from Frederick Douglas and Martin Luther King, Jr
Voted out 9-0
HB 4545 (Dutton) – Relating to the assessment of public school students, the establishment of a strong foundations grant program, and providing accelerated instruction for students who fail to achieve satisfactory performance on certain assessment instruments.
- Taylor – Senate version passed off the floor – accelerated learning bill
- Difference is that this bill does not include the performance bonus in the senate version
Lynn Boswell, Austin ISD – On
- District priorities relate to local control, high-stakes testing flexibility, and eliminating outcomes-based bonuses/funding
- Support lessening reliance on standardized testing
- Supports accelerated learning program as a replacement for repeated high-stakes testing
- Taylor – This bill does not have the outcomes-based funding?
- Yes, we are supportive of that
- Funding concerns are a major issue – unsure if this turns into an unfunded mandate in the future, so we are “on” the bill
- Hall – What is the opposition to outcome-based incentives?
- We support improving outcomes, but there are unintended consequences from outcome-based grants
- The language in this bill to prevent students from being pulled from class, PE, recess, etc. is more beneficial for outcomes of students, rather than test-based outcome incentives which harms students
- Menendez – Is the concern for the unfunded mandate from the reserve requirement?
- District CARES money is a concern because state control of it erodes district control – we have many needs for this money and we would like flexibility in addressing learning loss
- Community voice is how use is partially determined – very important to us
- 40% reserve produces extreme concern – ties district’s hands
Voted out 7-2