RISD’s top legislative priority (House Bill 6, regarding student discipline) passed in the Texas House on Wednesday. We thank each of RISD’s House representatives (Bryant, Button, Meyers and Ramos) for voting in favor of the bill that is so important to teachers and school administrators. The bill has been sent to the Senate where it is awaiting a public hearing. Four Senate bills related to discipline also passed in the Senate (SB 1871, 1872, 1873 & 1874) and are heading to the House. Exactly how, or even if, these bills will be combined remains to be seen.
House Passes School Funding Bill – House Bill 2, the school funding bill, passed in the full House on Wednesday as well. The 128-page HB 2 adds $7.7 billion in public education funding over the biennium through a variety of provisions. These include increasing the basic allotment by $395 per student to $6,555, as well as increasing weights in funding formulas. While the funding is shy of what was needed to catch up with inflation, RISD appreciates any additional dollars. The bill heads to the Senate now for a public hearing and possible changes. The Senate has shown that it prefers an approach that puts additional money for schools into just a few initiatives — primarily higher salaries for teachers, with no increase in the basic allotment. Stay tuned on this important issue.
House Passes School Voucher/ESA Bill – After hours of debate regarding amendments, including an amendment to allow voters the opportunity to vote on whether or not they support the idea of vouchers, the House passed SB 2, allowing public tax dollars to be used to pay private school tuition. The bill voted on by the House is different from the bill passed by the Senate. So before it can become law, the Senate has to accept the House changes or refuse to make the changes and then the bill will go to a conference committee, (consisting of a few House and Senate members) to reconcile the differences between the two bills.
Next Week: The House and Senate Education committees continue to meet weekly (or sometimes twice a week). Check the agenda for House Public Education bills here, and Senate Education here.
Watch the Texas House in session.
Watch House committee meetings.
Watch the Texas Senate in session.
Watch Senate committee hearings.
Legislative Corner is published periodically throughout the 89th Texas legislative session. For more information about RISD’s legislative involvement and priorities, please visit the legislative page here. Other resources include Texas Legislature Online (TLO) – find legislation (bills), committee hearings, legislative member info, and more; The Quorum Report – sign-up for “Daily Buzz” or a listing of political news articles; Texas Tribune – online daily news, also a data dashboard for education.
