RISD’s top legislative priority bill (HB 6) that allows teachers greater flexibility regarding discipline, passed in the House Public Education committee yesterday. This is just the beginning of the process to pass the bill into law, and we will be encouraging RISD legislators to support the legislation as it goes through the process.
The same committee also voted and passed two major pieces of legislation for this session: House Bill 2 on school funding and Senate Bill 2 on vouchers/ESAs. These bills will now go to the full House for a vote sometime this month. It’s likely there will be changes to both pieces of legislation in the House before/if they are finally approved and sent to the Senate for further revision yielding a final document that will again need to pass in both chambers.
House Bill 2, the school funding bill, has many of the components in funding that RISD included in district legislative priorities; however, the new funding falls short of meeting 2019 funding levels that were requested, so additional budget cuts may be likely in most Texas school districts.
While RISD’s Legislative Priorities do not specifically address a voucher/ESA system, the $1 billion appropriated for a voucher/ESA program, if allocated to public schools, could mean nearly $200 more per student, which would further address the needs of Texas public schools.
See the presentation given to the Board of Trustees on April 3, 2025 for more details on what’s happening in the 89th Legislative Session.
Learn more about the bills RISD is tracking this legislative session. (For accessibility assistance, please contact Texas Legislature Online)
NEXT WEEK: The House Public Education Committee will meet on Apr. 8 to hear public testimony on 13 bills on topics including student health, confidentiality of certain information, recess and the creation of a commission on teacher job satisfaction.
No meeting has currently been scheduled for the Senate Education Committee, but meetings for this committee are typically held on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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.
