17 days remain in the 89th Texas Legislative Session
After the midnight deadline in the House last night (May 15) any House bill that had not already passed in the House is considered, in large-part, dead; however, the language of the bill can still hitch a ride on another bill as an amendment. At this point in the session, politics plays a major role in what will happen. Some of the priority Senate bills are languishing in the House, and as a result, the Senate is delaying on important House bills. Issues like the THC ban and bail reform and school funding are all in play.
House Bill 6, RISD’s top legislative priority, passed in the Senate Education committee, taking another step to become law and improve the discipline code for classroom teachers and administrators.
The Senate heard public testimony on their substitute for House Bill 2 (the school funding bill) yesterday. The Senate’s version prioritizes teacher pay, special education, Pre-K and school safety, combining several senate bills into the new bill. Right now, the Senate version only offers $55 per student as an increase in the basic allotment versus the House version that provides $395 per student. So, it appears the House and Senate are locked in negotiations over the basic student allotment, which has not seen an increase since 2018.
The bill that repeals STAAR (HB 4) passed with nearly unanimous support (143-1) in the House and is waiting to be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Education committee. RISD supports HB 4.
Last Friday, RISD Board president Chris Poteet met with each RISD legislative office in Austin to express support or concern regarding several bills. Locally, we remain in contact with our legislators’ offices to keep them informed about bills that are important to RISD.
Committees are still meeting and their agendas and links to watch the hearing live are below.
Watch House committee meetings. Watch Senate committee hearings.
Watch the Texas Senate in session. Watch the Texas House in session.
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.
