18 days remain in the 87th Regular Legislative Session.

The Senate Education Committee adopted a committee substitute and passed CSHB 1525 out of committee on Tuesday. The bill is not yet reported out of committee, but you can view the text of the bill here. You can also read our section-by-section side-by-side comparison of this Senate version compared to the version that was passed in the House.

As we reported Tuesday, there are some major concerns with the Senate's version of this legislation. Please consider contacting your memeber(s) of the Texas Senate to discuss CSHB 1525. You can find talking points here:

CSHB 1525 Threatens Funding for Public Schools

(Or Printable PDF here)

The Senate's CSHB 1525 would place on a cap on the total Formula Transition Grant funding, which would trigger proration and funding reductions for FTG districts if the total amount required exceeds $400 million. You can find even more on that topic here: Formula Transition Grant Prevents Funding Losses.

CSHB 1525 would also allow the Commissioner to "adjust" (meaning reduce) school district entitlements to ensure state compliance with MOE and MOQ requirements in the federal legislation. Additionally, the bill would require all districts that receive federal ESSER dollars (we're told this will apply only to those who received $500,000 or more from ESSER) to set aside an amount from state and local M&O funding equal to 40% of their total federal ESSER allocation in the district's fund balance which may not be used until 2024-25 without special permission from the Commissioner to do so.

This is a matter that impacts all school districts. We are concerned that the state would be requiring local districts to supplant funding at the local level in a manner that sets up an easier road to state funding cuts for schools when the Texas Legislature convenes in 2023. Federal COVID Relief dollars should be used on top of school district funding entitlements -- not instead of.

Click here to look up contact info for your Senator. This bill is not yet reported out of committee, but we expect it to be soon and considered by the full Senate next week.

The House Public Education Committee met Tuesday morning and considered a long list of bills, including SB 28 (Bettencourt/Dutton), which make charter school expansions easier and more available. SB 28 failed to pass in committee.

Another bill that was initially passed by the House, and then later failed on third reading was back today, reconsidered, and passed. HB 4545 (Dutton) requires schools to offer accelerated instruction to students who fail state assessments, and is pretty prescriptive in the requirements. Provisions related to commissioner contract authority and outcomes-based funding were removed.

This week, the House also gave final passage to:

Today is the final day that a House bill possibly has to make it out of the House. If a HB isn't heard on second reading today (or on the Local Calendar tomorrow), then when the clock strikes midnight tonight, the bill is dead.

The Senate Education Committee met today to hear the following House bills:

The Committee will reconvene upon adjournment of the Senate today to vote on these bills as well as other pending business.

We're planning our first in-person gathering in over a year and we hope you will participate (either in-person or through our hybrid virtual option). Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, June 9, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in Dallas at the DoubleTree by Dallas Love Field.

You can register via the link below to attend in person and also find the info you need to make hotel reservations for a discounted rate if you plan to stay overnight.

If you are not able to join us in person, but still want to join in on the fun, please click on the button below to register and attend virtually via Zoom.