28 days remain in the 87th Regular Legislative Session.

This afternoon at 2:00 p.m., State Comptroller Glenn Hegar will release an update to his original Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) from January, based on changes in estimated revenue collections and updated Legislative Budget Board estimates of the state obligation for Foundation School Program (FSP) funding.

You can look at the announcement about the 2 p.m. event if you would like to watch, or you can find the updated information once it is released here.

Last week, state leaders announced the release of $11.2 billion in federal funding available through ESSER III. As districts began looking at per district allocations for funds, there were many questions about how districts would receive those funds and what requirements would accompany them.

TEA has posted a spreadsheet of frequently asked questions, and the application for those funds is now available through the eGrant system (search for "ARP"). You can also view a sample application.

We've pulled together a document to help make sense of the details you need to know most in regards to timing, acceptable used, requirements/strings attached, and more.

Or you can access the information on that website as a printable PDF.

It's important that districts take their time and carefully consider the strategic use of these funds so that the funds can be used in the most impactful manner with students. Remember that the funds are one-time only and will be carefully tracked for how they were spent and what results were achieved from their use.

The House Public Education Committee will meet on Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. to consider two House bills and six Senate bills, including:

The Senate Education Committee will meet Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. They will hear two Senate bills and five House bills, including:

The status of the reauthorization of Chapter 313 of the Tax Code is still unknown at this time. Last week, two bills advanced out of the House Ways & Means Committee, which is an important step in the process.

CSHB 1556 by Chairman Jim Murphy (R-Houston) was changed significantly from where the bill was as filed. The committee substitute includes a negotiated compromise that would continue Chapter 313 for 10 years, allow school district local control to choose to work with consultants and the ability to negotiate agreements in the best interest of the community, to include payments to the district for up to 38% of the total M&O tax benefit outside the school finance formulas. I&S taxes would still be paid on the property as they are under current law. Revenue Protection Payments would no longer be a part of the law, but all existing agreements signed before the effective date of the bill would continue as they did before any changes to the law were made. Also, school districts could enter into agreements for modernization of projects, not just new projects.

CSHB 4242 by Chairman Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas) would extend the program in current law for a period of two years, giving the Legislature the opportunity to come back next session and consider possible changes to the program before extending it for a longer period of time. This bill originally contemplated a four year extension, but was modified to two years in committee.

The next step for one or both of these bills is to advance to the House Calendars Committee and be scheduled for consideration by the full House.

By our last count, 64 school districts conducted bond elections on Saturday, May 1, proposing bonds for a total of more than $7 billion statewide. Results show that all but five of those 64 had at least one proposal pass, with 94% of total amount approved by voters--almost $6.6 billion.

Compared to the previous two bond election dates (from November 2020 and November 2019), these numbers track pretty consistently. In 2020, fewer school districts conducted elections, proposing larger total amounts and receiving a lower approval rate from voters. But the number of districts, total amounts requested/approved, and approval rate are very similar to the results from 2019.

You can see a spreadsheet with results per district here.

We've now entered the final month of the 87th Regular Legislative Session, and in May deadlines matter--especially in the Texas House, and sometimes even in the Senate. Here's a breakdown:

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.