One week remains before the 87th Regular Legislative Session adjourns May 31.

The Senate's version of CSHB 1525 (Huberty/Taylor) is expected be considered today, though it could be postponed until Tuesday as the Senate awaits passage of SB 1365 (more on that below). Amendments to be offered on the floor were pre-filed and due Saturday afternoon.

Proposed amendments to note include:

There were no amendments filed that would remove the requirement for districts to set-aside a large amount of local funding tied to the amount of federal funding received under ESSER III. You can check our per-district list to how much local funding CSHB 1525 would require your district to put in your fund balance and not use until 2024-25. This list has been revised to match the language from Taylor's floor amendment #1.

We've sent you a lot of information about this bill, so here is a quick list of all that info (that focuses primarily on concerns regarding Section 24 and Section 25 of the bill):

Click here to look up contact info for your Senator.

You may recall that SB 1365 is the bill would provide broad and sweeping commissioner authority for school district sanctions, interventions, and takeovers. That bill was scheduled for debate on the House floor last week, and again yesterday. It was considered, and a valid point of order was called which in any other instance would have killed the bill. However, due to a herculean effort on behalf of House leadership and a little bending of the rules, the bill was very quickly heard again in committee, voted and reported out and placed on the Major State Calendar for Tuesday, May 25.

A complete floor substitute has been offered that would completely re-write SB 1365 (it begins on page 16 of the amendment packet found via this link)

If that substitute is adopted, SB 1365 would improve due process for school districts and improves campus accountability ratings. However, it currently still allows for broad commissioner authority to impose sanctions and interventions without a set standard for which such measures would be allowed.

If you have been watching (and either hoping for or worrying about) a Senate bill in the House that has not yet been placed on the Calendar, you can stop hoping or worrying as that bill is dead.

Some bills to note that the House will consider today or tomorrow (before all remaining bills turn into pumpkins if they not heard on Tuesday before the clock strikes midnight):

The Senate doesn't exactly follow a calendar, so it is little harder to predict when and if bills will be considered. Some noteworthy bills on their intent calendar on Monday (which can also carry over into Tuesday and can also include even more bills on Tuesday) are:

The Senate Education Committee met on Saturday and passed 26 bills out of committee, including:

Any of these bills (and then some) could be considered on Tuesday or Wednesday. Wednesday, May 26, is the final day when the Senate may consider bills on second or third reading. A bill may not be passed by the Senate after May 26. Following May 26, the members of both chambers will only be considering amendments adopted by the other chamber and conference committee reports.

We hope you can join us as we rehash the good, the bad, and the ugly from the 87th Irregular Session at our Post-Legislative Workshop on 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.