School finance, teacher pay differences send budget bill to conference committee

Having trouble reading this email? Click here to view it as a webpage

FROM THE CAPITOL

Senate OKs budget bill with $5,000 teacher raise, conference committee must negotiate versions

The Texas Senate passed HB 1 (its budget bill) on Tuesday after substituting its preferred version, which includes an across-the-board $5,000 pay raise for teachers and librarians. The version of HB 1 passed by the House is not specific about how funding should be used for educator salaries (the House’s pay raise proposal for non-administrators is incorporated in HB 3, its school finance bill). HB 1 now heads to a conference committee, which will negotiate the differences. Click here for the latest on the budget and other big bills this session.

Tuesday was a very busy day, with the House Public Education Committee having some spirited discussions on charter school legislation.

On Thursday, the House and Senate delayed debate on property tax reform. Neither chamber appears to have the votes to get a property tax bill passed, and in a surprise move Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced their support for a tax swap that would raise the state sales tax one cent in exchange for lowering school district property tax rates.

Meanwhile, several other bills were heard in committees Thursday, including a bill to help TRS retirees who have returned to work.

Next week, the Senate will take up school finance reform and the House is set to try again on property tax reform.

Click here to find all of the latest education news from the Capitol.

OTHER NEWS

Courts dismiss hostile work environment lawsuit

An associate professor filed a lawsuit against a university, claiming that her supervisor harassed her at work, creating a hostile work environment. She claimed that the harassment was due to her race, religion, sex or national origin. But her lawsuit was dismissed, with the court finding that although the work environment was potentially hostile, she had failed to prove that the harassment occurred because of a protected characteristic.

Click here to read more.

OTHER NEWS

For many Texas teachers, health insurance premiums and hospital bills are huge

TCTA's Ann Fickel recently talked with The Texas Tribune about TRS-ActiveCare and the rising costs of teacher health insurance.

Click here to read the article, which also looks at TRS pension benefits.

USDE rejects most applicants seeking loan forgiveness

Nearly a year after the U.S. Department of Education launched the temporary expansion of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to give teachers and other public servants another shot at having their debt erased, most of the applicants have been rejected.

The USDE recently disclosed that while 38,460 people submitted requests for loan forgiveness, 28,640 of them were immediately rejected because they had not previously filled out a formal application, according to an article in The Washington Post . Of the 9,820 applicants who cleared the first hurdle, 1,184 are still under consideration. The rest were rejected for myriad reasons.

Click here to read more.

Program helps math, science teachers repay student loans

The Math and Science Scholars Loan Repayment Program is accepting applications through June 29. Qualified applicants who teach math or science for eight years in Texas public schools, with at least four years at a Title I campus, can have up to $5,000 a year of their student loan debt paid by the state program.

Click here for more information about the program and how to apply.

TEA releases framework for accountability system

The Texas Education Agency has released the framework for the 2019 academic accountability system. The document outlines substantive changes to the system based on statute, public input and recommendations from two advisory committees. The complete 2019 accountability manual will be released online this summer.

Click here to review the 2019 framework.

SBOE seeks nominations for 2019 Heroes for Children award

The State Board of Education is accepting nominations for the 2019 Heroes for Children award through 5 p.m. June 14. The award, given to one person in each SBOE district, recognizes volunteers who make an impact on public schools.

Click here for more information and the nomination form.

CALENDAR

April is Child Safety Month.
April 19 is the deadline to apply to be an ELAR reviewer for TEA.
Easter is April 21. (TCTA will be closed April 19.)
Early voting in May 4 municipal and school board elections is April 22-30.

TEXAS CLASSROOM TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

PO BOX 1489 AUSTIN, TX 78767 | 888-879-8282 | TCTA.ORG