73 days remain in the 87th Regular Legislative Session.
Monday marks the half-way point.
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School Finance bill to heard Tuesday |
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On Tuesday, the House Public Education Committee will hear Rep. Dan Huberty's (R-Humble) HB 1525, which has been dubbed the "HB 3 Clean-Up Bill" to refer to its intent to "clean up" unintended consequences when the bill was passed in 2019. The companion to this bill is SB 1536 by Senator Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood), and that bill could be heard as early as Thursday of next week (though at this time, it has not yet been referred to committee).
As filed, the proposed bills (which are identical) would:
- Apply the small and mid-sized allotment to total ADA (rather than regular program ADA), which fixes a major unintended consequence of HB 3 for some small and mid-sized districts regarding CTE and special education funding. However, the change contemplated in this bill would also cause some small (above 800 ADA) and mid-sized (above 2,500 ADA) districts to experience a reduction in funding.
- Provide the highest possible comp ed weight for homeless students
- Allow CCMR outcomes bonus for students who earn an associate degree within a timeframe established by the commissioner
- Modify the fast growth allotment to be a graduated weight depending on the district’s rate of growth (still applying to the 25% of fastest growing districts in the state, but with a tiered approach)
- Allow for the recovery of funds by TEA when the Agency determines a district adopted a rate in excess of the VATR without a proper election.
- Require recapture "catch-up payments" for districts not identified in a given year (whereas such under-identified recapture payments are currently forgiven). This could cause some districts to be required to make two recapture payments in one year.
- Repeal allowance for districts to charge tuition to transfer students, as well as the ability for districts to charge tuition for receiving high school transfer students from K-8 districts (districts receiving those students would simply qualify for ADA funding through the formula entitlement, not tuition).
- Prohibit a district from taxing at an M&O rate intended to create a surplus for the purpose of paying down the district's debt. Requires TEA to develop manner to identify districts in violation of this provision, which may include a multi-year review, and if the district is found to be in violation, order compliance, a corrective action plan, and if necessary appoint a management team for the district.
In addition to the school finance bill, the committee will also hear bills on topics including: IEP supplements for students receiving supplemental services, restricting the use of personally identifiable student information, individual graduation committees, school district hearings regarding complaints, public school mental health, SBEC, school security volunteers, and suicide prevention. You can see the full committee posting here. |
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School District Tax Election bill to be heard Monday |
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HB 1391 would impact districts that seek approval from voters to increase the district’s tax rate through an election. Under the bill, if such a proposition failed, then the district’s tax rate would revert to the lesser of the no-new-revenue tax rate or the voter approval tax rate.
The no-new-revenue tax rate is designed to calculate the tax rate that would produce the same local property tax levy in the coming tax year as was available to the taxing entity in the prior year. This tax rate does not account for the unique situation of school districts, where available revenue is a function not just of local taxes but also state aid and recapture. The no-new-revenue tax rate ignores the potentially offsetting impacts of lower state aid or increased recapture that can accompany property value increases.
Therefore, what is proposed in HB 1391 could put a district in need of voter approval for a tax rate increase in jeopardy of having a tax rate lower than the previous year (and lower than if no tax increase had been proposed), if the proposition is not approved by voters.
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As you know, the federal government has sent significant amounts of funding to Texas for the benefit of K-12 Education. The first round of Elementary & Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funding delivered $1.3 billion for this purpose last March, which was largely supplanted through a reduction in state funding. Then, in December, ESSER II sent $5.5 billion for public schools in Texas, followed by the recent ESSER III with $12.4 billion. The vast majority of this money is supposed to go directly to school districts to address things like learning loss and other challenges related to the pandemic.
At this point, we don't know how much to expect, when to expect it, and how much local control will allowed. It will likely be some time before we know more. We expect that the Senate will pass their version of the budget without yet considering these federal funds, leaving that to be decided at a later date.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again...we strongly encourage you to assess the greatest needs in your district and make plans for how you would use these dollars to meet those needs. Keep in mind that these are likely one-time funds, so spending should not be planned in a manner that relies on funding to continue. Plans should include how your district will address learning loss among students and other needs that may have come up due to the pandemic. These needs and plans should be communicated to your local legislators in the Texas House and Texas Senate.
To help the Coalition best represent the needs of our districts, we are asking that each district complete the brief survey that can be accessed via the link below. We won't hold you to your responses, but it would be very helpful to get some idea in regards to the plans your district is considering at this point in time.
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Brief video to explain the situation with federal funds |
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Our grassroots network Texans for Local Schools developed this less than 90-second video to explain the situation with the federal funds to community members. You can view the video below and access links if you would like to share it on social media. |
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What we're expecting next week |
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The Senate Finance Committee will be finalizing the budget bill ( SB 1) and likely taking the vote to kick the bill out of committee and send it to the full Senate. They will meet on both Wednesday and Thursday to hear final workgroup recommendations and vote on the bill.
We also expect the Senate Education Committee to meet on Thursday, but that hearing is not yet posted.
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Legislative Update on April 7 |
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The Texas School Coalition will host another virtual legislative update for members on Wednesday, April 7, at 2:00 p.m. We hope you can make plans to join us. Click on the link below to register for the event and add those details to your calendar.
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Thank you to our annual sponsors! |
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601 Camp Craft Road
Austin, Texas 78746
512-732-9072
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