With a little more than two weeks left in the regular session, five senators and five representatives were appointed this week to negotiate the final version of HB 3, the school finance reform bill. Both versions add about $9 billion in new education funding, but there are big differences in the chambers' approaches to educator salaries and merit pay.

HB 3 is one of several key pieces of legislation coming down to the wire. Click here for a quick update on all the major bills.

In a win for teachers, House lawmakers on Thursday voted down a bill that would have watered down class-size limits for elementary classrooms.

So far, only a handful of education-related bills have passed both chambers. This is not unusual, as the House and Senate typically focus on passing their bills before taking up the other chamber's bills. Click here for a roundup. Several TCTA-initiated bills are pending. Click here for a summary of them.

Next week , lawmakers will spend lots of time in floor debate and committee hearings finalizing bills ahead of deadlines that jeopardize pending legislation.