ATPE supported both these bills.ĬIVICS: By far the most controversial education bill passed this year was HB 3979 by Rep. Using the IGC law, qualified students will be allowed to graduate in the 2020-21 school year regardless of their performance on STAAR tests under HB 999. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) was also passed to provide accommodations for high school seniors affected by the pandemic. GRADUATION: The Individual Graduation Committees (IGC) law appears likely to become permanent after the Legislature finally passed a bill, HB 1603 by Huberty, to remove expiration dates from the statute. As passed, SB 1365 clarifies the impact of a D rating in the accountability system, defines a system of due process for school districts facing sanctions, adds another year’s pause in the accountability ratings, and omits provisions of the original bill that would have dramatically increased the commissioner’s authority to sanction a district based on a TEA investigation. The bill’s Senate sponsor, former House Public Education Committee Chairman Huberty, and a group of pro-public education rural Republicans worked first with administrator groups and later with teacher organizations, with ATPE leading those discussions, to significantly amend the bill. The bill was originally filed in response to a failed attempt by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to take over management of the state’s largest school district, Houston ISD, based on consecutive years of struggling performance at a single campus, which was challenged in court. Policy changes in the bill include removing the requirement that TIA-designated teachers be certified, requiring public access to SHACs and sexual education curriculum, and extending to the 2022-23 school year the deadline for certain educators to fulfill the HB 3 requirement for attending reading academies.ĪCCOUNTABILITY: Lawmakers also passed Senate Bill (SB) 1365 by Sen. The bill establishes the Texas Commission on Special Education Funding authorizes Resource Campuses directs broadband, COVID-19, and other relief funding adjusts calculations for dropout and completion rates and for the college, career, and military readiness outcomes bonus (CCMR) changes grants for students with autism and dyslexia modifies the Fast Growth and CTE allotments restores the GT allotment that was eliminated last session and makes other changes affecting finance and recapture. Ballooning from 20 pages to a whopping 66 pages between the original filed version and what ultimately passed, HB 1525 affects dozens of provisions of state education law and ultimately had several other bills amended into it late in the session. Dan Huberty (R-Kingwood) as a clean-up measure to the previous school finance bill, HB 3 (2019). SCHOOL FINANCE: Following a 2019 legislative session that produced major school finance reforms for Texas, the 87th Legislature this year passed House Bill (HB) 1525 by Rep. In the meantime, we offer a look at a few of the major education bills passed by lawmakers, subject to review by the Governor. In the coming days, ATPE's lobby team will be publishing our complete review of all the education legislation considered this session. Abbott also announced via Twitter that he would veto portions of the state budget bill in order to defund the legislative branch of the government in retaliation for the walkout. It remains unclear when such a special session might be called. Governor Greg Abbott called the legislation a "must pass" item and vowed to bring lawmakers back for a special session to revive the bill. The night before the session ended, many Democratic state representatives walked out at 11:30 p.m., leaving the House without a quorum and unable to pass a controversial election reform bill, Senate Bill 7. It was a low-key end to a session that was unusual in many respects, owing to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a crippling winter storm in February, and deeply partisan divides felt not only in Texas but throughout the country. The 87th Texas Legislature adjourned sine die on the afternoon of Monday, May 31, 2021.
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