Legislative Actions: Public Education a Key Topic This Session

First, I want to thank the almost 300 school trustees and administrators who traveled to Austin to attend the TASA | TASB Legislative Conference on February 18. Y’all were focused and committed to learning about the legislative session and advocating for your students. That energy was palpable as so many of you walked the halls of the Capitol.

The Texas legislative session continues to pick up steam. State leaders have identified their priorities for the session, and chairs are moving several bills through the process. Expect the pace to intensify as House and Senate committees find their cadences and start passing bills out of committee and on to the full chambers on a more consistent basis.

Legislators, so far, have been keen to move both education savings account legislation and various measures on school funding.

The House and Senate versions of ESA legislation differ slightly from each other with regard to the amount of the voucher and the prioritization of participants if a lottery is required. Both bills allocate between $2,000 for homeschooled children, around $10,000 for students in private schools, and between $11,500 and what the student would otherwise draw down in their home district (with a cap of $30,000) for children requiring special education services.

ESAs have been listed as priorities for both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock). And Gov. Greg Abbott called it one of his top priorities at the start of the session.

“For the first time in our great state’s history, the Texas House has the votes to pass a universal school choice program,” Abbott said in late February. “This session, Texas will usher in a new era where families have the opportunity to choose the learning environment that meets the unique needs of their children. I will continue working closely with both chambers of the Texas Legislature to get the biggest launch of any universal school choice program in the nation to my desk, where it will be swiftly signed into law.”

Other Education Priorities

In addition to ESAs, Patrick’s education priorities also include Senate Bill 26 to increase teacher pay, SB 10, which would place the Ten Commandments in schools, SB 11, which would protect prayer in schools, and SB 12, which would establish a parental bill of rights in public education.

Burrows' priority education issues include ESAs, school finance, House Bill 4, regarding a school assessment and accountability revamp, HB 6, which would establish a teacher bill of rights, and HB 8, which would provide a reduction in the school district maximum compression tax rate.

The differences in school finance bills are starker, with the Senate advancing legislation to apply $4.85 billion toward teacher compensation, and the House using $3.2 billion to increase the basic allotment by $220 per student, while increasing the percentage of basic allotment increases that must be applied to staff salaries and increasing the small- and midsize allotments to the tune of $1.1 billion.

The House Public Education Committee, while chaired again by Rep. Brad Buckley (R-Salado), has a vastly different makeup than last session. Members this session include:

• Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio), vice chair
• Alma Allen (D-Houston)
• Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin)
• John Bryant (D-Dallas)
• Charles Cunningham (R-Humble)
• Harold Dutton (D-Houston)
• James Frank (R-Wichita Falls)
• (D-Austin)
• Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi)
• Helen Kerwin (R-Glen Rose)
• Jeff Leach (R-Plano)
• Alan Schoolcraft (R-McQueeney)
• James Talarico (D-Austin)
• Terri Leo Wilson (R-Galveston)

The Senate Education K-16 Committee has a slightly new name — yes, the K-16 is new for you astute observers — and the committee is a little smaller and has a few new members:

• Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), chair
• Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), vice chair
• Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston)
• Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton)
• Adam Hinojosa (R-Corpus Christi)
• Phil King (R-Weatherford)
• José Menéndez (D-San Antonio)
• Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston)
• Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound)
• Angela Paxton (R-McKinney)
• Royce West (D-Dallas)

All committee assignments are available on the Texas Senate and House websites: house.texas.gov/committees and senate.texas.gov/committees.php.

You can stay up to date on legislative news regarding education topics by going to tasb.org, clicking on the Advocacy tab, and going to Capitol Watch, where you can register for updates.

Call for Resolutions in Full Swing

TASB’s call for new Advocacy Resolutions is underway, and member boards have the opportunity to update the 2024- 26 Advocacy Agenda.

Advocacy Resolutions are board-submitted positions guiding TASB’s response to issues that might come before the Texas Legislature, State Board of Education, federal government, or regulatory entities. While Advocacy Priorities are developed through the grassroots process and with consensus among trustees at the Legislative Advisory Council, boards can provide their proposed resolutions in the language and context that is important to them for consideration by the TASB Delegate Assembly.

Resolution proposals will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. June 16, 2025. Each resolution must be adopted by your board and must be submitted using the form provided at gr.tasb.org. Plan now to put any proposed resolutions on your board’s agenda well before the deadline for submissions if you have not already done so.

Proposed resolutions are first reviewed by the TASB Resolutions Committee and then by the TASB Board. In September, the 2025 Delegate Assembly will adopt approved resolutions that will update part of the 2024–26 Advocacy Agenda, which will remain in effect until the end of the 2026 TASB Delegate Assembly.

Please note that all current resolutions will remain on the Agenda unless amended by the Delegate Assembly.

Also, we strongly encourage your board to send a trustee to the TASB Delegate Assembly in Houston Sept. 13, 2025, to represent your board’s interests and support your advocacy positions and proposed resolutions. Learn more by going to tasb.org and clicking on the About tab and then scrolling to the Delegate Assembly box.

Please contact Dax González at 800-580-4885 or dax.gonzalez@tasb.org if you have any questions.