The Senate Education Committee held four public hearings during the month of March and seven in April to consider bills related to public education.  Senator Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) chairs the Senate Education Committee.  This is Chairman Taylor’s second session as chair of the Committee.

A total of 238 bills were referred to the Senate Education Committee. More than 40 bills have passed the Senate Education Committee. Some of those bills are:

• SB 195 (Garcia): Relating to funding under the transportation allotment for public school students subject to a high risk of violence while walking to school. This is also known as the “safe passage bill.” The bill was revised before it passed the committee. The committee voted it out on the same day it was heard in honor of Josue Flores, who lost his life while walking home from school in Houston’s Near Northside.
• SB 196 (Garcia): Relating to a notification requirement if a public school, including an open-enrollment charter school, does not have a nurse, school counselor, or librarian assigned to the school during all instructional hours.
• SB 457 (Campbell): Relating to funding for an open-enrollment charter school based on the guaranteed level of state and local funds provided to school districts through the existing debt allotment. The bill was revised before it passed the committee.
• SB 463 (Seliger): Relating to the use of individual graduation committees to satisfy certain public high school graduation requirements. SB 463 makes individual graduation committees permanent for students who fail to pass no more than 2 STAAR end-of-course exams. HISD and many other school groups supported the bill in committee. The bill is scheduled for consideration on the Senate floor.
• SB 529 (Lucio): Relating to improving training and staff development for primary and secondary educators to enable them to more effectively serve all students.
• SB 610 (Huffines): Relating to the state virtual school network.
• SB 653 (Taylor, V.): Relating to the eligibility of certain employees or annuitants convicted of certain felony offenses. The bill will be heard on the Senate floor during the week of May 1.
• SB 754 (Perry): Relating to the extension and modification of a public school district depository contract.
• SB 801 (Seliger): Relating to the instructional material list and supplemental instructional materials adopted by the State Board of Education.
• SB 825 (Taylor, L.): Relating to school district discretion to administer college preparation assessment instruments to public school students at state cost.
• SB 1005 (Campbell): Relating to the use of the SAT or the ACT as a secondary exit-level assessment instrument to allow certain public school students to receive a high school diploma.
• SB 1122 (Huffines): Relating to abolishing certain county boards of education, boards of county school trustees, and offices of county school superintendent. The bill was revised before it passed the committee. The bill is scheduled to be on the Senate floor during the week of May 1.
• SB 1153 (Menendez): Relating to parental rights and information regarding certain intervention strategies used with public school students.
• SB 1220 (Miles): Relating to ensuring continuity of education and access to higher education, career information, and skills certification for foster care youth and former foster care youth.
• SB 1267 (Taylor, L.): Relating to school district ad valorem tax rates.
• SB 1278 (Taylor, L.): Relating to educator preparation programs.
• SB 1317 (Uresti): Relating to the earliest day a school district may require a teacher to report for service and information regarding required teacher attendance on non-instructional days. The bill was revised before it passed the committee. It’s been sent to the Senate floor.
• SB 1318 (Taylor, V.): Relating to designation of mathematics innovation zones by the commissioner of education and to the establishment of pay for success programs to provide necessary funding.
• SB 1353 (Taylor, L.), like HB 3106 (Faircloth): Relating to state financial assistance for a school district to which an academically unacceptable school district is annexed.
• SB 1398 (Lucio): Relating to the placement and use of video cameras in certain self-contained classrooms or other settings providing special education services. The bill was revised before it passed the committee.
• SB 1404 (Hughes): Relating to requiring school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report certain information regarding voluntary after-school programs and voluntary summer programs. It’s been sent to the Senate floor.
• SB 1480 (Hughes): Relating to the guarantee of charter district bonds by the permanent school fund. The bill was revised before it passed the committee. It’s been sent to the Senate floor.
• SB 1481 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the instructional materials and technology allotment, open education resource instructional materials, and the State Board of Education long-range technology plan.
• SB 1659 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the commissioner of education accepting contributions for the public school system, adopting rules regarding grant compliance, and establishing grants for high-quality educational programs.
• SB 1839 (Hughes): Relating to the preparation, certification, and classification of public school educators.
• SB 1854 (Uresti): Relating to requiring the review of public school district paperwork to limit paperwork requirements. It’s been sent to the Senate floor.
• SB 1882 (Menéndez): Relating to a school district contract to partner with an open-enrollment charter school to operate a district campus. The bill was revised before it passed the committee.
• SB 1883 (Campbell): Relating to the approval of open-enrollment charter schools and the review of challenges by open-enrollment charter schools or school districts to accountability determinations.
• SB 1886 (Bettencourt): Relating to the creation of the office of inspector general at the Texas Education Agency to investigate the administration of public education.
• SB 2039 (Zaffirini): Relating to the development of a program and training for public schools on the prevention of sexual abuse and sex trafficking and participation by the human trafficking prevention task force in that development.
• SB 2142 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the repeal of the high school allotment under the Foundation School Program.
• SB 2143 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the basic allotment under the foundation school program.
• SB 2144 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the creation of a commission to recommend improvements to the public school finance system.
• SB 2188 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the average daily attendance calculation for students over 18 years of age who are in an off home campus instructional arrangement.
• SB 2270 (Lucio): Relating to expansion of a pilot program under the foundation school program for funding prekindergarten programs provided by certain school districts with early high school graduation programs. The bill was revised before it passed the committee.

On April 18, the Senate Education Committee held a public hearing on school finance bills. Of note, Chairman Taylor laid out his school finance bill, SB 2145, which does not increase funds for public education, but favors property poor and rural schools. The committee held hearings on April 20, April 25 and April 27 to close out the month.

One bill of note that passed the committee is SB 1398 by Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville), which cleans up legislation that passed in 2015 that requires video cameras in certain self-contained classrooms or other settings providing special education services. HISD is working with the bill authors. The bill has been revised.

Several of the Senate bills heard in the Education Committee have passed the full Senate.  Those bills are:

• SB 3 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the establishment of an education savings account program and a tax credit scholarship and educational expense assistance program. SB 3 is also known as the “voucher” or “school choice” bill.
• SB 7 (Bettencourt): Relating to improper relationships between educators and students; creating a criminal offense and expanding the applicability of an existing offense. The bill passed the House Public Education Committee and is on its way to the House floor.
• SB 22 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the establishment of a Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program and to the repeal of the tech-prep program. The bill will be heard in the House Public Education Committee on April 25.
• SB 490 (Lucio): Relating to information regarding the number of school counselors in public schools.
• SB 579 (Taylor, V.): Relating to the use of epinephrine auto-injectors on private school campuses and at or in transit to or from off-campus school events.
• SB 640 (Taylor, V.): Relating to equal opportunity for access by home-schooled students to University Interscholastic League sponsored activities; authorizing a fee. HISD opposed the bill.
• SB 826 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the sequencing of required English language arts courses and mathematics courses in schools.
• SB 1166 (Bettencourt): Relating to providing for the review of certain county departments of education by the Sunset Advisory Commission. This bill applies to the Harris County Department of Education.
• SB 1483 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the creation of the Technology Lending Program to provide grants to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools.
• SB 1566 (Kolkhorst): Relating to certain powers and duties of the board of trustees of an independent school district and the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school.
• SB 1634 (Taylor, L.): Relating to a reduction in required days of service for educators in public schools under certain circumstances.
• SB 1658 (Taylor, L.): Relating to the ownership, sale, lease, and disposition of property and management of assets of an open-enrollment charter school.
• SB 1784 (Taylor, L.): Relating to state-developed open education resources for public schools.
• SB 1837 (Hughes): Relating to the application of the financial accountability system for open enrollment charter schools to the charter school of a public senior college or university.
• SB 2080 (Taylor, L.): Relating to a requirement that school districts and open-enrollment charter schools report certain information regarding children with disabilities who reside in residential facilities.
• SB 2131 (West): Relating to requirements for providing postsecondary education counseling to high school students.

The Senate State Affairs Committee also held public hearings on legislation related to public schools. Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) chair State Affairs.  This is her second session chairing the Committee. Four bills heard in State Affairs passed the full Senate.  Those bills are:

• SB 4 (Perry): Relating to the enforcement by certain state and local governmental entities and campus police departments of state and federal laws governing immigration and to related duties of certain law enforcement and judicial entities in the criminal justice system; providing civil and criminal penalties. SB 4 is also known as the bill that “bans sanctuary cities.” An amended version of this bill passed the House on April 27 and is now on its way to the Governor.
• SB 6 (Kolkhorst): Relating to regulations and policies for entering or using a bathroom or changing facility; authorizing a civil penalty. SB 6 is also referred to as the “bathroom bill.”
• SB 13 (Huffman): Relating to payroll deductions for state and local government employee organizations.
• SB 14 (Taylor, V.): Relating to the ethics of public officers and related requirements; creating criminal offenses.

The Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee discussed legislation, as well. Senator Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) chairs the Committee.  Four major bills vetted by this committee have passed the full Senate. These bills are also known as the “ballot” bills because their goal is to make school districts more transparent when holding bond elections. There are also bills out there requiring school districts to hold all elections in November only. Here are the elections related bills that have passed the full Senate:

• SB 460 (Lucio): Relating to general obligation bonds issued by political subdivisions.
• SB 461 (Lucio): Relating to the notice required before the issuance of certain debt obligations by political subdivisions.
• SB 467 (Lucio): Relating to a requirement for ballot propositions.
• SB 488 (Lucio): Relating to requirements for certain petitions requesting an election and ballot propositions.

Other Senate committees held hearings.  The Senate Finance, Higher Education, Transportation and Criminal Justice Committees passed the following bills that were later approved by the full Senate:

• SB 2 (Bettencourt): Relating to ad valorem taxation.
• SB 17 (Nelson): Relating to the decrease of the rates of the franchise tax under certain circumstances and the expiration of that tax.
• SB 30 (West): Relating to inclusion of instruction regarding interaction with peace officers in the required curriculum for certain public school students and in driver education courses and to civilian interaction training for peace officers.
• SB 693 (Garcia): Relating to three-point seat belts on buses that transport schoolchildren.
• SB 1091 (Seliger): Relating to limitations on courses that may be offered for dual credit by school districts and public institutions of higher education.