As reported earlier this week, the Senate Education K-16 committee left several bills pending in committee. This Thursday, March 13, committee members met briefly in what is known as a “formal meeting”  to pass pending bills out of committee. For the most part, bills were not discussed by the members prior to being voted on today. Several of the bills had committee substitutes, indicating that the committee was voting on new bill language rather than the bill as originally filed. The changes made in those committee substitutes were discussed briefly, and the substitute versions are not yet available online for review.  

The following bills were sent to the full Senate for discussion and a vote: 

Committee Substitute to Senate Bill (CSSB) 57 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D–Laredo) relates to plans by public schools to ensure the safety of individuals with disabilities or impairments during a mandatory school drill or a disaster or emergency situation. ATPE provided both written and oral testimony conveying concerns about the increased administrative burden the bill may place on educators. The committee substitute requested by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires formal rulemaking to ensure the schools’ plans are documented in ARDs and 504s. The committee voted and recommended that the bill/committee substitute be placed on the local and uncontested calendar (typically used for noncontroversial bills) with a 10-0 vote. 
 
CSSB 24 by Sen. Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels) relating to including an understanding of communist regimes and ideologies in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for social studies was adopted and recommended for the local and uncontested calendar with a 10-0 vote.

SB 112 by Sen. Bob Hall (R–Rockwall) relating to parental rights in public education was approved and recommended for the local and uncontested calendar with a 10-0 vote. 
 
CSSB 204 by Sen. Angela Paxton (R–Allen) relating to a handbook on parental rights and required training on parental rights for school board members was adopted and recommended for the local and uncontested calendar with a 10-0 vote. 
 
SB 371 by Campbell relating to parental approval for a student’s participation in human sexuality instruction was approved and recommended for the local and uncontested calendar with a 10-0 vote. 
 
CSSB 400 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R–Brenham) requiring parental consent for psychological or psychiatric examination, testing, or treatment conducted by a school district employee was approved with a 10-0 vote, but Sen. Jose Menendez (D–San Antonio) said he will propose an amendment to this bill on the Senate floor. 
 
SB 609 by Paxton requiring independent school districts, home-rule school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools to comply with legally required policies was advanced with a vote of 8-0 with two senators—Sen. Royce West (D–Dallas) and Menendez—registering as “present not voting” and signaling they will discuss the bill when it is heard by the full Senate. West asked the author, “If we don’t provide funding, does the district have to do it?” Paxton responded, “When we ask a board to adopt a policy, they have to adhere to the policy for compliance.” Watch for more to come on this bill when it hits the Senate floor. 
 
SB 686 by Paxton relating to the transfer of students between public schools was approved and recommended for the local and uncontested calendar with a 10-0 vote. 
 
SB 1447 by Menendez and Zaffirini relating to TEA standards for the use of electronic devices and software by public schools was approved and recommended for the local and uncontested calendar with a 10-0 vote. 
 
Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 5 by Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D–Austin), a resolution to name the gym at the Texas School for the Deaf after alumnus Robert Rives, was approved and recommended for the local and uncontested calendar with a 10-0 vote. 
 
Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 12 by Kolkhorst proposes a constitutional amendment establishing a parent ’s right to direct their child ’s education and was advanced with a 9-1 vote. Menendez voted no. 
 
CSSB 12 by Chairman Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe) relates to parental rights in public education and certain public school requirements and prohibitions regarding instruction and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) duties and the loss of funding for public schools that fail to comply with those provisions. The committee substitute was adopted with the following changes: the definition of DEI duties, except those required by state and federal law; districts must provide written and electronic notice to staff; staff can only be punished if they knowingly break the rules; student clubs focusing on gender identity must have parental notification; there will be a ban on DEI duties at school but not on their own time; students still have First Amendment rights; districts must report facility capacity so they can see if there is open enrollment room (for transfers) and districts can deny the transfer request if they don’t have space; grievance policy updated for recusal; parents have six weeks from an incident to file a grievance; districts must inform parents of rights relating to special education and bilingual education when enrolling their child; and parents must be notified if an uncertified teacher is teaching their child. West said he is “holding questions but there will be an extensive debate on this.” The bill/committee substitute was adopted with a 8-2 vote. West and Menendez voted no.  

We will continue to update you on the status of these bills as they move through the full Senate and over to the House.