The ATPE Governmental Relations team recaps the past week’s education news, legislative and election updates, and regulatory developments. ATPE members: Share your thoughts and ask our lobby team questions in The Rotunda on the ATPE Online Community. 

• House Public Education Committee advances voucher bill, school finance  
• Senate Education K-16 Committee hearing goes late into the night 
• ATPE testifies in opposition to payroll deduction bill in Senate hearing 
• Subcommittee on Academic and Career-Oriented Education hears bills on bilingual education, civics instruction, antisemitism  
• Texas Senate passes Senate Bill (SB) 27, a bill that aims to support Texas teachers 
• New TEA ruling allows release of 2023 A-F accountability ratings 
• Ten ATPE members attend April 1 Capitol Expedition 
• Save Texas Schools rally to take place April 5 at the Capitol  
• Introducing a new member benefit: Judy, ATPE’s new AI assistant for Texas educators 

HOUSE PUBLIC EDUCATION: The House Public Education Committee voted Thursday afternoon to advance two of Chairman Brad Buckley’s (R–Salado) pieces of priority legislation: HB 2, the school finance bill, and the House version of Senate Bill (SB) 2, the voucher bill by Senate Education K-16 Committee Chair Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe).  

HB 2 was passed through the committee by a vote of 13-2, and SB 2 was approved 9-6 along party lines.  

Following the voucher vote, the committee also approved several other pending bills. ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave has a full breakdown of the meeting and bills considered in this blog post. 

SENATE EDUCATION K-16: The Senate Education K-16 Committee met well into the night Tuesday to hear bills on many topics and take votes on pending bills heard earlier this session.  

ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield was the last person to testify around 11 p.m.; she voiced ATPE’s support for SB 2365 by Chairman Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe) relating to students’ use of personal wireless communication devices during instructional time. ATPE also registered our support for Senate Bill (SB) 1262 by Sen. Robert Nichols (R–Jacksonville) relating to public school safety, including the commissioning of peace officers by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the provision of safety-related resources.  

Read Sheffield’s recap of the meeting, as well as ATPE’s written testimony on four additional bills, in this blog post. 

SUBCOMMITTEE: The House Public Education Committee’s Subcommittee on Academic and Career-Oriented Education met Thursday to consider bills on bilingual education, civics instruction, and antisemitism.  

ATPE supported the following bills: 

• HB 824 by Rep. Jolanda Jones (D–Houston), which would include civics instruction in the required government curriculum for high school students.   
• HB 1579 by Rep. Bobby Guerra (D–McAllen), which would establish the Texas State Seal of Bilingualism and Biliteracy for high school students. The bill would create a formal recognition on a student’s transcript that the student is biliterate and has achieved fluency in a language other than English.  

Read more about the five bills considered in this blog post by ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave. 

SB 27: On Thursday, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill (SB) 27 by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe), which addresses numerous issues affecting public school educators. When the bill was heard on the Senate floor, five amendments were accepted, and the version that passed is now the engrossed version, reflecting these updates.    

ATPE is committed to advocating for educators, and we worked hard to improve the bill. We are encouraged by many of the changes in this bill. SB 27 takes a comprehensive approach to improving the recruitment, retention, rights, and working conditions of  educators. Keep in mind that this bill has not been heard or passed in the House yet.    

ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield outlines key provisions of the bill and how they impact teachers in this blog post. 

PAYROLL DEDUCTION: During Tuesday’s Senate Business and Commerce Committee hearing, committee members heard testimony on Senate Bill (SB) 2330 by Sen. Tan Parker (R–Flower Mound). The bill would take away associations’ ability to deduct dues from their members’ paychecks; however, notably, first responder unions are exempt from the bill.  

ATPE Executive Director Dr. Shannon Holmes, ATPE Immediate Past President Jayne Serna, and ATPE members Lena Angel and Dani Beople testified in opposition to the bill. Read more and watch ATPE’s testimony in this blog post by ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave. 

ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS: A judge with Texas’ 15th Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) can release its 2023 A-F accountability ratings of the state’s school districts.  

The A-F ratings are based on multiple factors including graduation rates; the number of students considered college, military and career-ready; and State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) results.  

When TEA announced changes in the metrics used to evaluate performance in 2023, more than 100 school districts joined a lawsuit in an effort to block the release of the ratings. The suit argued that TEA implemented stricter benchmarks without sufficient notice. One significant change was requiring campuses to have 88% of students considered college, career, or military-ready; the previous benchmark was 60%.  

Rep. James Talarico (D–Round Rock) told KXAN: “Greg Abbott has spent the last few years trying to discredit our neighborhood public schools so he can defund them with a private school voucher scam,” Talarico said. “I’m deeply concerned our accountability system is being weaponized to undermine public education.” Read more here. 

CAPITOL EXPEDITION: Several ATPE members gathered in Austin Tuesday to attend the latest Capitol Expedition. Thank you to Michelle Adams, Martinsville ISD; Lena Angel, Katy ISD; Blythe Chapman, Amarillo ISD; Kim Kriegel, Waxahachie ISD; Stephanie Matula, Pflugerville ISD; Tesslyn Mustain, Humble ISD; Miguel Renteria, Amarillo ISD; ATPE Immediate Past President Jayne Serna, Leander ISD; DeVonte Thompson, Katy ISD; and Shane Whitten, Amarillo ISD, for engaging in meaningful conversations with their lawmakers on ATPE’s legislative priorities. 

Amarillo ATPE members Shane Whitten, Blythe Chapman, and Miguel Renteria

Kim Kriegel, Waxahachie ATPE; Michelle Adams, Martinsville ISD; Blythe Chapman; Tesslyn Mustain, Humble ATPE; Stephanie Matula, Pflugerville ATPE; Shane Whitten; Miguel Renteria; and DeVonte Thompson, Katy ATPE

ATPE members meet with Anneliese Vogel, Chief of Staff for Dr. Alma Allen (D–Houston)

ATPE members meet with Robyn Wertheim, District Director for Rep. Stan Lambert (R–Abilene)

Kim Kriegel, Stephanie Matula, DeVonte Thompson, ATPE Immediate Past President Jayne Serna, Lena Angel, Rep. Aicha Davis (D–Dallas), Blythe Chapman, Michelle Adams, Shane Whitten, and Miguel Renteria

ATPE members meet with staff from Sen. Lois Kolkhorst’s (R–Brenham) office

ATPE members meet with staff from Rep. Jeff Barry’s (R–Pearland) office

Lena Angel and Blythe Chapman meet with Ellie Berry, Chief of Staff for Rep. Caroline Fairly (R–Amarillo)

Miguel Renteria; Ellie Berry, Chief of Staff for Rep. Caroline Fairly; and Blythe Chapman

ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield, Shane Whitten, Sen. Bob Hall (R–Edgewood), Kim Kriegel

Ben Reed, Legislative Director for Rep. Mike Schofield (R–Katy) and DeVonte Thompson

Ben Reed (Legislative Director for Rep. Mike Schofield) and Lena Angel

ATPE members meet with Rep. Mihaela Plesa (D–Dallas)

Tesslyn Mustain, DeVonte Thompson, Stephanie Matula, Jayne Serna, Shane Whitten, Rep. Mihaela Plesa, Miguel Renteria, Blythe Chapman, Kim Kriegel, Michelle Adams, and Lena Angel

Kim Kriegel, Blythe Chapman, Stephanie Matula, Tesslyn Mustain, Lena Angel, and DeVonte Thompson visit the House floor

ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield, Michelle Adams, Kim Kriegal, Tesslyn Mustain, Jayne Serna, ATPE Associate Executive Director Jennifer Mitchell, Stephanie Matula, DeVonte Thompson, Lena Angel, ATPE Events Director Andrea Elizondo, ATPE Executive Director Dr. Shannon Holmes, ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave, Bythe Chapman, Miguel Renteria, and Shane Whitten at the ATPE Governmental Relations Office

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RALLY: Save Texas Schools is holding a pro-public education rally from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. tomorrow, April 5, at the State Capitol. Find more information, including details about free transportation options from various areas of Texas, at savetxschools.org.   

MEMBER ADVOCACY: We are excited to announce a new member benefit! Judy is ATPE’s new AI assistant for Texas educators, ready to help you with all things ATPE and all things #txed. Chat with Judy about ATPE’s legislative priorities, and don’t forget to check out ATPE’s other advocacy resources. 

• The ATPE Bill Tracker: Find out the status of the major education bills moving through the Texas House and Senate, as well as ATPE’s position on each bill.   
• ATPE’s 2025 Legislative Priorities: Catch up on ATPE’s written and oral testimony from this session.    
• Advocacy Central: Get in touch with your elected officials. Current Advocacy Central campaigns allow you to thank House members for listening to their districts as well as urge lawmakers to improve the cell phone ban legislation.    
• ATPE Member Advocate Program (ATPE-MAP): Enroll in ATPE-MAP to earn the state-level and recently released local-level advocacy microcredential, as well as earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit. ATPE-MAP is included in your member benefits, so check it out today.    
• The Rotunda: Don’t forget, members, that you can interact with your ATPE lobby team throughout the week when you log in to the ATPE Online Community. (While you’re there, be sure to check out the latest Regional Advocacy Challenge (RAC) standings.)