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 hears a voucher bill in a marathon meeting; ATPE compares the House and Senate voucher plans
• Senate Education K-16 Committee advances several education bills and receives ATPE testimony on special education
• First-year teachers to receive annual TEA survey about their educator preparation program experience
• From CNN: Education Department to cut about 50% of its workforce
• Stay up to date and take action with ATPE’s advocacy tools and programs

VOUCHERS: House Public Education Committee Chairman Brad Buckley (R–Salado) presented his priority voucher legislation Tuesday in a hearing that stretched from 8 a.m. until 6:30 a.m. the following day. At least 70% of more than 700 people who signed up at the hearing registered in opposition to the bill. Unlike voucher debates in previous sessions, many parents and even politicians who identify as Republicans are recently voicing opposition to the bill.  

House Bill (HB) 3 would create a state-funded private school voucher valued at approximately $10,880, which is roughly double the amount of the state’s current contribution toward public school funding.  

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave testified against HB 3, asking committee members to consider what would happen if the bill passes and the Texas economy has a downturn: “This program, just in the proposal stage, has already doubled in cost. This is a situation where once the genie is out of the bottle, it’s going to be impossible to put back in. I ask you to consider that there will come a time when this state no longer has a $24 billion surplus. What do we do then? Where do the cuts come?”  

Read more about Tuesday’s lengthy voucher hearing in this blog post. For additional coverage of Tuesday’s debate, this Texas Tribune article looks at whether the state should allow wealthy Texans to pay for their children’s private education using taxpayer dollars. ATPE also compares the major Senate and House voucher plans in this blog post from Cave. Although not identical, both HB 3 and Senate Bill (SB) 2 would give Gov. Greg Abbott (R) the voucher his donors are expecting him to deliver.

SENATE EDUCATION K-16 COMMITTEE: While the House Public Education Committee heard HB 3, the Senate Education K-16 Committee met Tuesday to hear several bills, including significant special education bills. ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield testified on SB 57 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D–Laredo) and SB 568 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston).  

SB 57 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. SB 568 relates to special education in public schools, including funding for special education under the Foundation School Program. This blog post includes ATPE’s written and oral testimony, as well as a breakdown of both bills.  

The committee met again Thursday to advance a number of pending bills to the full Senate. In this blog post, Sheffield recaps the votes on the bills advanced out of the committee. 

TEA SURVEY: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is preparing to launch its annual survey of new teachers about their experience in an educator preparation program (EPP). On April 1, first-year teachers who meet the following criteria will receive a link to complete the survey: 

• Working for their first year as a teacher of record in Texas public schools  
• Having taught for at least five months of the school year  
• Holding a standard, intern, or probationary certificate active at the end of October 2024 
• Enrolled in or having completed a Texas EPP  

The survey will remain open until June 15, 2025, and results will be used to monitor and understand the effectiveness of EPPs. Learn more here. 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: The U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday it would lay off nearly half of the department’s workforce, although recent court rulings around the country this week have ordered some federal employees to be reinstated.  

President Donald Trump (R) has proposed shutting down the agency altogether, although new Education Secretary Linda McMahon acknowledges eliminating the department would require Congressional approval. According to the Department of Education, the agency “will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking.”  

Read CNN’s coverage here. 

MEMBER ADVOCACY: As evidenced by the turnout at Tuesday’s House Public Education Committee hearing, education is top of mind for many Texans. In addition to keeping up with these developments here on the Teach the Vote blog, you can use ATPE’s other advocacy resources to track individual bills and make your educator voice heard: 

• 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. The latest campaign, “Urge House reps to tackle school finance before vouchers” will connect you with your state representative so you can share your thoughts on HB 3.  
• 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, 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; this week’s standings will be available Monday, March 17.)