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.  

• ATPE testifies on “Parents’ Bill of Rights” during House Public Education Committee meeting 
• Senate Education committee hears several bills on student discipline and truancy
• House Public Education Subcommittee considers bill to expand virtual education in Texas
• Read the latest ATPE News content
• ATPE Summit breakout sessions announced
• Listen to the latest ATPE Podcast episode on educator leave
• Save Texas Schools rally to be held Saturday, April 5
• Stay up to date and take action with ATPE’s advocacy tools and programs

HOUSE PUBLIC EDUCATION: The House Public Education Committee met Tuesday to consider six bills on parental rights, curriculum, and school safety. 

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave testified on House Bill (HB) 7 by Rep. Jeff Leach (R–Plano), which Leach refers to as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights.” Cave expressed ATPE’s concerns about the bill’s vague language in the “psychological and psychiatric testing” and “educator misconduct” sections, as well as the section on limiting appeals only to actions taken by school districts, meaning parents could not appeal the actions of TEA or a charter school. Read more about this bill, as well as the other bills considered during the meeting, in this blog post.  

SENATE: The Senate Education K-16 Committee met Tuesday to hear bills on student discipline, truancy, and other topics, and to take votes on pending bills heard earlier this session.  

The committee voted to advance several bills during the meeting, including Senate Bill (SB) SB 27 by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Beaumont) dealing with public school educators’ rights and assistance provided to public schools by the Texas Education Agency related to educators. The bill passed on a 9-0 vote. ATPE offered testimony in support of the bill. 

ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield outlines the bills considered and voted on in this blog post. 

HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE: The House Subcommittee on Academic and Career-Oriented Education met Thursday to discuss four bills.  

ATPE submitted written testimony opposing HB 2196 by Rep. Keith Bell (R–Forney), which would replace the Texas Virtual School Network and expand full-time virtual education. Based on the experience of the few programs producing successful student outcomes over a nearly 20-year period, ATPE requested that three changes be made to the bill: (1) tying virtual students to a physical campus for purposes of tutoring, testing, and receiving services such as special education; (2) prohibiting full-time asynchronous virtual programs; and (3) strengthening language in the bill that gives the Texas Education Commissioner unilateral authority to determine which third-party vendors may provide full-time virtual services by adding clear, minimum standards to the statute.  

ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter testified in support of HB 117 by Rep. Alan Schoolcraft (R–Seguin), which would create a Governor’s Task Force on the Governance of Early Childhood and Care. Exter emphasized the need for early childhood educators to be included on the task force, which the bill does not currently require. ATPE also submitted written testimony on the bill. 

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave shares more about the subcommittee hearing in this blog post. 

ATPE NEWS: We've just published a new collection of content on atpenews.org, including features, columns, and member spotlights.  

In Capitol Comment, ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield describes how even halfway through the session, the 89th Texas Legislature is already shaping up to be one of the most consequential sessions in recent history for public education and educators across Texas. 

Read all the latest stories at atpenews.org. 

SUMMIT: We are excited to announce the professional learning breakout sessions for the 2025 ATPE Summit, which will take place July 7-9 at the JW Marriott Austin Downtown. You will have the opportunity to earn up to seven hours of continuing professional education (CPE) credit at the summit, including two hours at your choice of 12 different breakout sessions. Sessions will examine topics such as artificial intelligence and other technologies, relationships between educators and parents, building positive classroom culture, and much more. 

Attendees will also have the opportunity to earn CPE credit for attending the advocacy update, House of Delegates, and two keynotes. Learn more and register to attend at atpesummit.org. 

PODCAST: In the latest episode of The ATPE Podcast, ATPE’s Member Legal Services Department Managing Attorney Lance Cain continues his deep dive into educator leave, focusing specifically on protected leave and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Listen to the episode here. 

APRIL 5 RALLY: Save Texas Schools will hold its next pro-public education rally from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. 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: Another way to make your educator voice heard is to connect with lawmakers through Advocacy Central. You can weigh in on the bill to ban student cell phone use during the school day or urge your elected official(s) to continue holding the line against vouchers.  

In addition to keeping up with the latest legislative developments here on the Teach the Vote blog, you can use these resources to track individual bills and be an advocate for your profession: 

• 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 testimony from this session.  
• 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.)