Senate Education Committee will meet Monday

The Senate Education Committee will meet for the first time this session 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28. The hearing will be a joint venture with the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs & Homeland Security and will focus on school safety policies and possible improvements. In the wake of recent gun violence tragedies, several proposals to amend school safety and gun control laws are being considered. You can watch the committee hearing live here.

House committee assignments expected next week

Word around the Capitol is that House committee assignments will be released sometime next week. The makeup of pivotal committees, such as the House Public Education Committee and the House Appropriations Committee, will be of particular interest. The House Public Education Committee will have a new chairman and several new members.

Lobby Day Senate visit schedule

Though online registration has closed, you can still attend ATPE’s Political Involvement Training and Lobby Day by registering on-site the day of the event. The two-day event will take place Feb. 10-11, 2013, at the Hilton Austin Downtown and the Texas State Capitol and will feature hands-on political involvement training on the first day, followed by face-to-face meetings with your legislators the second day. Attendees will be responsible for scheduling appointments with their representatives, but ATPE will schedule the Senate meetings. A schedule of the Senate appointments will be available next week. Stay tuned.