Our ATPE Governmental Relations team hopes you have a terrific July 4th weekend. Here are stories that caught our attention this week in case you missed them:

• STAAR test scores drop in the wake of the pandemic
• Texas election roundup: polls, election reform, campaign announcements, and more

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STAAR: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) on Monday released the results of 2021 STAAR assessments showing predictable declines in student test scores. According to a TEA press release, the number of students below grade level jumped in all subject areas and grades except English I and English II, compared to the last administration of STAAR in 2019. (Tests were cancelled in 2020 due to pandemic-related school closures.) The most significant declines were on the math tests. TEA noted that schools with more in-person leaners fared better on the tests than schools that had more students attending school remotely this past year.

For more on the STAAR results, check out the article from our friends at the Texas Tribune, republished on our blog here.
 

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ELECTIONS: This week marked the 50th anniversary of the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which lowered the voting age to 18 and the opened the door for many high school seniors to begin voting. Voting rights remain a hot topic as the Supreme Court issued a significant ruling on the issue this week, and lawmakers are preparing for a special session next week that is likely to focus on a failed election reform bill from the regular session. Meanwhile, there is new polling out about Texans' viewpoints on the subject of voting, plus officeholders' job performance.

Read about these developments and other campaign news in Thursday's Texas election roundup blog post from ATPE Lobbyist Mark Wiggins.
 

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