House committee assignments were announced Thursday by newly elected Speaker Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock), ending weeks of speculation and questions.  

Unsurprisingly, Chairman Brad Buckley (R–Salado), who authored the omnibus school funding/voucher bill in the third and fourth special sessions in 2023, is returning  as chairman of the House Public Education Committee, with Rep. Diego Bernal (D–San Antonio) returning to the committee and as vice chair after being removed from the committee in the 2023 session.   

Buckley, Alma Allen (D–Houston), Charles Cunningham (R–Kingwood), Gina Hinojosa (D–Austin), and James Talarico (D–Round Rock) are returning to the committee from last session. Alan Schoolcraft (R–Seguin), a returning House member who served from 1981-1993, is a former two-time member of the committee. Terri Leo Wilson (R–Galveston) is a former three-term member of the State Board of Education. James Frank (R–Wichita Falls) previously served on the House Select Committee on Educational Opportunity and Enrichment during the 2023 session.   

Although several pro-public education members of the committee were retained, the committee’s makeup has decidedly shifted pro-voucher, with multiple members elected due to their support of Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) priority legislation. Outside of the voucher issue, it is an open question as to what type of reception bills addressing pro-public education priorities will receive from the committee, as well as their approach to bills in opposition to ATPE’s legislative program.  

ATPE members who wish to share their support for ATPE’s 2025 legislative priorities, as well as their own personal stories, should feel encouraged to call and email the committee members directly. ATPE looks forward to working with the members of the committee during the remainder of the session to find common ground on important issues such as school funding, teacher certification and preparation, improved working conditions, and teacher pay.  

The full committee is as follows:  

In addition to the full House Public Education Committee, the House has also created a new Permanent Standing Subcommittee on Academic and Career-Oriented Education this session.  That subcommittee is as follows: 

• Chair:  Trent Ashby (R–Lufkin) 
• Vice Chair: James Talarico (D–Round Rock) 
• Harold Dutton (D–Houston) 
• Todd Hunter (R–Corpus Christi) 
• Alan Schoolcraft (R–Seguin) 

There are a few other committees of note to public education due to their work on issues touching public education, such as Teacher Retirement System benefits and the state budget.  They are listed below. 

The House Appropriations Committee (responsible for the budget): 

The House Calendars Committee (responsible for setting each day’s agenda for the House floor): 

• Chair: Todd Hunter (R) 
• Vice Chair: Toni Rose (D) 
• Terry Canales (D) 
• Stan Gerdes (R) 
• Cody Harris (R) 
• Ana Hernandez (D) 
• Ann Johnson (D) 
• Jeff Leach (R) 
• Janie Lopez (R) 
• Ramon Romero (D) 
• Carl Tepper (R) 

The House Higher Education Committee (responsible for policies involving colleges and universities, including educator prep): 

• Chair: Terry Wilson (R) 
• Vice Chair: Donna Howard (D) 
• Stan Lambert (R) 
• Vincent Perez (D) 
• Matt Shaheen (R) 
• Tony Tinderholt (R) 
• Aicha Davis (D) 
• Suleman Lalani (D) 
• Joanne Shofner (R) 
• Gary VanDeaver (R) 
• Charlene Ward Johnson (D) 

The House Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services Committee (responsible for TRS, among other issues): 

• Chair: Stan Lambert (R) 
• Vice Chair: Mihaela Plesa (D) 
• John Bryant (D) 
• Ben Bumgarner (R) 
• Linda Garcia (D) 
• Richard Hayes (R) 
• Janis Holt (R) 
• Alan Schoolcraft (R) 
• Hubert Vo (D) 

The full list of House committees is available here.   

Committees may start meeting immediately, but before the 60th day of the session (March 14), the full House may only consider and pass those items declared “emergency items” by the governor. During his State of the State Address, Abbott declared teacher pay, vouchers, and expansion of career and technical education (CTE) to be emergency items. This means most legislation won’t be considered by the full body until mid-March.