Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath is calling on lawmakers to make changes to the STAAR test and ban cellphones in classrooms. 

Morath made the comments Wednesday in Austin during an interim meeting of the Senate Education Committee. The commissioner began the hearing with a “state of public education” report similar to the one he delivered to business leaders Tuesday in Dallas. 

The committee also received invited testimony on a set of interim charges designated by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) that included reading and math readiness, testing reform, COVID-19 funding oversight, health education, school safety, and school libraries. 

Cellphones 

Morath called cellphones in the classroom “extremely harmful” to the learning process and suggested he would have banned cellphones himself were it within his authority. The proposal received tepid support from the committee.  

Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston) said he intended to file a cellphone ban in the upcoming session, but Sen. Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels)—who filed a bill last session that would have banned students from using a cellphone during instructional time—noted that not every issue requires legislation.  

Cellphones have increasingly become a larger part of the broader student discipline discussion. There is a general acknowledgement that unfettered access to cellphones disrupts the learning environment. However, parents who have grown accustomed to being able to directly communicate with their children may be unwilling to have that means of communication cut off entirely.  

STAAR test 

ATPE submitted testimony pointing out the year-over-year inconsistency of the state framework that assigns student, campus and district-level values to performance on STAAR. The commissioner repeated his vigorous defense of the STAAR test while simultaneously suggesting changes such as converting the exam to a through-year assessment. One proposal would replace the current test with a shorter summative assessment during the first semester and pair it with an updated STAAR interim assessment as early as spring 2026. 

Teacher pipeline 

Morath again addressed the increasing percentage of uncertified teachers in Texas schools. The commissioner asserted that the state currently provides no financial support for candidates to complete the educator preparation process and suggested the Legislature consider providing financial incentives for people to pursue stronger certification pathways. Despite his assertion, there are in fact a handful of ATPE-supported statutory programs in place that help defray the cost of training future educators. Unfortunately, like many such programs in Texas law, they are either severely underfunded or unfunded altogether.  

School safety 

TEA Chief of School Safety and Security John Scott testified that following the passage of House Bill (HB) 3, 43% of schools have complied with the requirement to have an armed guard on campus. Roughly 52% have exercised their ability to declare a good cause exception, and just under 3% are still working toward compliance or an exception. 

ATPE submitted testimony urging the Legislature to prioritize funding for the school safety requirements under HB 3 that have added to the financial burdens facing school districts, many of which have been forced into deficit budgets. In a separate conversation, Morath said that per-student funding is not expected to keep up with inflation in the coming years.  

In addition to hardening schools—which, though important, is unlikely to ever fully address issues such as gun violence—ATPE also urged financial support for support staff, such as additional counselors and campus behavioral coordinators (CBC). 

Reading and math readiness 

Morath and Chairman Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe) praised HB 1605 and the transition to using high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) and open educational resources (OER) developed by TEA. Creighton urged voters to pressure the State Board of Education (SBOE) to approve the HQIM list under current evaluation. 

ATPE provided testimony pointing out the detrimental correlation between the historic increase in the percentage of uncertified teachers and student reading and math acquisition and suggested restricting the certification exemptions allowed for Districts of Innovation (DOI) while creating a pathway for uncertified teachers to earn their certification. 

ATPE also cautioned against replacing the pedagogy and professional responsibilities (PPR) licensure exam with edTPA, which has had a negative impact on the teacher pipeline in states where it has been adopted. 

The committee also heard testimony on public health curriculum and school library policies under HB 900, part of which was enjoined as the result of a lawsuit by booksellers.