The House Public Education Committee will meet at 10 a.m. May 11 to discuss the “state of education” and implementation of HB 1481 by Rep. Caroline Fairly (R– Amarillo), relating to school district and open-enrollment charter school policies regarding student use of personal communication devices. 

The hearings will be open to the public and streamed through the Texas House website. 

Texas residents who wish to electronically submit comments related to two agenda items on this notice without testifying in person can do so from now until the hearing is adjourned by visiting https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c400. 

All comments submitted will be given to committee members and displayed publicly on the committee’s webpage. We strongly encourage all educators and supporters of public education to submit a comment. This is your opportunity to provide the Legislature with your viewpoint on the state of public education: what do you need more of and what do you need less of in order to effectively educate your students. To submit a comment: 

• Visit the committee hearing comment page. 
• Check the affirmation box at the top of the page stating that you are a Texas resident, that the information you are providing is true, and that you understand that your comments will be available to the public. 
• Enter your contact information. 
• Click the date you wish to comment on.  
• Select your topic, then leave your comment in the text input box. Each comment is limited to 3,000 words. 

You can submit one comment per committee hearing. 

The hearing topic on the state of education is broad, and we know many of you have thoughts about how the cell phone ban is impacting the students and staff on your campuses. It is important that you let your voice be heard!