The ATPE Governmental Relations team recaps the past week’s education news, legislative and election updates, and regulatory developments. ATPE members: Share your thoughts and ask our lobby team questions in The Rotunda on the ATPE Online Community. 

• SBEC meets to discuss rule changes in response to new legislation
• Early voting begins Tuesday, Feb. 17  
• Student-led protests place scrutiny on Texas public schools
• TRS announces no change in current health plan providers
• State officer nominations open through March 15
• Use your teacher voice with ATPE’s advocacy tools

SBEC: The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) held a meeting Friday, Feb. 13, in which the board was expected to finalize changes to several chapters of rules in response to legislation from the 89th legislative session. These rules include admissions rules and requirements for educator preparation programs, certification rules, and rules involving teacher discipline and the Educator Code of Conduct. ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave will have a full recap next week. 

EARLY VOTING: Early voting for the March 3 primary election begins Tuesday, Feb. 17, and runs through Friday, Feb. 27.  

Before you head to the polls, take the Texas Educator Voting Pledge on Advocacy Central to: 

• Research candidates’ positions on public education using ATPE’s TeachtheVote.org. 
• Ask your friends and family to make a plan to vote with you. 
• Vote pro-public education! 

STUDENT WALKOUTS: Recent student-led walkouts protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity have drawn scrutiny from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and placed educators in a challenging position.  

In an interview with CBS Austin this week, ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter said: “What [educators] would love is an acknowledgement from our state leaders that student walkouts are a logistical issue that while again neither planned nor prompted by the district or campus staff still has to be dealt with by those staff members.” 

ATPE Managing Attorney Lance Cain details educators’ legal and professional responsibilities regarding these situations in this atpenews.org blog post.

TRS: The Texas Retirement System (TRS) announced this week that its health plans will continue with current carriers. TRS-ActiveCare and TRS-Care Standard will remain with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX), and TRS-Care Medicare Advantage will remain with UnitedHealthcare. Active employees can learn more here, and retirees can read more here.

STATE OFFICE:  ATPE is accepting nominations for 2026-27 state officer positions through March 15. If you’re thinking about serving at the state level, sign in to the ATPE Professional Learning Portal to view the webinar "Running for State Office." The 30-minute panel discussion features three state past presidents who share insights on their leadership experience. Per Article IV, Section 3, of the ATPE State Bylaws, a candidate for ATPE state office must be an active Professional, Administrator, Retired, or Associate member of the association and must currently be serving or must have served within the past five years as a local unit, region, or state officer. Learn more about the nomination process.

MEMBER ADVOCACY: Even when the Legislature’s not in session, we urge you to stay informed and engaged. Here are a few advocacy resources to check out: 

• Advocacy Central: Take the Texas Educator Voting Pledge and encourage candidates in your area to fill out the 2026 ATPE Candidate survey. 
• Judy: Chat with ATPE’s new AI assistant for Texas educators, ready to help you with all things ATPE and all things #txed.   
• ATPE Member Advocate Program (ATPE-MAP): Enroll in ATPE-MAP to earn state-level and local-level advocacy microcredentials, as well as earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit. ATPE-MAP is included in your member benefits, so be sure to check it out today.    
• ATPE Professional Learning (PL) Portal: Three sessions from the 2025 ATPE Summit are available in the ATPE PL Portal: an HB 2 compensation overview, the ATPE lobby team’s advocacy update and the closing keynote by Jonathan Alsheimer. Log in to watch the recordings and earn 1.5 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) credit. (Jonathan Alsheimer’s appearance arranged through Gotham Artists.) 
• The Rotunda: Don’t forget, members, that you can interact with your ATPE lobby team throughout the week when you log in to the ATPE Online Community.