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. 

• How does the first round of Senate interim charges relate to public education?
• Recap of the January 2026 Texas SBOE meeting 
• Special election results in a dramatic party flip in Texas Senate District 9
• Congress finally unveils long-awaited education budget after another brief government shutdown
• TEA announces Levi Fuller will fill newly created Inspector General role
• Thinking about running for ATPE state office? Join us for a webinar Feb. 9 to learn more about this leadership experience
• Use your teacher voice with ATPE’s advocacy tools

INTERIM CHARGES: Following Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s (R) release of what he called the “first round” of Texas Senate interim charges Jan. 30, the Senate will examine two issues directly impacting public education. The Senate Finance Committee will study lowering the homestead exemption age from 65 to 55, and the Senate Education Committee will study the influence of federal or state-designated hostile agents or their surrogates on public schools. Read the current list of initial interim charges here, and learn about the implications of these charges in ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave’s blog post.  

SBOE: The State Board of Education (SBOE) discussed curriculum, instructional materials, and educator preparation during last week’s meeting. Among the more controversial topics of discussion were a proposed statewide literary works list (the first mandate of its kind in the nation) and thousands of requested corrections to math and reading materials produced by TEA’s Bluebonnet Learning. Members voted to postpone action on both items until the board’s April meeting. ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield has a full recap of the meeting in this blog post. 

SD 9: In Senate District (SD) 9’s special election runoff last weekend, Taylor Rehmet (D) defeated Leigh Wambsganss (R) by 17 points in a district that has been held by Republicans for over 30 years. Rehmet will serve the remainder of former Sen. Kelly Hancock’s term, which runs through the end of 2026. Rehmet and Wambsganss will face off again in the November general election to determine who will represent SD 9 in the Texas Senate for the next four years. Read more in this blog post by ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter. 

FEDERAL FUNDING: After more than a year of uncertainty surrounding federal education funding, Congress has finalized the fiscal 2026 budget, and for public schools, the outcome brings sustained funding rather than sweeping cuts. In a narrow 217–214 vote on Feb. 3, the U.S. House approved a package of five federal spending bills already passed by the Senate, including funding for the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law shortly afterward, ending a brief four-day federal shutdown tied to a separate dispute over Homeland Security funding. ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield takes a closer look in this blog post. 

TEA: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has selected Levi Fuller as Inspector General for Educator Misconduct. This new role was created to oversee the enforcement of educator misconduct policies and processes within TEA. Read TEA’s press release. 

STATE OFFICE: ATPE is currently accepting nominations for 2026-27 state officer positions through March 15. If you’re thinking about running for state office, join ATPE Feb. 9 for a webinar featuring Past State Presidents Jason Forbis, Jayne Serna, and Stacey Ward. During the webinar, the panelists will share insights on their leadership experience. Learn more and register for the webinar here. 

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: 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.