On Tuesday, the House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee took up:
HB 293
by Ken King (R-Canadian) would exempt school district chief financial officers or investment officers from investment training requirements if the school district does not invest district funds or only deposits those funds in interest-bearing deposit accounts or certificates of deposits. It was left pending.
Also on Tuesday, the House Public Education Committee took up:
HB 3
by Dan Huberty (R-Humble), a comprehensive school finance reform bill. It was left pending.
On Wednesday, the House Public Education Committee took up:
HB 233
by Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) would prohibit school districts from having a school start date before Labor Day and require school districts to end the school year between May 15th and Memorial Day, unless the district operates a year-round system. These requirements would also apply to districts of innovation. It was left pending.
HB 340
by Philip Cortez (D-San Antonio) would require students in pre-kindergarten through third grade to participate in an unstructured daily recess period of at least 30 minutes that is in addition to any required period of moderate or vigorous physical activity. It was left pending.
HB 684
by Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches) would require school nurses and other school district employees to complete an agency-approved online course on managing students with seizures, seizure recognition and related first aid. It was left pending.
HB 692
by James White (R-Hillister) would prohibit a homeless student from being placed in out-of-school suspension. It was left pending.
HB 808
by Harold Dutton (D-Houston) would provide that public schools with at least 1,000 African American males to be evaluated on campus performance based only on the performance of African American males. It was left pending.
HB 880
by Gina Callani (D-Katy) would prohibit a school district's board of trustees from making a severance payment to a superintendent in an amount greater than one year's salary under the superintendent's terminated contract. It was left pending.
HB 1051
by Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston) would make an adult education program provided under a high school diploma and industry certification charter school a permanent program instead of a pilot program and would be expanded to include adult students, regardless of the student's age. It was left pending.
HB 1093
by Joe Moody (D-El Paso) would prohibit the Commissioner of Education from establishing a shorter period for filing a due process complaint alleging a violation of state or federal special education laws than the maximum timeline allowed under federal law. It was left pending.
HB 1132
by Lina Ortega (D-El Paso) would authorize a school district that holds election of its officers on a date other than the November uniform election date to change the date of its election to the November uniform election date if the date change is made before the end of 2014. It was left pending.
HB 1133
by Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) would change the class size limitation of 22 students per class for kindergarten through fourth grade to a campus-wide average of 22 students in each of those grades. It was left pending.
HB 1276
by Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston) would apply to school districts with an enrollment of 5,000 or more students, and would provide that a student in first through sixth grade attending an elementary school could not be assigned for two consecutive school years to a teacher who has less than one year of teaching experience and is not certified. It was left pending.
This Week:
Tuesday's House Calendar:
HB 92
by Eddie Rodriguez (D- Austin) would allow a campus turnaround plan to operate as a community school that provides strategies and programs to coordinate academic, social, and health services that reduce barriers to learning.
HB 109
by Armando "Mando" Martinez (D-Weslaco) would apply the statute prohibiting classes on Memorial Day to open-enrollment charter schools.
HB 111
by Mary Gonzalez (D-El Paso) would require training for school employees to include prevention of sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and other maltreatment of children with significant cognitive disabilities in both educational and non-educational settings. (committee substitute)
HB 330
by Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston) would exclude students who have suffered a condition, injury or illness that requires substantial medical care and leaves the student unable to attend school from the dropout and completion rate calculations.
HB 403
by Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) would require training for school superintendents and trustees regarding sexual abuse, human trafficking, and other maltreatment of children.
HB 1244
by Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin) would require school districts to administer a civics test to a student in the foundation high school program and make it a requirement for high school graduation. The civics test would consist of all of the questions on the civics test administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the naturalization process.
Wednesday's House Calendar:
HB 396
by Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston) would prohibit money in the instructional materials and technology fund to be used to pay the expenses associated with intrastate freight and shipping; and would allow funding to be used to pay for inventory of software or systems for storing and accessing instructional materials.
HB 422
by Alma Allen (D-Houston) would require school boards to annually certify to the Texas Education Agency that the board has established the required district- and campus-level planning and decision-making committees.
The House Public Education Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. in E2.036 of the capitol extension to take up:
HB 462
by Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) would require the legislature to set the basic allotment and the guaranteed level of state and local funds per weighted student at the amounts necessary for the state funds portion to comply with the minimum constitutional requirements or greater.
HB 548
by Terry Canales (D-Edinburg) would require school districts and charters to report truancy information through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS).
HB 735
by Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston) would allow a school district that has held a successful Tax Ratification Election since 2006 to lower its maintenance and operations tax rate to raise it back up in a subsequent year to the previously approved rate without holding another election.
HB 1160
by Jarvis Johnson (D-Houston) would allow compensatory education allotment funding to be used for a district's school guidance and counseling program or for counseling or social work services provided by a licensed social worker or licensed professional counselor.
HB 1182
by Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) would require school districts to provide a one-half credit course in personal financial literacy that includes instruction on completing the application for federal student aid (current law requires school districts to offer it as an elective).
HB 1199
by Rick Miller (R-Sugar Land) would require the Texas Education Agency to audit and monitor school districts to ensure they are complying with dyslexia screening and testing requirements.
HB 1388
by Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston) would add students who successfully complete a coherent sequence of career and technology courses to the evaluation criteria for school districts and campuses.
HB 1453
by Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) would require one of the four teacher members of the State Board of Educator Certification to be a teacher who is certified in special education with classroom experience; and it would prescribe the required educator training on instruction for students with disabilities.
HB 1556
by Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston) would require purchases of goods and services by school districts to be through competitive bidding (current law requires competitive bid for services but not for goods); and would eliminate the $25,000 requirement threshold.
HB 1597
by Stan Lambert (R-Abilene) would allow a student whose parent or guardian is an active-duty military member to establish residency in a school district by providing a copy of a military order requiring the parent's transfer to a military installation in or adjacent to the district's attendance zone.
HB 1632
by Keith Bell (R-Forney) would add to the definition of students at risk of dropping out (and qualifying them to receive compensatory, intensive and accelerated instructional services) students: with dyslexia or related disorder; that are educationally disadvantage; that have enrolled in two or more schools in the preceding or current year; or that have ten or more absences in a school year.
HB 1639
by Armando "Mando" Martinez (D-Weslaco) would allow school districts to hold election for its officers on the November uniform election date and to transition the terms of office to three- or four-year staggered terms.
HB 1664
by Ken King (R-Canadian) would clarify that school superintendents are not required to report an allegation of misconduct by an educator to the State Board for Educator Certification if the superintendent completes an investigation into the alleged incident and determines that the educator did not engage in the alleged incident of misconduct.
HB 1679
by Four Price (R-Amarillo) would authorize student loan repayment assistance for school counselors with at least a master's degree in counseling, are certified as a school counselor and have completed from one to five consecutive years of employment by a school district located in a federally designated mental health care health professional shortage area or a school that receives federal funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
HB 1773
by Mayes Middleton (R-Wallisville) would require school districts that utilize a relocatable educational facility to move the district's administrative offices to the relocatable education facility and convert the administrative office building into classrooms for student instruction.
HB 1823
by Philip Cortez (D-San Antonio) would change the heading of Section 46.009 of the Education Code from "Payment of School Facilities Allotments" to "Reduction of School District Property Taxes as Result of School Facility Allotment."
HB 2116
by James White (R-HIllister) would add students who have been incarcerated or have a parent or guardian who has been incarcerated to the definition of students at risk of dropping out.
HB 2210
by Keith Bell (R-Forney) would exempt students receiving residential services in a state hospital whose parents do not reside in the school district from the district's accountability ratings.
HB 2424
by Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin) would require the State Board of Educator Certification to establish a program to issue micro-credentials in fields of study related to an educator's certification class.
HJR 24
by Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) would propose a constitutional amendment requiring the state to pay at least 50 percent of the cost of maintaining and operating the public school system.
The Senate Education Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. in E1.28 of the capitol extension to take up:
SB 54
by Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) would exempt a student in a regional day school program for the deaf whose parent does not reside in the school district from the district's accountability rating classification.
SB 213
by Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) would eliminate the sunset date (September 1, 2019) on statutes authorizing the use of individual graduation committees and alternative methods to satisfy high school graduation requirements.
SB 316
by Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) would require the attorney general to defend a teacher in a civil action brought against the teacher if the teacher acted in good faith within the scope of the teacher's duties.
SB 364
by Kirk Watson (D-Austin) would require Texas Education Agency to develop model policies on the recess period during the school day that encourages constructive, age-appropriate outdoor playtime that maximizes the effectiveness of outdoor physical activity; and would require school districts to adopt a recess policy based on the model policies. (the companion is HB 455)
SB 372
by Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) would authorize an open-enrollment charter school to employ security personnel and commission peace officers and to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a law enforcement agency to assign a school resource officer to the school.
SB 435
by Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) would require local school health advisory councils to recommend appropriate grade level curriculum for instruction regarding opioid addiction and abuse and methods for administering an opioid antagonist.
SB 458
by Joan Huffman (R-Houston) would require training for school superintendents and trustees regarding sexual abuse, human trafficking, and other maltreatment of children. (the companion is HB 403)
SB 522
by Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) would require the individualized education program for a student with a visual impairment to include instruction in braille unless the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee determines that braille is not an appropriate literacy medium for the student.
SB 933
by Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) would establish a Texas Education Agency Office of the Inspector General to carry out investigations of fraud, waste, and abuse on behalf of the Commissioner of Education.
SB 1230
by Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) would require private schools to report to the State Board for Educator Certification information on educators that have a criminal record; that were terminated and there is evidence that the educator abused or otherwise committed an unlawful act with a student or minor or was involved in a romantic relationship with or solicited or engaged in sexual contact with a student or minor; or resigned and there is evidence that the educator engaged in similar misconduct.
SB 1256
by Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) would clarify that statutes relating to employing, terminating and reporting the misconduct of public school personnel apply to charter schools and districts of innovation.
