This morning, State Sen. Jane Nelson, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, filed SB 1, the Senate’s base budget bill. The bill includes funding for the full Foundation School Program entitlement, reflecting changes made last session to the school finance formulas.

The House also released its recommendations for the appropriations bill today, closely matching the Senate's version regarding school funding.

Throughout the session, you can find daily Updates from the Capitol and track key legislation related to education in our Bill Summaries.

In its spring assessment guidance released last week, TEA says it will require all students, even those who have been learning remotely, to be present at a monitored testing session and to be supervised by a trained test administrator. TEA also extended testing windows. Click here to read more.

President Joe Biden has called reopening schools a "national emergency." Today, he issued several executive orders to push the process along. His actions call for providing more personal protective equipment and COVID-19 testing, prioritizing vaccines for teachers and establishing better data to track coronavirus cases in schools across the country.

On Wednesday, he issued an extension of pandemic relief for people with federal student loans. Borrowers can pause payments through Sept. 30, with a 0% interest rate, and collections on defaulted loans remain on hold.

Last week, President Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus and relief bill dubbed the "American Rescue Plan" that includes $350 billion in direct aid to state and local governments plus $268 billion in other areas that will help schools, educators and children. Education Week's chart outlines the allocations in the plan, which has not been approved by Congress.

Federal paid emergency sick and family leave provisions for COVID-19 expired on Dec. 31, but TCTA continues working through our lobbyists in Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to extend the COVID-19 leave by including it in the stimulus bill. We are lobbying state lawmakers to enact emergency sick leave as well. Sen. José Menéndez has filed SB 257, which would provide up to 14 days of paid leave for a school employee who has tested positive for COVID-19.

TCTA has been working with our members in San Benito CISD and many other districts on the adoption of local sick leave policies. San Benito's school board approved a new policy this week extending emergency paid sick leave for COVID-related issues, joining a growing list of districts across the state.

COVID-19 cases continue to rise at record-setting rates across Texas. Recognizing the continuing toll of the pandemic on educators and the strain on the health care system, State Sen. José Menéndez sent a letter to Commissioner Mike Morath this week urging him to give districts the "flexibility to allow school personnel and students to stay home during this recent surge."

According to the state dashboard, 7,863 Texas students and 4,031 educators tested positive for COVID-19 for the week ending Jan. 10, mirroring spikes seen in early December after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Several school districts, including Harlandale ISD, have urged parents to switch their children to virtual learning this week. Austin ISD reported more than 10,000 students returned to remote instruction. In Socorro ISD, teachers will be allowed to conduct remote lessons from home instead of on campus because of the high COVID-19 hospitalization rates in El Paso.

Across the state, districts are partnering with health providers to vaccinate eligible educators under Phase 1B. Hundreds of teachers over age 65 or with underlying conditions in San Antonio and Longview were set to receive shots this week. Since the demand for doses exceeds the current supply, we do not yet know when the pool will expand to Phase 1C, which is expected to include educators and other front-line workers who want to be vaccinated.

We have all the latest state and federal guidance in our COVID-19 FAQs on 2020-21 Education Issues. This week:

While this information is not legal advice, we hope it helps answer questions you may have about COVID-19's impact on schools. Members who have specific concerns or questions should call the Legal Department at 888-879-8282 to speak with a staff attorney.

The College Board announced this week that it will discontinue the optional essay component of the SAT and all SAT subject tests beginning in July as it prioritizes creation of a new digital version of the SAT. The College Board cited the pandemic as the catalyst for these changes, saying it "accelerated a process already underway" to simplify demands on students.

If you have new colleagues on campus, reach out and invite them to join TCTA before enrollment ends on Feb. 1. Second-semester hires can join TCTA and receive full membership benefits for half the cost. (Membership will expire Aug. 31, 2021.) Click here for the application and more information.