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42 days remain in the 88th Regular Legislative Session.


Our Post-Legislative Workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13,

from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in Round Rock. We hope to see you there!

Now is the time to contact your legislators

As the Texas Legislature enters the final six weeks of its 2023 session, there is reason to be concerned that legislators will not provide the funding resources needed for schools to address the teacher shortage, make up for costs driven higher by inflation, and meet the needs of students. In addition, legislators are considering private-school voucher proposals that would take even more dollars away from public schools.


Now is the time when legislators need to hear from constituents who support public schools and are concerned about the many threats to our schools’ future in the current legislative session.


To help with that, we've created a communications toolkit with suggested messages, that can be customized for your district, intended for legislators and community members. There are also sample social media posts and graphics available for use. Please feel free to use these resources or share them with PTA leaders, foundation leaders, or anyone in your community who may want to put them to use.

Communications Toolkit

House Bill 100 District impact

Last week, we provided per-district impact analysis of CSHB 100 by Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian). That analysis was based on the committee substitute for HB 100 that was passed out of committee on Tuesday, April 11. That version is accessible via the link provided but at the time this message was written, the committee sub was not yet available on the public state site. In case you missed that per-district analysis, you can access that here.


Since the time we sent that analysis, the bill's author provided some additional information regarding some changes he plans to make to the bill when it is heard on the House floor as well as some model runs to show the impact of the bill adopted by the committee plus his planned changes.

Author HB 100 Runs: 2024
Author HB 100 Runs: 2025

But the numbers in the two different models don't match? Yeah, we know. When you run a model based on different perimeters, you get a different result. Heck, when two different people run the same model, you can still get different results because different assumptions were made. And in this case, we do not have a bill to update our per-district analysis from (just a memo).


Here is the thing about models: they are estimates based on the best information available at the time. There are some aspects of this bill for which data does not exist at the state level at this time (such as staffing data to analyze the proposed changes to the minimum salary schedule, the change in the special ed weights, and some new programs that districts must choose whether to participate in or not). No model run represents the exact amount any district will receive. That will be based on the bill and the actual data that will be collected after (if) it passes. But the models are intended to give you a pretty good idea so you and your legislators can evaluate how things might shake out so that the bill isn't a complete shot in the dark.


As a reminder here are some key provisions that are included in CSHB 100:


  • Increases the Basic Allotment by $90 to $6,250 in FY 24 and by another $50 after that to $6,300 in FY 25. Applies an inflation adjustment to the BA, which expires in 2025.
  • 50% of any increase received must be spent to increase compensation for teachers, nurses, counselors, and librarians.
  • Changes and increases to the Minimum Salary Schedule and provides Salary Transition Allotment to help pay the difference between what the new schedule requires and what districts would otherwise receive, which expires in 28-29.
  • Extends the expiration date for the Formula Transition Grant to 29-30.
  • Bases school finance funding weights on enrollment, not ADA (in FY 25).


You can also read our section-by-section of CSHB 100 to explain what each section of the bill does.

What to expect this week

Monday

The Senate is expected to debate HB 1, the General Appropriations Act, today on the Senate floor. A few fire works are expected in regards to higher education, but none of the provisions of the bill related to public education are expected to change.


The House Select Committee on Youth Health & Safety will meet Monday afternoon to take up bills dealing with discipline, bullying, safety plans, and more. Last week, this committee advanced both House school safety allotment bills (HB 3 and HB 13) out of committee as committee substitutes.


The House Ways & Means Committee is also scheduled to meet. They aren't hearing any bills that especially impact school finance, but they heard HB 5 last week and left the bill pending. Will they advance a committee substitute of that bill today?



Tuesday

As usual, the House Public Education Committee will meet on Tuesday. They will hear 20 bills on topics ranging from extending the supplemental special education services program, to charter schools, to chaplains, and barbering and cosmetology. The committee will hear bills on accountability and complaints, and they will contemplate whether to establish Texas Fruit and Vegetable Day in public schools.



Wednesday

The Senate Education Committee is expected to meet on Wednesday, but no hearing was posted at the time this message was sent.



Thursday

For the first time this legislative session, the House Public Education Committee will hear bills on a second bonus day, and they will meet Thursday as well to hear another 19 bills. Included on that list is HB 3028 by Rep. Meyer (R-Dallas), which would provide a prepayment discount for recapture of 4% for any district that chose to make their payment early. You can see more info on this legislation, on our Prepayment Discount for Recapture. This bill is similar to the one heard a few weeks ago in the Senate committee.


Additionally, the committee will hear HB 4522 by Rep. Lozano (R-Kingsville), which relates to the "THIS IS A TAX INCREASE" language that is required to appear on the ballot for bond elections. The proposed bill makes is so that language is only required if the bond election is expected to make the tax rate increase the following year.


Also on Thursday, the House Elections Committee will hear several bills, including HB 453 by Rep. Schofield (R-Katy), which says that if a school ever refuses to serve as a polling place for any election that they may not conduct their own election for the board of trustees or a school district bond for the next five years.

What the heck is a formal meeting?

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We're getting to the point of the legislative session when deadlines really matter. For example, all House bills must be reported out of committee by Monday, May 8, in order to remain viable in the legislative process. In the rush of things as deadlines draw near, the formal meeting tactic becomes more and more common. Sometimes you might also hear these referred to as "a meeting at the desk."


Under the House rules, committees can conduct a formal meeting where the committee may discuss and take official action on bills without testimony. Typically, the committee has already heard the bill and taken testimony in a public hearing, and they can therefore have a formal meeting to simply vote it out. Theses meeting are open for the public to attend (although they often take place outside a hearing room, such as at the chairman's desk on the floor in the House chamber, where there may be several such meetings occurring at once in pretty chaotic fashion). Unlike public hearings, formals are not broadcast to the public and there is no recording to go back and watch later. The actions taken in the formal meeting are recorded publicly, but it can take days for that information to be available to those unable to attend in person.


And over in the Senate, they vote to suspend the rules on a regular basis, so impromptu hearings are not unusual in that chamber. In fact, it is not uncommon for the members of either chamber to frequently suspend posting requirements to have such meetings in a very short amount of time. Blink, and you might miss them. While there are some occasions when the decision is made to have a formal meeting rather than public hearing in order to "hide the ball" a bit, the reasons for such meetings are also often connected to convenience and timing.

Communications Resources

In case you missed them, the following resources were shared in previous communications:







Priorities for the 88th Legislative Session

The Coalition's priorities for the 88th Legislative Session include:


  • Enable public schools to meet students' needs
  • Control the cost of recapture
  • Protect the sustainability of public education funding
  • Ensure public accountability of public dollars
  • Preserve local decision-making

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