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Read our legislative session series to learn what's going on Under the Dome
Read our legislative session series to learn what's going on Under the Dome

 

"House and Senate Hash Out Compromise on State's Budget"


In the coming weeks, members of the Texas House and Senate will have plenty of issues to resolve as they come to a compromise on the state's budget.
On April 1, the House passed a $209.8 billion budget after nearly 18 hours of debate. On April 14, the Senate passed its own version of the budget, which totals $211.4 billion.

Here’s a look at how the two budget proposals compare on education:
  • Both chambers support increasing existing funding for public education in the state, but they disagree on how much. These figures represent general revenue spending. 

  • The House budget proposes $37.7 B and puts $2.2 billion on top of what would be needed to fund enrollment growth in public schools, plus an additional $800 million if school finance reform legislation passes. 

  • The Senate budget proposes $41.6 B and appears to have more funding for public schools, but $4.5 billion of it would go to protect school districts against losing money if the Senate’s property tax proposal passes. It adds $1.5 billion on top of what would be needed to fund enrollment growth in public schools.

  • The Senate has proposed about $1.8 B less for public education and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has thrown his weight behind a hefty tax cut package.  House leaders no longer want to wait for a long-needed overhaul of the system and are trying to pass reforms.  It is unclear how the Senate would receive such efforts.  

Updates on Texas PTA Legislative Issues

Vouchers


On Monday, the Senate passed SB 4, a tax credit program to fund scholarships to private schools for students. The bill now moves to the House where it faces a tougher challenge.


Epi-Pens


On April 15, SB 66, authored by Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa and relating to the use of epinephrine auto-injectors on public school and open-enrollment charter school campuses, passed out of the Senate and moves on to the House for consideration. The bill requires that unassigned epinephrine auto-injectors be available on all public school campuses and off-campus school events.

Epinephrine auto-injectors are the first-line of treatment against anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and highly unpredictable. Failure to recognize and treat anaphylaxis with epinephrine as soon as the reaction is identified is a major risk factor for fatality.

SB 66 was renamed the "Cameron Espinosa Act" in memory of Cameron Espinosa, a middle school student from Corpus Christi who died after having a severe allergic reaction to ant bites he sustained during a middle school football game. Texas PTA continues to support epi-pen legislation.


Truancy


The Senate passed SB 106 by Sen. John Whitmire Wednesday with a vote of 26 to 5. The bill, which would treat truancy as a civil court matter, now goes to the House.

If passed, the bill would allow municipal court judges and justices of the peace to remain involved in the process but remove their ability to assess a criminal penalty. If a student violates a court order to attend school, the student would face a contempt charge in juvenile court, where counseling and treatment programs are available and where convictions aren’t part of the public record. Parents found to cause chronic truancy could be fined $100 for a first offense, with fines rising $100 for each subsequent offense up to a $500 cap.


Parent-Trigger


The Parent Trigger Law passed overwhelmingly in the Senate chamber April 15.  SB 14 carried with a bipartisan vote of 25-6.

SB 14 will allow parents to remove their children from failing schools quicker, reducing the amount of time they have to wait to petition for either closing or converting a failing school to a charter school, from five to three years. It has been championed by Education Committee Chair, State Senator Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood). It is an education priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Bill Highlights
Click on each issue to view which bills Texas PTA is monitoring.
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