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.