HB 4: The Texas Senate has capped funding for the Pre-K grant program at $130 million. The money is intended to coax school districts into improving existing Pre-K programs, which the state currently funds for students from low-income, English-language learning, military and foster families. The measure offers up to $1,500 per child to school districts that agree to implement certain teacher quality and curriculum measures over the next two years. The House must decide whether to accept changes made by the Senate before the bill can head to Governor Abbott’s desk.
HB 743: One of Texas PTA’s top priorities this session is the reduction of state-mandated assessment for students in grades 3-8. HB 743 would require that an assessment instrument, before it is administered, be determined to be valid and reliable, based on empirical evidence, by an independent entity. TEA would be required to ensure that an assessment instrument is designed to primarily assess the essential knowledge and skills identified by the SBOE of the subject and for the grade level for which it is administered.
The bill would also require that an assessment instrument be designed to be completed within a certain amount of time by 85 percent of students to which it is administered: 120 minutes for students in grades 3-5 and 180 minutes for students in grades 6-8. The amount of time allowed for administration of an instrument could not exceed eight hours and could occur on only one day.
HB 1536: Would establish the Texas Opportunity School District and require the commissioner to determine, after a campus has been identified as unacceptable for two consecutive school years, whether the district has instituted meaningful change, including reconstituting the staff or leadership at the campus.
SB 66: Would require school districts and charter schools to implement policies related to the administration of epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPens) to individuals reasonably believed to be experiencing an anaphylaxis reaction.
