email : Webview : Under the Dome: Activity in the Texas Capitol

October 22, 2015

As summer temperatures transition into cool fall weather, the Texas Capitol remains active and busy! Over the next few weeks, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker Joe Straus will release interim charges for legislative committees to study during the months leading up to the 85th Legislative Session. Through various hearings, the public will have an opportunity to weigh in on these issues and often times, these items studied, become legislation. We anticipate several issues of interest to Texas PTA to be studied during this interim period.

School Funding Lawsuit

The Texas Supreme Court is deliberating on the school finance lawsuit. There is talk that the Supreme Court may remand the suit back to the District Court. In speaking to a recent meeting of school leaders, etiring chairman of the House Public Education Committee, Representative Jimmie Don Aycock, indicated he expects this to happen. Days before the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments, Governor Greg Abbott urged the court to remand the lawsuit back to the District Court, suggesting the financial picture for Texas schools would be significantly different for school districts in 2016-2017 than was funding in 2012-2013 when the school finance lawsuit was filed.

STAAR Passing Standards Phase-In Schedule May Be Revised

This month Commissioner of Education Michael William, who announced his resignation earlier this month, submitted recommendations to utilize a new approach to the phase-in of STAAR passing standards. The performance standards have been at phase-in 1 for four years and were scheduled to move to phase-in 2, a more rigorous passing standard this year. Instead, Williams proposed smaller, predictable increases each year rather than the traditional, larger increases every few years. The phase-in approach would continue until 2021-2022 school year.

Commissioner Williams delayed the phase-in 2 standards in order to allow educators and students to adjust to the more rigorous curriculum and assessments. Increasing the performance standards in smaller increments will still mean the state reaches final performance standards on the current schedule. Each time the passing standard is increased, students must achieve a higher score in order to pass a STAAR exam.

The proposed rules to move to a standard progression approach can be accessed on the TEA website. Comments will be accepted until mid-November. Send comments to rules@tea.texas.gov.

Texas PTA Follows Rule-Making for Turn-around Schools Bill

Rules will be drafted in the next few months for the implementation of HB 1842, legislation to strengthen the process for turning around chronically under-performing schools. This includes strengthening campus intervention teams, improvement plans, and school sanctions. Texas PTA amended the bill to require earlier inclusion of parents in this critical process.

Texas PTA to Seek Input from Members

Over the next few months, PTA members will receive a survey from Texas PTA leadership seeking your input to make every child's potential a reality. Please watch for this survey and send it in! We look forward to hearing to know what is happening in your school communities!

For more information, visit txpta .org

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