The ATPE state office is closed today in observance of Good Friday. We'll be back Monday with full coverage of the 85th Legislature and other advocacy news. Here are highlights from this week:

• State legislative committee considers need for federal Social Security reforms

• Supporters urge lawmakers to extend graduation committee law

• Committees hear bills on educator preparation and other topics

• On the agenda next week

 

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On Thursday, April 13, the Texas House Select Committee on State and Federal Power and Responsibility heard testimony about Social Security offsets in federal law that negatively affect many educators. The hearing was on HCR 101 by Rep. Abel Herrero (D-Corpus Christi) urging Congress to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) of the Social Security Act. Learn more about the offsets in current law and how they affect educators here. Although the Texas Legislature does not have the authority to change federal laws, such as those governing Social Security, the measure would be a statement of support from Texas lawmakers for changing the GPO and WEP, which both have the effect of reducing many educators' benefits. ATPE Lobbyist Monty Exter was among the witnesses who testified for the bill, which was left pending.  

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Last legislative session, ATPE supported a bill by Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) to create alternative pathways for eligible students to graduate without necessarily having passed all required STAAR tests. The law allowing for individual graduation committees to evaluate students' post-secondary readiness is set to expire on Sept. 1 of this year unless extended. A number of bills have been filed this session to remove the expiration date on the law, including Sen. Seliger's Senate Bill (SB) 463, which the Senate Education Committee heard this week. Learn more about the legislation, which ATPE supports, in this week's blog post by ATPE Lobbyist Kate Kuhlmann.  

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Both the House Public Education Committee and Senate Education Committee held meetings this week to discuss numerous education-related bills. Hot topics included educator preparation and certification requirements, reporting teacher misconduct, virtual schools, and special education services. For a complete wrap-up of this week's hearings, check out these blog posts by ATPE's lobbyists:

• House Public Education advances teacher misconduct bills published on April 12, 2017 by Mark Wiggins
• Education Committees discuss educator preparation bills and more published on April 12, 2017 by Kate Kuhlmann
• House Public Education committee advances flurry of bills published on April 11, 2017 by Mark Wiggins

 

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Next week in the Texas Legislature, the House of Representatives has scheduled a floor debate for Wednesday, April 19, on House Bill (HB) 21. That's the high-profile school finance reform bill by Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Kingwood) that we've written about here on our blog. The Senate Education Committee is also hearing a number of bills dealing with school finance during its next hearing on Tuesday, April 18. Over in the House Public Education Committee, next Tuesday's meeting will cover proposed legislation on broad topics ranging from curriculum standards to UIL. The House committee will also consider HB 306 by Rep. Ina Minjarez (D-San Antonio), a companion bill to SB 179 that would create "David's Law" aimed at curbing cyberbullying and harassment that leads to suicide. ATPE offered support for the Senate version of the bill during a Senate State Affairs Committee hearing last week. The State Board of Education (SBOE) is also meeting next week. Its four-day meeting begins Tuesday and will feature testimony and discussions of proposed changes to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for science and English language arts and reading. View the complete SBOE agenda here and stay tuned to our Teach the Vote blog and @TeachtheVote on Twitter next week for updates.  

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