The ATPE office is closed today, but here's a look at this week's education news:

• ATPE shares input with Senate on teacher pay
• Texas ESSA plan is approved

As multiple committees and the Texas Commission on Public School Finance spend this interim looking at the issue of teacher compensation, ATPE is taking advantage of opportunities to share our expertise and our members' feedback with lawmakers on the issue. This week, the Senate Education Committee took its turn at discussing teacher pay, and ATPE Lobbyist Kate Kuhlmann was one of the experts invited to testify at Monday's hearing. Kuhlmann shared a number of things lawmakers should consider as they discuss any future plans to address teacher compensation in Texas, above all that those plans be funded, sustainable, and built from an adequate base.

For more on this week’s teacher compensation hearing, Kuhlmann has provided both a wrap-up of the discussion and a written summary of her testimony.  

The federal government has approved a revised plan outlining how Texas will comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). After Congress enacted the law in December 2015 and the U. S. Department of Education (ED) issued regulations to interpret it, states have been required to submit their plans for ESSA compliance. Texas's original plan was sent back for modification. For more on the final ESSA plan that has now been approved by the feds, check out this week's blog post from ATPE Lobbyist Kate Kuhlmann.