The ATPE Governmental Relations team recaps the past week’s education news, legislative and election updates, and regulatory developments. ATPE members: Share your thoughts and ask our lobby team questions in The Rotunda on the ATPE Online Community. 

• House interim charges announced 
• Abbott’s big government property tax push escalates with direct implications for public schools and local control 
• Patrick assigns new chairs to Senate standing committees, fills vacancies, and creates interim select committees
• Comment on proposed SBEC rules open through April 16 
• Get ready for the runoffs
• The ATPE Podcast: Gear Up for “Maycember” with ATPE Summit Keynote Speaker Juan Bendana
• Use your teacher voice with ATPE’s advocacy tools

HOUSE INTERIM CHARGES: Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock) released the Texas House’s full set of interim charges Thursday, including public education-related charges across multiple committees. Interim legislative charges are topics assigned to committees by the speaker in the House or the lieutenant governor in the Senate for study between legislative sessions. The charges are often a peek into what legislators can expect to focus on in the next legislative session. Once charges are assigned, committees hold hearings, gather information, and study possible solutions to the issues before submitting a report to the speaker or the lieutenant governor ahead of the next legislative session. The House Public Education Committee received seven interim charges, including monitoring major education legislation passed by the Legislature in 2025. Read more in this post from ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave. 

PROPERTY TAXES: A recent campaign post from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) underscores an increasingly aggressive push on property tax policy ahead of the next legislative session and signals his desire to coordinate lawmakers to fundamentally reshape how Texas funds its schools.  

This proposed property tax overhaul plan includes stricter voter approval requirements for tax increases and caps on appraisal growth, framed as tax relief but with major fiscal implications. Local property taxes currently account for over half of Texas public education funding. Eliminating them could require the state to replace an estimated $40 billion–$60 billion every two years, forcing difficult choices such as substantial cuts, a substantial hike to the sales tax, creation of a new revenue source, or potentially all three. 

ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield has more in this blog post. 

SENATE: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) announced Senate committee and leadership changes Monday following the departure of five senators, including four committee chairs. 

The Senate Committee on Education will now be led by Sen. Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels), who previously served as vice chair. Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston) will take over as vice chair. Six other senators will comprise the committee’s membership: Sens. Brent Hagenbuch (R–Denton), Phil King (R–Arlington), José Menéndez (D–San Antonio), Tan Parker (R–Flower Mound), Angela Paxton (R–McKinney), and Royce West (D–Dallas). The eight-member committee plays a key role in shaping legislation related to school finance, accountability, and educator policy. 

Notably, according to Patrick, his practice is to not assign members filling unexpired interim terms to committees, which limits their influence during the interim. This currently includes newly elected Senate District (SD) 9 Sen. Taylor Rehmet (D–Fort Worth) and the yet-to-be determined winner of the SD 4 special election in May. Rehmet won a special election in SD 9 to fill the remainder of former Republican senator Kelly Hancock’s term after he was appointed Acting Texas Comptroller.  

ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield has more in this blog post. 

SBEC: The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) is seeking public comment on several sets of proposed rules up for final adoption by the board at its April meeting: 

• Chapters 227 & 228: Rules for educator preparation programs 
• Chapter 230: Certificate changes 
• Chapters 247 & 249: Rules related to educator misconduct  

If you wish to submit public comments to SBEC regarding any proposed rules, you may do so electronically using the appropriate SBEC public comment form. Find links to a public comment form for each chapter on this webpage.  

The public comment period for these proposed changes is 31 days and will close on Thursday, April 16. Public comments will then be presented to the board before final adoption of the rules at SBEC’s April 24 meeting. 

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave details these proposed rule changes in this blog post. 

RUNOFFS: The March 3 primary election saw a number of races headed to a May runoff. Among these is a higher-than-usual number of high-profile statewide races on both sides, including a runoff to determine the Republican nominee for attorney general and a Democratic runoff to determine the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor.   

Perhaps the biggest race not yet decided is the battle between sitting U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The race drew national headlines after President Donald Trump pledged to endorse one candidate and suggested the other candidate drop out of the race. The deadline to withdraw passed March 17 with neither candidate removing their name from the ballot nor Trump endorsing either candidate.  

One thing is certain: With big statewide races for both parties and Texas’ rules that allow even individuals who didn’t vote in the original primary to vote in the runoff, everyone should plan to head to back to the polls in May.   

Learn more about the candidates in the May runoffs. 

SUMMIT: In the latest episode of The ATPE Podcast, co-hosts Andrea Hutlock and Kate Johanns offer a special look at the 2026 ATPE Summit, including an exclusive interview with opening keynote speaker Juan Bendana! 

Juan shares thought-provoking strategies for staying energized, building confidence, and starting each day with intention. It’s the jolt of good info you need as we begin the sprint to the last day of school! 

Don’t miss your chance to see Juan speak in person at the ATPE Summit, July 14–16 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. Register today and experience three days of inspiring sessions, fun social events, the annual meeting for the ATPE House of Delegates, and the opportunity to earn up to seven hours of continuing professional education credit. Don't forget to book your hotel rooms, too! 

(Artist’s appearance arranged through Gotham Artists.) 

MEMBER ADVOCACY: Even when the Legislature’s not in session, we urge you to stay informed and engaged. Here are a few advocacy resources to check out: 

• ATPE Mobile App: Check out the brand-new ATPE mobile app to conveniently access member benefits and advocacy tools. Learn more in this blog post by ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter. 
• Advocacy Central: Encourage candidates in your area to fill out the 2026 ATPE Candidate survey.  
• Judy: Chat with ATPE’s new AI assistant for Texas educators, ready to help you with all things ATPE and all things #txed.   
• ATPE Member Advocate Program (ATPE-MAP): Enroll in ATPE-MAP to earn state-level and local-level advocacy microcredentials, as well as earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit. ATPE-MAP is included in your member benefits, so be sure to check it out today.    
• ATPE Professional Learning (PL) Portal: Three sessions from the 2025 ATPE Summit are available in the ATPE PL Portal: an HB 2 compensation overview, the ATPE lobby team’s advocacy update and the closing keynote by Jonathan Alsheimer. Log in to watch the recordings and earn 1.5 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) credit. (Jonathan Alsheimer’s appearance arranged through Gotham Artists.) 
• The Rotunda: Don’t forget, members, that you can interact with your ATPE lobby team throughout the week when you log in to the ATPE Online Community.