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 and Senate leadership move forward with major school finance deal in CSHB 2
• Senate works on testing and school finance bills as meetings wind down
• House Public Education Committee starts to wind down as session deadlines loom
• Federal Roundup: Supreme Court decision on charter schools, budget reconciliation update, and more
• Check out the latest stories on atpenews.org
• Apply for Leadership ATPE by May 31
• Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week all month long with ATPE!
• Register at the lowest rate for the 2025 ATPE Summit by June 6
• Use ATPE’s member advocacy tools to stay in the know and take action
• Wishing you a safe and restful Memorial Day weekend

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CSHB 2: On Friday, the Senate passed its Committee Substitute for House Bill (CSHB) 2 by Rep. Brad Buckley (R–Salado) on third reading. The bill came to the Senate floor after two days of closed-door negotiations between House and Senate leadership that resulted in a joint press release issued by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and Speaker Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock). Public school employees will find both plenty to like and plenty not to like in this sweeping legislation. Of particular note are significant raises for some teachers. Learn more in this Teach the Vote blog post published after passage on second reading.

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SENATE EDUCATION K-16: The Senate Education K-16 Committee held a formal meeting Monday evening to distribute and advance a new 241-page committee substitute that “cleaned up” the Senate’s version of House Bill (HB) 2. The committee also met Tuesday and Thursday to hear House bills, including testing bill HB 4. ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield reviews this week’s Senate action in this blog post.

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HOUSE PUBLIC EDUCATION: The House Committee on Public Education met Tuesday for what wasi likely its final regular hearing of the 2025 regular legislative session as the deadline to move Senate bills out of committee draws closer.  

House committees must hear and report out Senate bills by Saturday, May 24. The House’s deadline to hear all Senate bills and joint resolutions on second reading is Wednesday, May 27. The session ends June 2.  

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave covers the bills heard in this blog post. 

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FEDERAL UPDATE: Several actions took place at the federal level this week that will impact public schools, including a deadlocked Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the State of Oklahoma from using taxpayer funds to run a religious charter school, U.S. House passage of the Republican budget reconciliation package, and a U.S. district judge ruling against the Trump Administration’s efforts to lay off thousands of U.S. Department of Education employees.  

​ATPE Marketing & Engagement Director Kate Johanns has more in this blog post, and David Pore, ATPE’s federal consultant/lobbyist, takes a closer look at the impact of the budget reconciliation package on public education here.

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ATPE NEWS: Check out the latest collection of content on atpenews.org, including Capitol Comment, in which ATPE federal consultant/lobbyist David Pore discusses how the Trump administration has reshaped K-12 education policy with a series of executive actions, bypassing Congress and impacting schools, states, and students.

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LEADERSHIP ATPE: Are you driven to make a difference on your campus, within ATPE, and beyond? Then we encourage you to apply for the next Leadership ATPE cohort. But don’t delay—applications will only be accepted through May 31. 

Leadership ATPE is a year-long program designed to advance your career with professional development, leadership training, and networking opportunities for newer ATPE members. Katy ATPE member Lena Angel, who testified against the Senate’s payroll deduction bill during the April 1 Capitol Expedition, shares her experience with Leadership ATPE in this atpenews.org story. Learn more about the program and apply at atpe.org/leadership-atpe. 

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TEACHER APPRECIATION: ATPE is celebrating Texas public school teachers all month long! We’ve made it easy for you to show your appreciation, too! Send a shoutout to a public school colleague, your child’s favorite public school teacher, or even your favorite still-employed public school teacher. ATPE will review submitted shoutouts and post them on our Show Texas Teachers Love interactive map. Each nominated public school teacher will also be entered into weekly drawings for $100 gift cards throughout May! Learn more and send your shoutouts at atpe.org/teacher-appreciation. Help us show Texas teachers love!  

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SUMMIT: Just two weeks remain to register at the lowest rate, book rooms in the official housing block, and be certified as a delegate for the 2025 ATPE Summit—the deadline is June 6. If you would like to be a delegate this year, reach out to your local unit president (or region president if you are an at-large member). All members must register themselves, and this process is separate from the delegate certification process.  

We look forward to seeing you July 7–9 at the JW Marriott Austin Downtown. Learn more and register at atpesummit.org. This week we announced our volunteer leader training sessions, which include a session on increasing your local unit’s presence in your school district through advocacy and other initiatives. 

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MEMBER ADVOCACY: Don’t forget to check out all of ATPE’s advocacy resources: 

• Judy: Chat with ATPE’s new AI assistant for Texas educators, ready to help you with all things ATPE and all things #txed. Check out our interview with Judy at atpenews.org.  
• The ATPE Bill Tracker: Find out the status of the major education bills moving through the Texas House and Senate, as well as ATPE’s position on each bill.   
• ATPE’s 2025 Legislative Priorities: Catch up on ATPE’s written and oral testimony from this session.    
• Advocacy Central: Contact your U.S. House member about federal issues, and share your feedback on the Texas Senate’s version of HB 2, the school finance bill. 
• ATPE Member Advocate Program (ATPE-MAP): Enroll in ATPE-MAP to earn the state-level and recently released local-level advocacy microcredential, as well as earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit. ATPE-MAP is included in your member benefits, so check it out today.    
• 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. (While you’re there, be sure to check out the latest Regional Advocacy Challenge (RAC) standings.)   

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MEMORIAL DAY: The ATPE state office will be closed Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen at 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 27. We wish all of you a safe and restful weekend!

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