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. 

• Why educators should pay attention to Sen. Paul Bettencourt’s conversation with The Texas Tribune
• School lunch program remains funded during the federal shutdown—for now
• What HB 8 means for Texas educators
• Texas SB 412 explained
• Don’t forget to vote in the Nov. 4 election
• Hang out with ATPE at The Texas Tribune Festival!
• Stay in the know and take action with ATPE’s member advocacy tools

BETTENCOURT: Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston) spoke with Matthew Watkins of The Texas Tribune Wednesday, spending a significant portion of the conversation on property taxes, homestead exemptions, free speech, and the November constitutional amendments.  

The discussion reveals the current legislative leadership’s agenda is not about defending local control; it’s about consolidating control and giving it to the Texas Legislature. This is evident not only in Bettencourt’s defense of limiting local school districts’ taxing authority and budget control via “property tax relief” but also in his comments on “civil discourse and freedom of speech.” ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield analyzes the conversation in this blog post. 

SNAP: Some social media posts are mistakenly linking SNAP and school lunch and breakfast programs, but they are separate and have different funding mechanisms and oversight. In this blog post, ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield breaks down the current status of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and shares resources for those interested in learning more about free and reduced-price meals or applying for assistance. 

HB 8: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) frames House Bill (HB) 8 as a transformative step toward reducing testing stress and aligning assessments with classroom instruction. However, much of the current testing and accountability infrastructure remains the same—just under new labels and timelines. ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield outlines those changes in this blog post. 

SB 412: Senate Bill (SB) 412 changes how Texas law treats “harmful” materials in schools, eliminating an important defense once available to educators and leaving teachers and librarians more vulnerable to complaints. In this atpenews.org blog post, ATPE Managing Attorney Lance Cain clarifies the definition of “harmful” materials according to the Texas Penal Code. 

ELECTION DAY: Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, and Texans will vote on 17 proposed state constitutional amendments and various local offices and ballot measures, including some school board races and propositions. In this blog post, ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield outlines three proposed state constitutional amendments that impact public education. A special election will also be held to fill the 18th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House as well as the Texas Senate District 9 seat. Early voting ends Friday, Oct. 31. 

TRIBFEST: Educators will find plenty of exciting opportunities at the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival this Nov. 13–15 in Austin. ATPE is proud to be a supporting sponsor of TribFest, and thanks to ATPE’s partnership with the Tribune, attendees can earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit at select sessions.  

Students and educators may purchase TribFest tickets for only $65 using education-affiliated email addresses. This is an 80% discount off the general admission ticket.  

Read more in this blog post. 

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: 

• Advocacy Central: Get in touch with your elected officials about the legislation impacting your profession.  
• 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.