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. 

• Texas Legislature sends testing bill, to Gov. Abbott’s desk before adjourning second special session 
• TEA issues correspondence on parental rights bill, school library materials, and more 
• Deadline extended: Apply to serve on one of ATPE’s fall committees by Sept. 10 
• Stay in the know and take action with ATPE’s member advocacy tools 

HB 8: The Texas House voted to accept Senate changes to House Bill (HB) 8 by House Public Education Committee Chairman Brad Buckley (R–Salado), a testing and accountability bill, Wednesday night before both chambers adjourned sine die. According to Buckley, the bill would end “the high stakes nature of one test, one day.” HB 8 will replace the current STAAR with three tests each at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year, plus an additional standalone writing test, all taking effect in the 2027-28 school year.  

This final version of the testing bill comes after the failure of HB 4, the House’s testing and accountability package from the regular session earlier this year. HB 4, also by Buckley, similarly would have created a testing system with three tests, but it would have limited testing to only federally mandated subjects and would have removed the Texas Education Agency (TEA) as the test developer. HB 8 does not do either of those things. (HB 4 passed the House almost unanimously but was overhauled in the Senate and then died in conference after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the bill.) 

ATPE supported HB 4 in the regular session but remained neutral on HB 8 in the most recent special session. ATPE conveyed overwhelming member concerns that the new model would increase testing, that it would not come with a pause in punitive accountability, and that educators were not given enough opportunity to be part of the process of studying the issue and drafting a new exam. 

A few components of HB 8 that ATPE supports are that the bill prohibits benchmarking, requires a quicker turnaround of results, and limits TEA’s ability to change A-F accountability rules mid-year or after a school year—which school districts have sued over in the past. 

HB 8 is now headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) desk. ATPE thanks the hundreds of members who contacted their lawmakers over the last few weeks to urge them to continue working on testing and accountability during the interim instead of pushing the bill through. 

TEA: On Sept. 4, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) continued its steady weekly release of To the Administrator Addressed (TAA) correspondence. Two of this week’s letters, 2028 A–F Accountability Rating System Framework and 2025-26 Purple Star Campus Designation Awardees, are recapped below.  

TEA released its preliminary framework for the 2028 A–F accountability system. This draft marks the next five-year refresh of the state’s ratings system, set to take effect in the 2027–28 school year. TEA will gather feedback and refine the plan before finalizing it in 2026. “What If” ratings will be published in 2026 and 2027 to show how campuses would score under the new rules. ATPE will closely review the framework, advocate for fairness and transparency, and keep our members updated on opportunities to provide input.  

TEA has recognized 98 campuses statewide as 2025–26 Purple Star Campuses, bringing the total number of schools with this designation to 640. The award honors schools that go above and beyond to support military-connected students and their families. ATPE members can play a role in helping their own campuses achieve this recognition by encouraging the appointment of a trained military liaison, ensuring resources are accessible to families, supporting student transition programs, and promoting military-themed initiatives. With the next application window opening in spring 2026, now is the time for interested educators to begin planning how their campuses can join this list of honorees.  

You can view these and other TAA letters on TEA’s website.   

STATE COMMITTEE SERVICE: ATPE members are encouraged to apply for service on one of the ATPE standing committees that meet in the fall: Leader Development, Legislative, Membership, and Nomination/Election. The deadline has been extended to Wednesday, Sept. 10. Find more details and learn about the value of ATPE state committee service in this atpenews.org article. 

MEMBER ADVOCACY:  Although the second special session is over now, it’s still important for educators 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 issues or 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.