Last week was a busy one in the Texas Legislature.

The Senate passed:

• SB 8, a voucher bill
• SB 9, the "teacher bill of rights"
• SB 175, community censorship

Meanwhile, the House rejected vouchers during its budget debate. Get the details and learn what you need to know for next week.

Sign up for TASB's Legislative Report at gr.tasb.org.

Sign up for TASB's Texans for Strong Public Schools to get advocacy action alerts in your email inbox at StrongTexasSchools.org.

©2023 Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Last week, the Senate Education Committee passed SB 8 (vouchers) and SB 9 (teacher bill of rights). The bills have not yet gone to the full Senate.

The House Public Education Committee took up several bills last week, including HB 2890, which would change the number of votes needed for the State Board of Education to veto a charter application from a majority to two-thirds.

State Senate Affairs discussed SB 946, which would require all school district bond and tax elections to be held in November.

This week, we are awaiting HB 1, the state budget bill. An amendment is expected to be filed that would prohibit the use of state tax dollars for vouchers.

Sign up for TASB's Legislative Report at gr.tasb.org.

Sign up for TASB's Texans for Strong Public Schools to get advocacy action alerts in your email inbox at StrongTexasSchools.org.

©2023 Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Last week, the Senate Education Committee heard several voucher/education savings account (ESA) bills, including SB 8. This bill is estimated to cost Texans $1 billion.

TASB commissioned a poll on ESAs and found that 55% of Texans reported being less likely to support vouchers knowing that these proposals would give private schools, not parents, the right to choose.

We also share updates on the House budget, Senate property tax relief, and school safety proposals.

Sign up for TASB's Texans for Strong Public Schools to get advocacy action alerts in your email inbox at StrongTexasSchools.org.

©2023 Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Kay and Dax journey through last week's happenings and talk about what's to come this week. Learn more about:

• Senate Bill 175 on "taxpayer funded lobbying" a.k.a. community censorship was discussed last week
• Conversations on property tax reduction continue
• Legislation related to teachers, including an across-the-board pay raise, will be heard in Senate Ed this week
• Senate Ed will also be focused on vouchers Wednesday, hearing SB 8 and other voucher bills. SB 8 would create education savings accounts that would give out up to $8,000 in taxpayer money, per student, to pay for private school.

Sign up for TASB's Texans for Strong Public Schools to get advocacy action alerts in your email inbox at StrongTexasSchools.org.

©2023 Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Things are starting to pick up in the Legislature with House and Senate committees meeting regularly. Kay and Dax discuss:

• Enrollment vs. attendance-based school funding
• House priority bills
• School safety
• The legislative process
• Accountability of voucher (education savings account) programs

Sign up for TASB's Texans for Strong Public Schools to get advocacy action alerts in your email inbox at StrongTexasSchools.org.

©2023 Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This week we've seen Gov. Abbott travel around the state to promote education savings accounts. Kay and Dax discuss:

• What is an education savings account and is it any different from a voucher?
• Can public schools really be fully funded if vouchers are implemented?
• House and Senate education committee meetings
• The Teacher Vacancy Taskforce recommendations

©2023 Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Get all the info you need on public ed and the 88th Texas Legislature with our weekly Lege Update episodes! Our first weekly update covers:

• House and Senate Education Committees
• Gov. Abbott's emergency items (and what that means)
• Texas school leaders at the Capitol

Sign up for TASB's Texans for Strong Public Schools to get advocacy action alerts in your email inbox! https://bit.ly/3cxTKME

We discuss the happenings from the first few days of the 88th Texas Legislature, how trustees can stay informed, and upcoming TASB advocacy conferences.

Register for the Texas Federal Advocacy Conference and the TASA/TASB Legislative Conference: https://events.tasb.org/?type=GOVR&view=list

Sign up for Texans for Strong Public Schools: https://www.texansforstrongpublicschools.org/subscribe.aspx

The next legislative session begins Jan. 10. Here's what school board members, administrators, and public school advocates need to know before it begins.

Sign up for Texans for Strong Public Schools action alerts: https://bit.ly/39g1qS0

Register to attend the Texas Federal Advocacy Conference, Feb. 6-7 in Washington, D.C., and the TASA/TASB Legislative Conference, Feb. 21 in Austin: https://bit.ly/3V5sSXn

Political family to rock star to pilot to cultural diplomat isn't your typical career trajectory. But Ravi Hutheesing, whose great uncle was the first prime minister of India, knows the importance of being able to pivot in life. On this episode, he shares some of his experiences with us, and talks about how we can nurture talent and curiosity in students, giving them the skills to become lifelong learners. Ravi will be a general session speaker at Summer Leadership Institute, taking place June 15-18 in San Antonio and June 29-July 2 in Fort Worth. Register now at tasb.org/sli.