The House Public Education Committee met during a noon recess Monday to vote on a pair of House bills and several Senate bills that are identical to House bills the committee has already passed. The committee unanimously approved the following:

• CSHB 4226 by state Rep. Tomas Uresti (D-San Antonio), which would require meetings of the Special Education Continuing Advisory Committee to be conducted in compliance with open meetings laws. Iw would also order the committee to develop a policy to encourage public participation with the committee.
• HB 1033, which would require the TEA to petition for a waiver of the annual alternative assessment of students with significant cognitive disabilities required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). 
• CSSB 179, the Senate companion to HB 306, the anti-cyberbullying bill. A committee substitute removed significant portions of the bill, including language that would have criminalized cyberbullying and would have prohibited bullying outside of school related activities.
• SB 276, the Senate companion to HB 852, which would remove the cap on the number of individuals who can enroll in the adult high school and industry certification charter school pilot program. 
• CSSB 587, the Senate companion to HB 539, which would allow the children of military service members to enroll full-time in the state virtual school network. 
• SB 1404, the Senate companion to HB 2806, which would require school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report to PEIMS the number and percentage of students enrolled in voluntary after-school and summer programs, along with the number of campuses that offer such programs.
• SB 1634, the Senate companion to HB 1114, which would reduce the number of service days required of teachers in a district that anticipates providing less than 180 days of instruction, while preserving the teacher’s salary. 
• SB 1882, the Senate companion to HB 3439, which would allow school districts to contract with a charter to operate a district campus and share teachers, facilities or resources. 
• SB 1901, the Senate companion to HB 3381, which would order the governor to designate a Texas Military Heroes Day in public schools.

Monday is the final deadline for House committees to report House bills, which means any House bills that remain pending after Monday are procedurally dead. The committee is scheduled to meet 8:00 a.m. Tuesday to hear testimony on five Senate bills.