Here's the latest education news from Texas and Washington, DC, supplied by your ATPE lobby team:

• Today's SBEC meeting
• Federal Update: Social Security reform efforts
• Interim hearings focus on Hurricane Harvey
• Election Update: Don't miss your chance to vote

The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) is meeting in Austin today, Oct. 6. ATPE Lobbyist Monty Exter is attending the meeting and has provided this update.

The board is adopting a number of updates to the Texas Administrative Code (containing SBEC rules) both as part of the board's regular rule review cycle and as the board pursues its role in active oversight of educator preparation programs and educator certification and assignment.

In addition to adopting rule changes, the board also considered today several items outside of their administrative rule review, including updating the Classroom Teacher Advisory Committee; approving modified principal and teacher surveys associated with the Accountability System for Educator Preparation (ASEP); and discussing updates to the board's mission statement and statement of core principles for better alignment. At the conclusion of the discussion of rule items posted for action, the board heard presentations from Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff on 50 cases of pending or considered litigation.

Finally, the board is considering today four agenda items that were posted for discussion only:

• A proposed amendment to rules in 19 TAC Chapter 227, implementing statutory requirements of SB 1839 and HBs 2039 and 1508 from the last regular legislative session, dealing with educator preparation candidates;
• Proposed amendments to rules in Chapter 228, implementing SBs 7 and 1839 as well as HBs 2039, 3349, and 1963 with regard to requirements for educator preparation programs;
• Proposed amendments to Chapter 233 rules regarding categories of classroom teaching certificates; and
• Implementation of SB 1839 with regard to requirements to provide data to educator preparation programs to help those programs assess their impact and improve program design and effectiveness.

For additional information on the topics above, view the full board agenda and its related materials here.  

Are you curious about efforts to reform Social Security laws that have had a negative impact on some educators when they retire? Read the latest update on our blog from David Pore, one of ATPE's lobbyists representing our members on Social Security and other federal issues in Washington, DC.  

Hurricane Harvey remains the focus of interim legislative hearings. On Monday, the House Appropriations Committee met in Houston to discuss the state's response to the massive storm. The committee heard from Commissioner of Education Mike Morath and other state officials about Harvey's impact and the recovery efforts. For more on that hearing, check out this blog post from ATPE Lobbyist Mark Wiggins. Next Thursday, Oct. 12, the House Public Education Committee will meet to investigate the hurricane's financial impact on schools and their facilities. Stay tuned to Teach the Vote for updates.  

Texans have only a few days left to register to vote in the next election. Next Tuesday, Oct. 10, is the last day to register to vote for the upcoming election on Nov. 7, 2017. In that election, voters will be asked to weigh in on proposed constitutional amendments, as well as several local ballot measures. Below are some tips from ATPE Lobbyist Monty Exter on what you can do to prepare for upcoming elections.

While the big election isn’t until March 2018, now is the best time to begin, or continue, developing a culture of voting within the education community. Voting is more than just a right that has been handed down to us through the spilled blood of our forefathers and –mothers, it is also a responsibility of good citizenship, and like all positive behaviors, voting is learned by your students and colleagues through modeling and discussing good habits.

The best way to ensure that your voter registration is complete and up to date is to get into the habit of annually checking your voter status with the Secretary of State. Thankfully, this is as easy as going to the Am I Registered web page, entering one of three simple sets of information, and hitting submit. The site will then pull up your voter registration data and let you confirm that your “voter status” is active and that your name and address information are up to date.

If you have moved within the same county, you can update your address by simply clicking the “change your address” link. If you have moved to a new county, or if your voter status is not listed as active, then you will need to complete and submit a voter registration form. You can complete your voter registration on the Secretary of State’s voter registration page. After you fill out the web form, you will need to print it and drop it in the mail.

ATPE members with questions about voter registration are always encouraged to contact the ATPE Government Relations team at government@atpe.org. Happy voting!