Here's your weekly wrap-up of education news from ATPE Governmental Relations:

• Gov. Abbott issues executive orders in the aftermath of shootings  
• ELECTION UPDATE: U.S. Rep. Flores announces retirement  
• New School Year, New Laws: Curriculum and Instruction 
• HB 3 in 30: Special education and dyslexia  
• TRS announces timeframe for 13th check

In the wake of the tragic shootings in El Paso and Odessa, Gov. Greg Abbott has issued executive orders addressing public safety. While most of the orders focus on improving agency-level responses like developing standardized intake questions and guidelines on when to submit Suspicious Activity Reports, executive orders number five and six deal directly with schools. The orders are as follows:

• Order No. 5 The Department of Public Safety shall work with the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on ways to better inform schools, students, staff, and families about the importance of Suspicious Activity Reports and how to initiate that process.

• Order No. 6 The Department of Public Safety shall work with local law enforcement, mental-health professionals, school districts, and others to create multidisciplinary threat assessment teams for each of its regions, and when appropriate shall coordinate with federal partners.

Learn more about the executive orders in this blog post by ATPE Lobbyist Andrea Chevalier.

Earlier this week U.S. Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX 17) announced that he would not be seeking re-election in 2020. This season has seen the announcement of a number of departures from Capitol Hill as well as many campaign launches. The special elections to fill the seats vacated by Rep. John Zerwas (R-Richmond), Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston), and Rep. Eric Johnson (D-Dallas) have been set to coincide with voting on the constitutional amendments on Nov. 5th. The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5th election is Oct. 7. For more on the races in the upcoming election check out this blog post by ATPE Lobbyist Mark Wiggins. 

Curriculum and instruction is the subject of this week's installment of ATPE’s blog series, "New School Year, New Laws." This blog post examines bills such as House Bill 4310 by Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) which stipulates that sufficient time be given for students to learn the scope and sequence of TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills); and parts of House Bill 3 that provide funding for gifted and talented programs. For the full list of laws visit this blog post by ATPE Lobbyist Andrea Chevalier. 

The latest edition of the Texas Education Agency's weekly video series, "HB 3 in 30," covers special education and dyslexia. You can find a link to this week's video and all previous videos here.

The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) has announced a time frame for retirees to receive their 13th check. According to the TRS.Texas.gov website, retirees will receive their 13th check on or around Sept. 15, 2019. A list of frequently asked questions about the check can be found here. More of Teach the Vote's coverage of Senate Bill 12 (the bill responsible for the 13th check) can be found in this blog post by ATPE Senior Lobbyist Monty Exter.