Less than one week remains until the Legislature adjourns sine die on June 2. This final week of the legislative session includes several key deadlines, including two of the most consequential: 

• Tuesday, May 27, was the last day the House could consider a Senate bill on second reading on the House floor.   
• Wednesday, May 28, is the last day the House may consider Senate bills on third reading, as well as the last day the Senate may consider any bills on second or third reading. All bills not passed by both chambers by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday are procedurally dead.  

After these dates, the action is all amendment-related: 

• Friday, May 30, is the last day for the House to act on Senate amendments—in other words, either concur with any Senate amendments to House bills, thus sending the bill on to the governor, or send the bill to a conference committee to hash differences out. 
• Sunday, June 1, is the last day for both the House and Senate to either adopt conference committee reports or discharge conferees and concur with the opposite chamber’s amendments. This is the last day to finally pass any bill during the 89th legislative session. 

Monday, June 2, is the last day of the session, known as sine die. This is largely a ceremonial day, following which lawmakers get to go home for 18 months (we hope!).  

Following sine die, the governor has 20 days to sign a bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature. (Prior to the final 10 days of the session, the governor has 10 days in which to act.) Unless otherwise specified, bills become effective 91 days after sine die. Bills with earlier effective dates must be passed by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each chamber. 

With these deadlines in mind, let’s do a quick status check on major education-related legislation that’s closing in on the finish line. Will these bills make it to the governor’s desk before time runs out? 

HB 2, the school finance bill 

House Bill (HB) 2 by Chairman Brad Buckley (R–Salado), the House’s school finance bill, is said to be the top priority of Speaker Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock) this session. HB 2 passed the House on the same night as the voucher bill (April 16). The Texas House and Senate declared May 22 that the two chambers had come to an agreement about the final version of HB 2. The Senate passed HB 2 on third reading May 23, and the bill, as amended by the Senate, has been sent back to the House. It is now up to the House to concur with Senate amendments, which would send the bill directly to the governor, or to refuse to concur, which would necessitate the appointment of a conference committee. Because there was a deal reached on the bill’s provisions, it is likely the House will simply concur on the Senate amendments and send the bill to the governor for his signature, though it has yet to do so. Details on HB 2 have been reported previously on Teach the Vote. 

HB 4, testing and accountability 

HB 4 is Buckley’s priority testing and accountability legislation. The bill passed the House May 13, then it stalled in the Senate. The Senate’s version of HB 4 was heard in the Senate Education K-16 Committee May 22, as previously reported on Teach the Vote. This version largely substitutes another bill, SB 1962 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston), into the language of HB 4. Although ATPE strongly supported the bill as it left the House, we registered neutrally on the Senate version in committee. Since then, HB 4 was voted out of the Senate committee Sunday and placed on the Senate’s intent calendar Monday. (The intent calendar is a daily list that shows which bills senators may bring up for debate. It is important to note that bills are not listed in the order in which they may be taken up, and, in fact, just being on the list doesn’t guarantee a bill will be discussed at all. With this being the last week of session, any House bill, including those on the intent calendar, must pass the Senate on third reading by 12:01 Thursday morning or be procedurally dead.) 

The committee substitute for HB 4 was passed on the Senate floor Tuesday on a 23-8 vote. After a third reading vote in the Senate, the bill will still need to go back to the House for either concurrence or the appointment of a conference committee.  

HB 6, school discipline 

ATPE-supported HB 6 by Rep. Jeff Leach (R–McKinney) is the House’s priority school discipline bill. The Senate Education K-16 Committee heard the bill all the way back on May 6 but did not vote the bill out of committee until May 15. It was then passed on the Senate floor May 22. HB 6 is now back in the House, awaiting a decision for the House to either concur on Senate amendments or appoint a conference committee.  

SB 13, parental access and consent for library materials 

SB 13 by Sen. Angela Paxton (R–McKinney) would add “indecent” and “profane” content to the list of prohibited library materials. The bill would also require parents to have access to library materials and to monitor the items their students check out. It would require the creation of local school library advisory councils to address challenges to library books. This bill passed the Senate March 19, but it was held in the House Public Education Committee until receiving a hearing May 7. The bill is currently on the House floor and passed second reading with a vote of 87-57. It was due to be heard on third reading Tuesday morning but postponed to 8 a.m. Wednesday. SB 13 must pass third reading before 12:01 a.m. Thursday or it dies.  

Additional House bills still in play 

The Senate Education K-16 Committee met the night of May 23 and again Monday and Tuesday mornings to vote out a slew of House bills, some in the same meeting where the committee first heard them, so the full Senate might have an opportunity to consider them ahead of the Wednesday deadline. The following bills were moved out of committee:  

• ATPE-supported HB 27 by Rep. Ken King (R–Canadian) would impact financial literacy instruction for high school students. HB 27 advanced to the full Senate on a 9-0 vote. 
• HB 4687 by Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D–San Antonio) would bring parity to adult and 1882 charter schools as compared to ISDs and open enrollment charter schools in regard to immunity from liability. This bill advanced to the full Senate on a 9-0 vote and subsequently passed the full Senate Tuesday.  
• HB 2598 by Rep. Angie Chen Button (R–Richardson) would clean up the terminology identifying school psychologists. HB 2598 advanced to the full Senate on a 9-0 vote. 
• ATPE-supported HB 3629 by Rep. Candy Noble (R–Murphy) seeks to prohibit sex offenders from serving on school boards. HB 3629 advanced to the full Senate on a 9-0 vote.  
• ATPE-supported HB 824 by Rep. Jolanda Jones (D–Houston) seeks to require additional information on government officials, voting, and parliamentary procedure in civics instruction. HB 824 advanced to the full Senate on a 9-0 vote. 
• HB 4236 by Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D–San Antonio) would create a property value study task force. It advanced with a 9-0 vote. 
• HB 100 by Rep. Terri Leo Wilson (R–Galveston) relating to instructional materials advanced with a 9-0 vote. HB 100 passed the full Senate Tuesday. 
• HB 2243 by Rep. Tom Oliverson (R–Tomball) would create the Texas Commission on Teacher Job Satisfaction and Retention and was voted out of committee Sunday. 
• HB 121 by King which would allow the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to deputize members of law enforcement within the agency in order to improve communication between the agency and districts regarding school safety.   
• ATPE-supported HB 1178 by Rep. Charles Cunningham (R–Kingwood) would create a temporary one-year educator certificate for educators who are certified in other states. Under the current out-of-state credentials review process, once an educator’s out-of-state credentials are successfully reviewed, they may be issued a one-year temporary certificate. This certificate allows them to become employed to teach for a year, and during that year they must take and pass Texas certification exams to receive a standard teaching certificate. If they do not take and pass the Texas certification exams during the one-year temporary certification window, they would not be able to remain employed as a certified educator.  
• HB 3372 by Rep. Will Metcalf (R–Conroe) would ban school administrators from providing paid consulting or contract work. This bill specifically targets administrators who do outside contract work for educational companies that may enter into contracts with the administrator’s district. The bill advanced with an 8-3 vote and was recommended for the local calendar. 
• HB 4623 by Rep. Mitch Little (R– Lewisville) would waive immunity from suit and create a civil claim related to sexual abuse. HB 4623 advanced to the full Senate on an 11-0 vote and then passed the full Senate 30-1. 
• HB 123 by Rep. Harold Dutton (D–Houston) seeks to support kindergarten readiness and early literacy and numeracy skills for public school students with assessment, professional development, and tutoring. This bill advanced to the full Senate on a 10-0 vote. 
• HB 5606 by Rep. Terry Wilson (R–Georgetown), would allow retired members’ sick days to transfer to a district’s sick leave bank to be used by current employees. Currently, most districts will not allow retirees to transfer their sick days as they are retiring. They must either use them or lose them. The bill advanced to the full Senate on an 11-0 vote.  
• HB 549 by Rep. Cody Vasut (R–Angleton) would require airway clearance devices to be available for use at public school campuses. It advanced to the full Senate on an 11-0 vote.  
• HB 2757 by Rep. James Frank (R–Wichita Falls) would allow a school district to set a policy allowing a parent or guardian who is an active-duty member of a foreign military force stationed in Texas to establish their child’s eligibility to enter a particular grade by demonstrating their child will turn the required age during the school year for which they are seeking admission. This bill advanced to the Senate on an 11-0 vote.  
• HB 4359 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R–Keller) would create a Sunset Advisory Commission review for school districts. This bill advanced to the full Senate on an 11-0 vote.  
• HB 5381 by Rep. David Lowe (R–North Richland Hills)  would seek to prevent school disruptions for military dependents facing frequent relocations by allowing them timely enrollment, consistent placement in programs such as gifted and talented or dual language if they were enrolled in the program at their previous school, and graduation requirements that take into account the student’s previous coursework. It would also require districts to make these rules available on their websites. The bill advanced to the full Senate on an 11-0 vote. 
• HB 20 by Rep. Gary Gates (R–Richmond) would establish an Applied Sciences Pathway Program in Texas. The program would help high school students earn both a high school diploma and a certificate from institutions of higher education in various fields such as plumbing, welding, aviation maintenance, and HVAC, with the intention of serving labor market trends and funneling interested students toward high-growth career pathways. The bill was sent to the full Senate with an 11-0 vote.