The House Committee on Public Education was expected to have a formal meeting this Tuesday to vote on the committee substitutes for House Bill (HB) 2, the school finance bill by Chair Brad Buckley (R–Salado), and Senate Bill (SB) 2, the Senate voucher bill by Senate Education K-16 Committee Chair Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe). The SB 2 vote would have been in lieu of a vote on HB 3, Buckley’s voucher bill, meaning the House would move SB 2 as its voucher instead of HB 3.  

However, late Monday night, the meeting was suddenly cancelled. Buckley put out a statement that said that he wanted to give committee members more time to digest both the committee substitutes to HB 2 and SB 2, as well as the financial runs that show the potential impact to their districts. He said he would meet with each committee member individually and that the committee hearing would be postponed until Thursday. 

This postponement means there is still time for you to make your voice heard on both school finance and vouchers!  Head over to ATPE’s Advocacy Central, where you can ask lawmakers to increase funding and educator compensation, protect the state’s educational safety net, and thank House members for voting in line with the needs of their districts.  

Formal meetings are often neither livestreamed nor recorded, though they may be, and a posting for Thursday’s meeting is not yet available. ATPE will be present at the meeting Thursday and will post an update on Teach the Vote once available.