The Senate Education Committee discussed the Senate’s priority school safety bill Wednesday, April 5, 2023, along with a variety of miscellaneous bills.

Senate Bill (SB) 11 by Sen. Robert Nichols (R–Jacksonville) contains funding for school safety and security, changes the truancy definition to six unexcused absences within eight weeks (currently, the definition is 10 unexcused absences within six months), and allows education service centers (ESCs) to act as school safety resources.

ATPE praised Nichols for focusing on the safety of students and staff, which is an ATPE legislative priority. ATPE provided neutral testimony on SB 11, pointing out that under the bill the unelected Texas Education Agency (TEA) commissioner has the ability to seize control of a local school district that fails to comply with certain school safety requirements. The commissioner could then exercise broad, unilateral authority in areas potentially unrelated to the initial cause of the takeover.

ATPE suggested limiting the commissioner to the appointment of a conservator that may exercise powers only as they apply to correcting school safety compliance issues. ATPE also urged the committee to prioritize school safety by funding school safety separately from other funding objectives under the education umbrella.

The committee heard SB 1720 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R–Brenham), which would allow a school employee to confidentially report a potential threat to the school's threat assessment and safe and supportive school team. ATPE Senior Lobbyist Mark Wiggins testified in support of SB 1720, stating that some educators may be more comfortable reporting confidentially due to concerns over retaliation.

ATPE also testified in support of SB 1630 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston), which would require each school district and charter to inform parents regarding the importance of attendance and provide supports to students who fail to regularly attend school. The bill would also require schools to allow a parent to receive a text or email upon a student's absence.

The committee also heard the following bills:

• SB 1515 by Sen. Phil King (R–Weatherford), which would require the Ten Commandments to be posted in each public school classroom. While acknowledging that some educators may wish to voluntarily post the Ten Commandments if it were a choice, ATPE opposed the bill on the basis that mandating a religious text be posted in each individual educator’s classroom could make some educators, such as those of faiths other than Christianity or Judaism, uncomfortable.
• SB 2372 by Sen. Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels), which would add recommendations relating to education in the dangers of opioids to the purview of school health advisory committees (SHACs).
• SB 2428 by committee Chairman Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe), which would allow a school to remove a student to a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) for using an e-cigarette if school personnel are unable to determine whether it contains marijuana.
• SB 2368 by Campbell, which would require each school district to operate for a minimum of 175 instructional days and effectively prohibit districts from adopting four-day weeks.
• SB 1647 by Sen. Tan Parker (R–Flower Mound), which would allow a school district or charter school to operate a dropout recovery program or education management organization, either in person or remotely.
• SB 1475 by Creighton, which would allow a school employee who is a retired peace officer or veteran to serve as a school marshal without the requirement to hold a Texas license to carry (LTC) a handgun. Subject to the availability of funding, SB 1475 would authorize two additional providers to offer school marshal training in areas where those programs are not offered.
• SB 2407 by Sen. Kelly Hancock (R–North Richland Hills), which would also create an exception for retired peace officers and veterans to serve as school marshals but does not authorize additional training providers.
• SB 2088 by Creighton, which would allow a school district to receive a 10% discount for prepaying attendance credits. ATPE supports this bill.
• SB 999 by Sen. Royce West (D–Dallas), which would require an entity that provides active shooter training to public K-12 schools or universities to be certified by CLEAT. ATPE supports this bill.
• SB 1721 by Sen. Angela Paxton (R–McKinney), which would add "historically significant documents" to the section of current law that requires schools to post the national motto in a conspicuous place in each public school building. Documents would include the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Ten Commandments.

The committee also voted to approve the following bills and send them to the full Senate for consideration:

• CSSB 13 by Paxton, which would implement rules regarding school district library materials and catalogs. The bill would require schools to allow a parent to receive notice of the books a student checks out. SB 13 contains a prohibition against libraries possessing “harmful materials,” which ATPE opposes on the basis that the term is too broadly defined to work as intended. The bill passed on a party line vote of nine Republicans versus two Democrats.
• SB 68 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D–Laredo), which would allow up to two excused absences per year for a student to attend a career investigation day during the student’s junior and senior years in high school. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• SB 163 by Campbell, which would permanently extend the opt-in requirement for human sexuality instruction. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• SB 164 by Campbell, which would require public schools to display copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Essays 10 and 57 of the Federalist Papers if copies are donated. The bill would also require an elective course on founding principles. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• CSSB 357, which would permit a school district board of trustees to allow an honorably retired police officer to serve as an armed guard on school premises. The bill passed by a vote of 11-1, with Sen. Brian Birdwell (R–Granbury) opposing.
• CSSB 544 by Sen. Cesar Blanco (D–El Paso), which would allow an instructor for the Community College of the Air Force to count their experience toward a temporary teaching certificate. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• CSSB 562 by Sen. Kevin Sparks (R–Midland), which would require a threat assessment team to notify a parent before their student is assessed. The bill would require an opportunity for the parent to participate in the assessment or submit information regarding the student. The team would be required to provide their findings and conclusions to the parent. ATPE supports this bill. The bill passed unanimously.
• CSSB 1861 by Bettencourt, which is intended to implement the recommendations of the Texas Commission on Virtual Instruction. Among other things, it would lift the moratorium on full-time virtual programs and expand the ability of districts and charter schools to provide full-time programs and remote course options. ATPE opposes this bill. The bill passed unanimously.
• SJR 29 by Paxton, which would ask Texas voters to amend the state constitution to guarantee that a parent has the right to “direct the education of the parent's child,” including the right to “make reasonable choices within the public school system; choose an alternative to public education, including a private school, parochial school, or home school; access and view public school teaching materials, textbooks and other instructional materials, and library books; attend meetings of the governing body of a public school; access public school student records for the parent's child, including the child's student health records; and access and view academic assessment instruments,” among other things. The bill passed with a vote of 9-2 vote along party lines.
• CSSB 200 by Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D–Austin), which would allow a public university to count or disregard credits earned within 10 years of starting a new semester but must count credits earned within five years of starting a new semester. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• SB 336 by Zaffirini, which would cover contractors and subcontractors under public university compliance programs. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• SB 462 by Parker, which would create a competency-based baccalaureate degree grant program. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• CSSB 526 by West, which would require approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to provide a degree program to a person confined in a penal institution if enrollment in the program would make the person eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• CSSB 532 by West, which would reduce the window of eligibility for repayment assistance for certain mental health professional education loans from five to three years. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• SB 646 by Nichols, which would provide funding to Lamar State College–Orange for contact hours taught through distance learning to students enrolled in the university who reside in another state. The bill passed unanimously and was recommended for the local and uncontested calendar.
• CSSB 1055 by Nichols, which would recreate Stephen F. Austin University under the University of Texas System. The bill passed unanimously.
• SB 1068 by Sen. Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston), which would remove the restrictions on payment and costs for certain full-time virtual education programs and lift the moratorium on full-time virtual schools. Bill passed on a party line vote of nine Republicans versus three Democrats.
• SJR 81 by Birdwell, which would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment to create the technical institution infrastructure fund and the available workforce education fund. The bill passed unanimously.
• CSSB 1396 by Middleton, which would allow a district or charter school to provide for a period of prayer or Bible reading during the school day. The bill passed on a vote of 10-2, with West joining Republicans in voting for the bill.
• SB 18 by Creighton, which would eliminate tenure for university professors. The bill passed on a party line vote of nine Republicans versus three Democrats.
• CSSB 2294 by Creighton, which would expand the Texas First Early High School Completion Program and the Texas First Scholarship Program. The bill passed unanimously.
• SB 2482 by Sen. Jose Menendez (D–San Antonio), which would assist in the implementation of Holocaust Remembrance Week. The bill passed unanimously.