The Senate Education K-16 Committee met well into the night Tuesday to hear bills on many topics and take votes on pending bills heard earlier this session. 

ATPE registered our support for Senate Bill (SB) 1262 by Sen. Robert Nichols (R–Jacksonville) relating to public school safety, including the commissioning of peace officers by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the provision of safety-related resources, as well as our support for SB 2365 by Chairman Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe) relating to students’ use of personal wireless communication devices during instructional time. ATPE was supportive of the committee substitutes adopted for the bills and provided oral testimony on SB 2365. ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield was the last person to testify around 11 p.m. Tuesday night. 

The committee also heard the following bills for which ATPE submitted neutral written testimony outlining our concerns:  

• SB 1750 by Sen. Angela Paxton (R–McKinney) relates to instructional facilities funding for charter schools. Read ATPE’s written testimony here. 
• SB 1962 (committee substitute version) by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston) deals with public school accountability and district challenges to the accountability system. Read ATPE’s written testimony here. 
• SB 2252 by Creighton pertains to kindergarten readiness and early literacy and numeracy skills for public school students, including an early childhood parental support program, and related funding under the Foundation School Program. Read ATPE’s written testimony here. 
• SB 2253 (committee substitute) by Creighton relates to educator preparation and certification, plus certain allotments under the Foundation School Program. Read ATPE’s written testimony here. Mesquite ATPE member Dani Boepple testified in support of the ed prep bill.  

Committee substitutes were not available online at the time of this post’s initial publication. 

Finally, the committee voted to advance the following bills that we brought to your attention in the March 28 Teach the Vote Week in Review: 

• CSSB 1191 by Creighton passed on an 11-0 vote and was recommended for placement on the local and uncontested calendar. 
• CSSB 1786 by Creighton passed on an 11-0 vote. 
• SB 226 by Sen. Royce West (D–Dallas) passed on an 11-0 vote and was recommended for placement on the local and uncontested calendar. 
• CSSB 326 by Sen. Phil King (R–Arlington) passed on an 11-0 vote. 
• SB 570 by Bettencourt passed on a 11-0 vote and was recommended for placement on the local and uncontested calendar. 
• SB 870 by Sen. Brian Birdwell (R–Waco) passed on a 9-2 vote. Sens. West and Jose Menendez (D–San Antonio) voted against the bill. 
• SB 991 by Bettencourt passed on a 11-0 vote and was recommended for placement on the local and uncontested calendar. 
• SB 60 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D–Laredo) passed on a 11-0 vote and was recommended for placement on the local and uncontested calendar. 
• SB 365 by Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D–Austin) passed on a 11-0 vote and was recommended for placement on the local and uncontested calendar. 
• SB 1401 by West passed on a 11-0 vote and was recommended for placement on the local and uncontested calendar. 
• CSSB 1067 by Sen. Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston) passed on a 11-0 vote and was recommended for placement on the local and uncontested calendar. 

The Senate Education K-16 Committee will meet again Thursday, but the committee will focus exclusively on higher education bills at that hearing. 

As bills move through the legislative process, further debate and potential amendments are expected. Stay tuned for updates as the session progresses.