The ATPE Governmental Relations team recaps the past week’s education news, legislative and election updates, and regulatory developments. ATPE members: Share your thoughts and ask our lobby team questions in The Rotunda on the ATPE Online Community. 

• ATPE to host legislative town hall Wednesday, April 16 
• Texas House passes $337 billion budget bill following 13 hours of debate during “Budget Night”  
• From Houston Landing: HISD Superintendent Mike Miles reveals plans for “largest pay-for-performance plan in the nation”  
• Senate Education K-16 Committee hears 12 bills  
• House Public Education Committee picks up the pace amid looming deadlines 
• TEA Commissioner Mike Morath discusses educator misconduct with SBOE  
• ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter testifies before judiciary and civil jurisprudence committee 
• ATPE Summit delegate certification is now live 
• Use ATPE’s member advocacy tools to stay in the know and take action 

TOWN HALL: ATPE is hosting a free legislative town hall open to ALL Texas educators at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 16. Join members of the ATPE Lobby Team for a live Q&A on the legislative session. Attendees can submit questions beforehand, or ask them live using the Q&A function. Sign up here. 

BUDGET NIGHT: After more than 13 hours of debate, the Texas House approved a roughly $337 billion two-year spending plan early Friday.  

As ATPE Associate Executive Director Jennifer Mitchell outlined in this blog post ahead of Budget Night, the House considered each of 13 articles comprising SB 1 and their respective amendments. This year’s packet of prefiled House floor amendments for SB 1 contained 393 amendments and was 469 pages long.  

A prefiled amendment by Rep. John Bryant (D–Dallas) aimed to reallocate the $1 billion earmarked for vouchers toward a bonus for every classroom teacher. Bryant also proposed an increase to the Basic Allotment ($6,160 per student, which has not increased since 2019). Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D–Austin) proposed a $395 increase in the Basic Allotment. Ultimately, amendments related to vouchers were either suspended or placed in Article XI; though technically still viable, such floor amendments are often never seen again.   

The budget now moves to a conference committee, where committee members will resolve differences in versions of the same bill passed by each chamber and come up with a final draft to be ratified by both. Read more here from The Texas Tribune. 

HISD: Houston Independent School District (HISD) released plans for a “pay-for-performance” system that would go into effect starting in the 2026-27 school year, shifting from an educator pay scale based on years of experience. The plan would be the nation’s largest pay-for-performance plan.  

This overhaul would likely cost tens of millions of dollars more in teacher salaries than it currently pays, and although the full budgetary details for the plan have yet to be released, HISD Superintendent Mike Miles said the system would allow HISD to tap into state funding for teacher incentive pay to offset the cost.  

Houston Landing outlines the plans in this article. 

SENATE: The Senate Education K-16 Committee met Tuesday to hear bills related to bonds, educator misconduct, production of certain intimate and visual material, school safety zones, bilingual education, and services for individuals experiencing homelessness at certain locations.  

The committee also voted on pending bills heard earlier this session. ATPE submitted testimony or registered a position on six of the 12 bills heard. Learn more and read ATPE’s testimony in this blog post by ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield. 

HOUSE PUBLIC EDUCATION: The House Public Education Committee met Tuesday to hear 14 bills.  

HB 497 by Rep. Jared Patterson (R–Frisco) would require parental consent for behavioral or mental health treatment in schools. School counselors, nurses, and social workers testified Tuesday that this bill would cause an administrative burden and slow down crisis response, which needs to be done in a time-sensitive manner.  

ATPE-supported HB 1188 by Rep. Christian Manuel (D–Port Arthur) would require school districts to refer students receiving special education services to a local intellectual and developmental disability authority (LIDDA) for services and benefits.  

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave has a full breakdown of the bills considered in this blog post. 

SBOE: Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath focused on educator misconduct in his regularly scheduled update to the State Board of Education (SBOE) at its April 9 meeting.  

Morath acknowledged legislative gaps around educator certification, misconduct reporting, and employment restrictions—and encouraged board members to push for legal changes where needed.  

ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield covers the pressing issues discussed during the meeting in this blog post. 

JUDICIARY AND CIVIL JURISPRUDENCE: ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter testified before the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee Tuesday, expressing concerns of potential unintended consequences within the current draft of HB 4623 by Rep. Mitch Little (R–Lewisville), which would make public schools and their employees liable for sexual misconduct against a student. ATPE also submitted written testimony.  

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave covers the testimony in this blog post. 

SUMMIT: Delegate certification is now live. If you are interested in serving as a voting delegate at the 2025 ATPE Summit, you may contact your local unit president. If your school district does not have an active local unit, you may contact your region president. Learn more at atpesummit.org. 

MEMBER ADVOCACY: Don’t forget to check out all of ATPE’s advocacy resources: 

• Judy: Last week we introduced Judy, ATPE’s new AI assistant for Texas educators, ready to help you with all things ATPE and all things #txed.   
• The ATPE Bill Tracker: Find out the status of the major education bills moving through the Texas House and Senate, as well as ATPE’s position on each bill.   
• ATPE’s 2025 Legislative Priorities: Catch up on ATPE’s written and oral testimony from this session.    
• Advocacy Central: Get in touch with your elected officials about the legislation impacting your profession.  
• ATPE Member Advocate Program (ATPE-MAP): Enroll in ATPE-MAP to earn the state-level and recently released local-level advocacy microcredential, as well as earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit. ATPE-MAP is included in your member benefits, so check it out today.    
• The Rotunda: Don’t forget, members, that you can interact with your ATPE lobby team throughout the week when you log in to the ATPE Online Community. (While you’re there, be sure to check out the latest Regional Advocacy Challenge (RAC) standings.)