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. 

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick threatens new consequences for school districts over library books 
• Analysis: One take on “administrative bloat” at TEA, another in school districts 
• On the Campaign Trail: Abbott and Hinojosa continue focus on public education 
• House Pensions Committee holds interim hearing on health of TRS 
• Use your teacher voice with ATPE’s advocacy tools 

BOOKS: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) put school library books back in the spotlight Wednesday, announcing that he plans to pursue legislation next session that would penalize school districts that fail to remove books that he says violate Senate Bill (SB) 13 by Sen. Angela Paxton (R–McKinney). Under the proposal, a district could lose an entire letter grade in the state’s A-F accountability system if books deemed to violate the law remained on a library shelf. Patrick also raised the possibility of consequences involving loss of school funding. ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave reports on the press conference in this blog post.  

AUDITS: On Wednesday, the State Auditor’s Office released an audit of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) that found the agency is not complying with the state’s statutory management-to-employee ratio. Later the same day, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced plans to have the state comptroller investigate the finances of independent school districts. The goal, according to the governor, is to ensure that at least 70% of taxpayer dollars are reaching students and teachers and to identify unnecessary administrative spending and other costs that don’t directly benefit classrooms. But this ATPE Teach the Vote analysis by ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave asks an important question: Should the look at “administrative bloat” start at the agency? 

CAMPAIGNS: In the latest installment of On the Campaign Trail, ATPE’s Teach the Vote takes a look at another public education-focused week for Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and his Democratic challenger, Rep. Gina Hinojosa. 

TRS: The House Committee on Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services (PIFS) held an interim hearing Tuesday to examine the health and operations of the Teacher Retirement System (TRS). TRS is likely to enter the next session with a funding period slightly above the threshold established in Texas law for the Legislature to consider a retiree benefit increase. TRS Executive Director Brian Guthrie told lawmakers that falling outside the threshold is largely connected to the 2025 teacher pay raises, which created additional liabilities for the pension fund that the Legislature failed to pay for upfront. Learn more and find a link to ATPE’s written testimony in this blog post by ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave. 

MEMBER ADVOCACY: Even when the Legislature’s not in session, we urge you to stay informed and engaged. Here are a few advocacy resources to check out:   

• Summer 2026 Legislative Update: Log into the ATPE Professional Learning Portal to watch the ATPE Governmental Relations team’s session from the 2026 ATPE Summit. 

• ATPE Mobile App: Check out the new ATPE Mobile App to conveniently access member benefits and advocacy tools.    

• Advocacy Central: Get in touch with your elected officials about the legislation impacting your profession.    

• Judy: Chat with ATPE’s AI assistant for Texas educators, ready to help you with all things ATPE and all things #txed.     

• ATPE Member Advocate Program (ATPE-MAP): Enroll in ATPE-MAP to earn state-level and local-level advocacy microcredentials, as well as earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit. ATPE-MAP is included in your member benefits, so be sure to 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.