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. 

• House Public Education Committee advances testing and accountability bill
• Federal court temporarily blocks Ten Commandments law in 11 school districts
• U.S. Education Department rescinds guidance for teaching English language learners
• ATPE weighs in on statewide cell phone ban
• TEA issues guidance on HB 2, virtual and hybrid learning, and more; comptroller releases proposed rules for Education Savings Accounts
• Looking to energize students in your classroom, campus, district, or community? Enroll in ATPE’s first self-paced online book study
• Apply to serve on one of ATPE’s fall committees by Aug. 31
• Stay in the know and take action with ATPE’s member advocacy tools

HOUSE PUBLIC EDUCATION: The House Public Education Committee met Thursday to consider House Bill (HB) 8 by Chairman Brad Buckley (R– Salado), the House’s testing and accountability bill.  ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter and ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave provided oral comments, and ATPE submitted written testimony on the bill. HB 8 was advanced to the full House on an 8-1 vote with six committee members not present. Many ATPE members completed a survey at the beginning of the special session in which they emphasized testing reform must include: 1) a pause on punitive accountability to allow educators, parents, and lawmakers to assess the efficacy of the new test, 2) a prohibition on benchmark testing, and 3) a commission to propose system changes prior to the start of the next legislative session. Thank you to the hundreds of ATPE members who used Advocacy Central and the House public comment system to share their views with legislators. Cave has more on the hearing in this blog post. 

TEN COMMANDMENTS: On Wednesday, a federal court temporarily blocked Senate Bill (SB) 10, the “Ten Commandments” law, in 11 school districts. SB 10 goes into effect for the rest of the state Sept. 1. The Texas Tribune covers the plaintiffs’, state’s, and school districts’ stances on the law in this article, and ATPE Staff Attorney Jeff Kelly explains school districts’ and educators’ responsibilities regarding SB 10 in this blog post.

ELL: On Tuesday, the U.S. Education Department rescinded a 2015 Dear Colleague letter on its website, a guiding document intended to ensure school districts provide adequate resources to English language learners (ELL) under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  

Although removing the guidance does not directly impact funding or curriculums, critics of the recission are concerned the decision removes necessary federal oversight and accountability, which could lead to discrimination against ELLs. 

Read more from The Washington Post. 

CELL PHONE BAN: ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter recently spoke with KSAT regarding educators’ feedback on the statewide cell phone ban, stating the law is, for the most part, a welcome change. 

“There really weren’t a lot of the problems that some people were maybe concerned about or perceiving ahead of time,” Exter said. “The instructional environment improved a lot, that students were more engaged and paying attention both to each other and to their educator.” 

Read more from KSAT.  

TEA: A raft of To the Administrator Addressed (TAA) guidance letters dropped Thursday on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website, including guidance on financial incentives and new requirements for certification under HB 2; a list of Public Education Grant (PEG) campuses; an initial overview of the new virtual and hybrid learning environments under HB 569, including guidance for the 2025-26 school year; and new training and employment documents related to the prevention of educator misconduct as required by SB 571. Interested members can read about these and other prior TAA guidance letters on the TEA website. 

The comptroller has also released proposed rules for the Education Savings Accounts (ESA) program for public comment.  

BOOK STUDY: ATPE is excited to offer our first self-paced online book study for members featuring School of Engagement by Jonathan Alsheimer, which provides a practical framework for developing authentic instructional activities, including 45 engaging activities that can be adapted to fit any grade level or content area. The course offers 12 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) credit through a combination of reading, online discussion, resource creation, and reflection. Learn more and enroll here.

STATE COMMITTEE SERVICE: ATPE members are invited to apply for service on one of the ATPE standing committees that meet in the fall: Leader Development, Legislative, Membership, and Nomination/Election. Applications are open until Aug. 31. Find more details and learn about the value of ATPE state committee service in this atpenews.org article. 

MEMBER ADVOCACY: As the special session enters what is expected to be its final week, we urge you to stay informed and engaged. Here are a few advocacy resources to check out: 

• Advocacy Central: Get in touch with your elected officials about the legislation impacting your profession. https://teachthevote.atpe.org/candidates/greg-abbott  
• Judy: Chat with ATPE’s new 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.    
• ATPE Professional Learning (PL) Portal: Three sessions from the 2025 ATPE Summit are available in the ATPE PL Portal: an HB 2 compensation overview, the ATPE lobby team’s advocacy update and the closing keynote by Jonathan Alsheimer. Log in to watch the recordings and earn 1.5 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) credit. (Jonathan Alsheimer’s appearance arranged through Gotham Artists.) 
• 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.