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.  

• A look at the week ahead: State of the State and ATPE’s first Capitol Expedition
• Senate committee advances vouchers on 9-2 party-line vote
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announces legislative priorities, neglects to include public school funding
• State Board of Education welcomes newly elected members, review TEA’s annual report
• Trump issues two education-related executive orders
• What do increases in immigration enforcement activities mean for educators and districts?
• Announcing February’s Regional Advocacy Challenge!
• Save the Date: Save Texas Schools rally, Feb. 22 in Austin
• Take The Texas Tribune’s weekly news quiz

THE WEEK AHEAD: Next week promises to be another jam-packed one at the Texas Capitol, kicking off at 5 p.m. Sunday with Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) State of the State address. Many news outlets will livestream the address, and 15 Nexstar TV stations will air it live: KDAF-TV (CW) in Dallas, KIAH-TV (CW) in Houston, KXAN-TV (NBC) in Austin, KWKT-TV (FOX) in Waco, KVEO-TV/SVEO-TV (NBC/CBS) in Harlingen/Brownsville, KTAL-TV (NBC) in Shreveport, LA, KTSM-TV (NBC) in El Paso, KETK-TV (NBC) in Tyler, KAMR-TV (NBC) in Amarillo, KLBK-TV (CBS) in Lubbock, KMID-TV (ABC) in Midland/Odessa, KFDX-TV (NBC) in Wichita Falls, KTAB-TV (CBS) in Abilene, and KSLT-TV (CBS) in San Angelo. Abbott is expected to announce “school choice” (i.e., vouchers) as an emergency item for the Legislature’s consideration. Emergency items are significant because they are the only bills the House and Senate may take up on the floor prior to 60 days into the session. On Tuesday, ATPE will also host members on the first ATPE Capitol Expedition, so be sure to watch ATPE social media and the ATPE Online Community for updates on their visits with lawmakers. Remember: Only ATPE members who complete the ATPE Member Advocate Program (ATPE-MAP) State-Level Advocacy Microcredential are eligible to attend Capitol Expeditions, which have replaced ATPE at the Capitol/Lobby Day. Capitol Expedition spots are filling up fast, so if you are interested, be sure to enroll in and finish the microcredential ASAP! (Be sure to log in to the ATPE Online Community for the latest Regional Advocacy Challenge standings, too.) 

VOUCHERS: The Senate Committee on Education K-16 voted along party lines Tuesday to advance the upper chamber’s priority voucher bill Senate Bill (SB) 2 just two weeks after the start of session. It is unusual for committees outside of those related to the state budget to meet, much less vote, in January of a legislative session. The Texas Constitution prohibits the Texas Legislature from passing bills other than emergency items during the first 60 days of session. Emergency items may only be set by the governor, who is expected to designate vouchers as such but has yet to issue a formal declaration. The decision to advance SB 2 as the first bill reported from a Senate committee this session signifies the priority assigned by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) to passing a voucher. ATPE Senior Lobbyist Mark Wiggins has a full recap of the SB 2 hearing in this blog post, and ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter offers an analysis of the Senate’s decision to prioritize vouchers over all other education policy. ATPE has also launched two Advocacy Central campaigns you can use to contact your lawmakers on public education funding and vouchers: Increase Public Educator Funding and Compensation and Protect the State’s Educational Safety Net. 

PATRICK: In line with the Senate’s activity on SB 2, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) announced 25 of his 40 legislative priorities this week. No. 2 on the list, behind only the budget, is vouchers. The list contains several other education-related items, but nowhere on the list is a legislative mechanism for an increase in public school funding. (The Senate budget as currently drafted contains funds earmarked for an increase, but without accompanying legislation, that money can’t flow to schools.) ATPE Executive Director Shannon Holmes expressed disappointment in a statement picked up by The Dallas Morning News: “Our teachers and other public school employees need financial relief to stay in the profession. Our school districts can’t cover the cost of the meaningful safety reforms implemented by the Legislature. They also can’t keep up with the cost of special education for our most vulnerable students.” Read the rest of Holmes’ statement. 

SBOE: The State Board of Education (SBOE) is holding its first meeting of 2025 this week, kicking off Tuesday by swearing in members who were elected or reelected in the 2024 general election. The board welcomed new members Gustavo Reveles (D–El Paso), Brandon Hall (R–Aledo), and Tiffany Clark (D–DeSoto). The board elected returning members Pam Little (R–Fairview) as vice chair and Will Hickman (R–Houston) as secretary. In this blog post, ATPE Senior Lobbyist Mark Wiggins covers Commissioner Mike Morath’s presentation of the TEA Annual Report to the board. 

SBOE members with Gov. Greg Abbott

SBOE Member Dr. Tiffany Clark (D–DeSoto) and ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield

EXECUTIVE ORDERS: President Donald Trump issued two education-related executive orders Wednesday that have left policy experts stymied as to how or even if federal agencies can comply. One is aimed at directing federal dollars toward vouchers and the other at highlighting claims that public schools are “promoting radical indoctrination”—claims that many feel are primarily designed to justify shifting funding to voucher programs. ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield takes a closer look in this blog post.

IMMIGRATION: Immigration enforcement activities have made many headlines since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Although public schools cannot discriminate against students based on immigration status, the federal government still has the authority to enforce immigration law. ATPE examines what this means for school districts and educators on atpenews.org.

CHALLENGE: Feb. 1 means it’s time to announce the next phase of the Regional Advocacy Challenge (RAC)! February’s challenge is Take Action in Advocacy Central. Each week, we will award one point per member who uses Advocacy Central to contact their elected officials using an ATPE campaign to both the member and the member’s region. The Jan. 31 RAC standings include points for Advocacy Central use since Jan. 14 (the date session began). As a reminder, here are all of the current opportunities to earn points: 

• January Challenge: Complete the ATPE Member Advocate Program (ATPE-MAP) State-Level Microcredential by March 2 (10 points per member earning the microcredential). 
• February Challenge: Participate in Advocacy Central campaigns between Jan. 14 and June 2 (1 point per member per week). 
• Ongoing Challenge: Post or reply in The Rotunda on the ATPE Online Community between Jan. 14 and June 2 (1 point per post or reply). 
• Pop-Up Challenge: Earn continuing professional education (CPE) credit for watching specific courses in the ATPE Professional Learning Portal (5 points each). Find the details in the ATPE Online Community. 

FEB. 22 RALLY: ATPE State Vice President Jerrica Holt (formerly Liggins) will speak at the upcoming Save Texas Schools Rally, co-sponsored by ATPE. The rally is scheduled for 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Feb. 22 at the State Capitol. Learn more and sign up to attend the rally on the Save Texas Schools website.

NEWS QUIZ: Test your knowledge of Texas news and maybe earn some bragging rights along the way! Take The Texas Tribune six-question quiz, featuring stories from Tribune journalists, to test how well you’ve kept up with Texas news. And be sure to log in to the ATPE Online Community to share your results!