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. 

• TEA confirms plan to take over management of Fort Worth ISD
• Federal judge permanently blocks HB 900, the READER Act
• Early voting for the Nov. 4 election continues through Friday, Oct. 31
• TEA provides additional HB 2 implementation updates in latest correspondence to district leaders
• Stay in the know and take action with ATPE’s member advocacy tools

FWISD: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced Thursday, Oct. 23, that it would take over the management of Fort Worth ISD (FWISD) and replace its superintendent and elected school board. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath expects to announce the newly appointed district leaders in the spring. ATPE Executive Director Dr. Shannon Holmes told the Star-Telegram that the association would monitor and make sure that the agency is following the statute. 

FWISD is the 11th school district since 2000 to be taken over by the state and the second largest after Houston ISD. Written several months after the Houston ISD takeover in 2023, this article from ATPE News delves into the concerns surrounding the state’s seizure of local control. 

Read more about the FWISD takeover in this article republished from The Texas Tribune. 

HB 900: A federal judge has permanently enjoined the sections of House Bill (HB) 900, the READER Act, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023, that would have compelled booksellers to rate books under the act.  

In the Book People v. Morath decision issued Tuesday, Oct. 21, Judge Alan Albright sided with booksellers and publishers, arguing that requiring them to rate books for sexual content violated the U.S. Constitution: “Texas has a strong interest in regulating what children can access in schools and preventing inappropriate content from schools. But READER’s [unconstitutional] methods are not the way to further that interest.”  

HB 900 author Jared Patterson (R–Frisco) has previously defended the law’s constitutionality and asked Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) to appeal the Fifth Circuit ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave explains the ruling and outlines how this action affects SB 13, the 2025 Library Materials Bill, in this blog post. 

EARLY VOTING: Early voting for the Nov. 4 election runs through Friday, Oct. 31. A special election will be held to fill the 18th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House as well as the Texas Senate District 9 seat. Texans will also vote on 17 proposed state constitutional amendments and various local offices and ballot measures, including some school board races and propositions. In this blog post, ATPE Lobbyist Heather Sheffield outlines three proposed state constitutional amendments that impact public education.  

Here are some important dates to keep in mind leading up to Election Day: 

• Friday, Oct. 24: Last day to apply for ballot by mail 
• Friday, Oct. 31: Early voting ends 
• Tuesday, Nov. 4: Election Day 

TEA: On Oct. 23, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) continued its steady weekly release of To the Administrator Addressed (TAA) correspondence, including updates to the Additional Days School Year (ADSY) initiative and expanded eligibility for Resource Campus designation. 

You can view these and other TAA letters on TEA’s website.    

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: 

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