The ATPE Governmental Relations team recaps the past week’s education news, legislative and election updates, and regulatory developments.

• Register for Tuesday’s Texas Tribune panel on public education issues, featuring Region 20 ATPE Director Laura Herrera
• State Board for Educator Certification holds two-day meeting on teacher residencies and effective teacher preparation framework
• ATPE joins national coalition to expand applicability of 529 education savings plans

TEXAS TRIBUNE: Region 20 ATPE Director Laura Herrera, a prekindergarten teacher in North East ISD, is one of the panelists next Tuesday at The Texas Tribune event “Where Do Public Schools Go from Here?” During this one-hour conversation, scheduled for 9 a.m. CT July 25, Herrera, Dallas ISD Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde, and Sen. Brandon Creighton, chair of the Senate Education Committee, will discuss how public schools fared during the 88th Legislature’s regular session and the anticipated special session. The executive director of the Texas Private Schools Association, Laura Colangelo, will join the panel for a segment on vouchers. Tribune education reporter Brian Lopez will moderate. An ATPE member since 2004, Herrera represents Region 20 ATPE on the ATPE Board of Directors and is an alumna of Leadership ATPE as well as the TeachPlus Texas Fellowship program. Register to attend in person in downtown Austin or virtually. ATPE is a sponsor of the panel.

SBEC: The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) met July 20–21 to discuss topics including the teacher residency pathway; framework for a future Texas edTPA exam to replace the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) exam; and review of administrative code regarding effective educator preparation programs. ATPE participated in testimony through our partnership in the Texas Coalition for Educator Preparation (TCEP) and asked the board to clarify the timeline regarding design of a Texas-specific teacher performance assessment (TPA) exam, as well as when such an exam would be implemented. Additionally, TCEP provided testimony on the development of a continuous improvement process for educator preparation programs and the review and implementation of new rule text on high-quality teacher residency pathways. ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave has a full recap in this blog post.

529 PLANS: ATPE has joined the Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition, a national effort to support bipartisan federal legislation that would expand applicability of 529 education savings plans to cover the costs of post-secondary licensing and professional certifications. ATPE is specifically interested in ensuring the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow's Workforce Act (S. 722 / H.R. 1477) would cover costs associated with educator alternative certification and certification renewal, as well as assist public school students and their families who are looking for ways to pay for post-secondary career training and certifications that fall outside traditional university-based programs. The coalition was formed by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the Professional Certification Coalition (PCC).