The 81st Legislative Session
• Part One: School finance, federal stimulus funding, early childhood education and certification
• Part Two: Bills filed on behalf of ATPE
• Part Three: Accountability
• Part Four: Teacher compensation, incentive funds and the Teacher Retirement System
• Part Five: Vouchers, special education and miscellaneous bills of note
Part 5: Vouchers, special education and miscellaneous bills of note
Private school vouchers and related legislation
It would seem that the successful bids to block proposals to create private school voucher programs during the last several sessions may have turned the tides in the ongoing voucher battle. During the 80th legislative session, the legislature included a budget amendment by Rep. Joe Heflin (D–Crosbyton) that would have prohibited the state from using any public funds for private school voucher programs. The amendment was ultimately stripped from the bill in conference committee, but the overwhelming vote in favor of the amendment sent a clear message that there was no support for vouchers in the House. This session, Rep. Heflin again added language to the budget to prohibit spending on vouchers, but this time the Legislature kept the anti-voucher language intact.
Despite the amendment, several bills related to vouchers were considered. Senate Bills (SB) 1301, 1302 and 2204 by Sen. Florence Shapiro (R–Plano) all called for creating a voucher program for students with autism. SB 183 by Sen. Tommy Williams (R–The Woodlands) and House Bill (HB) 716 by Rep. Debbie Riddle (R–Houston) called for creating private school voucher programs for any special education student. HB 41 by Rep. Frank Corte (R–San Antonio) would have created a pilot voucher program for educationally disadvantaged children. Related legislation, HB 1829, also by Corte, and SB 1831 by Sen. Dan Patrick (R–Houston), would have allowed private school students to participate in University Interscholastic League (UIL) competitions.
Ultimately, no voucher proposals made it to the House or Senate floors. There were rumors of a last-ditch effort to add voucher language to legislation that was pending in conference committees during the final days of the session, but the threat did not materialize.
Special education
As mentioned above, multiple bills that would have created private school voucher programs for students with disabilities did not pass this session. One bill that did pass, however, was HB 451 by Rep. Alma Allen (D–Houston), sponsored by Sen. Eddie Lucio (D–Brownsville), which expands the requirements for health plan coverage of children with autism spectrum disorder. The Legislature also passed HB 1322 by Rep. Scott Hochberg (D–Houston), sponsored by Sen. Kirk Watson (D–Austin), which creates a website offering resources for teachers of students with special needs. The website will also include information on food allergies, how to prevent exposure to specific foods and how to treat exposure. Both of these bills, which ATPE supported, will greatly benefit special education students.
Miscellaneous bills of note
The Legislature adopted the following bills:
- SB 522 by Sen. Kip Averitt (R–Waco), sponsored by Rep. Rob Eissler (R–The Woodlands), gives educators flexibility to choose the type of leave they wish to use among the various options that are available to them through their school district, such as sick leave, personal leave or leave that was accumulated under a previous law that no longer exists. ATPE supported this bill.
- HB 1801 by Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R–Houston), sponsored by Sen. Shapiro, adds school supplies to the items that can be exempted from sales tax prior to the start of the school year. ATPE supported this bill.
- HB 2004 by Rep. Brian McCall (R–Plano), sponsored by Sen. Rodney Ellis (D–Houston), aims to address the growing problem of identity theft by requiring state agencies to promptly notify affected individuals if their computer systems are breached and sensitive personal data is compromised. ATPE strongly supported this bill, as some educators have already been placed at risk by the theft of personal information collected from them during the fingerprinting process.
- HB 1364 by Rep. issler, sponsored by Sen. Kip Averitt (R–Waco), ensures that federal health insurance portability laws will apply to TRS-ActiveCare to ensure that teachers can be covered for pre-existing conditions. ATPE supported this bill.
- SB 300 by Sen. Patrick, sponsored by Rep. Mark Shelton (R–Fort Worth), started off as a contentious bill that would have eliminated the current 22:1 class-size limit in elementary grades and replaced it with a campus-wide average. Thanks to your phone calls and e-mails to legislators opposing this bill, Sen. Patrick removed the offensive language relating to the class-size limit. SB 300 in its final form maintains the 22:1 class-size limit, but allows schools to apply for waivers for an entire school year. However, the commissioner of education must report to the Legislature on the waivers that are requested. The bill also makes school bus evacuation training optional and eases requirements for districts’ long-range energy plans.
- SB 891 by Sen. Jane Nelson (R–Lewisville), sponsored by issler, specifies criteria to be included to the physical education curriculum and calls on school districts to impose student-teacher ratios in physical education classes that will ensure student safety. ATPE supported this bill.
- HB 772 by Rep. Donna Howard (D–Austin) was the only one of several bills dealing with the State Board of Education (SBOE)’s powers, duties and transparency that passed. The bill requires all SBOE meetings and subcommittee meetings to be broadcast live over the Internet. ATPE supported this bill.
Questions? Contact ATPE Governmental Relations.
• Part One: School finance, federal stimulus funding, early childhood education and certification
• Part Two: Bills filed on behalf of ATPE
• Part Three: Accountability
• Part Four: Teacher compensation, incentive funds and the Teacher Retirement System
• Part Five: Vouchers, special education and miscellaneous bills of note
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