特许学校扩张
Last week the Senate Education Committee heard another harmful charter-school bill, SB 28 (保罗·贝当古, D-Houston), 这将消除我们选出的州教育委员会否决糟糕的特许申请的权力，从而让教育委员全权决定是否批准. 该法案还将剥夺公众在增加新的特许学校方面的投入——这意味着它们最终可能就在你的公立学校对面，没有任何公众发言权. 最后, the bill would exempt charter schools from any municipal zoning laws in many towns and cities. SB 28 was left pending in the committee.
一个类似的法案,HB 1348 (乔Deshotel, D-Port亚瑟), 3月16日众议院公共教育委员会通过的法案将严格限制市和县将土地使用和发展规则适用于特许学校的权力. Act now to send an online 信 opposing HB 1348.
These bills intend to open the floodgates to charter-school expansion, allow charters to locate wherever they want, and incentivize taking public school students out of districts. 最终的目标是 私有化学校 从孩子身上赚钱. 德州尾 President Zeph分支头目 wrote an open 信 to members and public education advocates to read the latest Network for Public Education Report: “Chartered for Profit: The Hidden World of 特许学校 Operated for Financial Gain.”
分支头目写道:“朋友, 这, 坦率地说, 这是对民主的攻击，是对那些希望自己辛苦挣来的钱具有透明度和问责性的纳税人的侮辱. It’s time to stop charters from cashing in on our kids. If the public is taken completely out of the charter approval process, are charters really public schools after all?”
State takeovers of school districts
On Thursday the Senate Education Committee heard SB 1365 (保罗·贝当古, R-Houston), 这将赋予教育专员更大的权力来取消地方学校董事会——由于责任制裁或财务管理问题——并以国家任命的管理委员会取而代之. This bill, intended to clear the way for the state’s legal arguments in the 试图接管休斯顿ISD, would have significant consequences for districts across the state. The bill was left pending in committee. The House Public Education Committee will hear the House’s version of the bill, HB 3270 (Harold Dutton, D-Houston) 这 week.
歧视跨性别儿童
On Friday the Senate State Affairs Committee passed SB 29 (查尔斯·佩里, R-Lubbock), 这将是对跨性别学生的歧视，迫使他们“参加与他们出生时或即将出生时的生理性别有关的体育比赛”.”
德州AFT总裁泽夫·卡波总结了我们对该法案的反对:“好像厕所法案还不够残忍似的, some of our state senators feel they need to launch an unneeded crusade against a select group of kids, putting schools in the unthinkable spot of implementing state-sanctioned discrimination. I say let them play, and keep out of it.”
好的法案在向前推进
HB 699 乔恩·罗森塔尔(, D-Houston), 该法案要求各学区原谅患有严重疾病的学生的缺席和所有的宣传活动, passed the House Public Education Committee last Tuesday. 该法案被称为 “Riley’s Rule,” after the student whose experiences inspired the legislation.
HB 1603 (丹•休伯蒂, R-Houston), which would make individual graduation committees permanent, also passed in the committee meeting.
HB 999 (圣地亚哥伯纳尔, d -圣安东尼奥)为个人毕业委员会(IGC)法律增加了额外的灵活性，以帮助可能受到疫情影响的某些学生. The bill would enable students who were in 12th grade during the 2020-21, 2021-22, or 2022-23 school years to graduate without considering their performance on required end-of-course exams.
抑制投票
Two bills attempting to limit voting—SB 7 (布莱恩·休斯，r -米诺拉)和 HB 6 (Briscoe 该隐, R-Deer Park)—were heard in committee last week, and SB 7 passed in committee. 该法案的提案包括在某些情况下对分发缺席选票的重罪指控, making disabled voters prove their disability before receiving a mail-in ballot, 对投票地点的限制, banning drive-through voting locations, and an assortment of other requirements that make it harder to vote. 该隐, who chairs the House Elections Committee scheduled to hear the bill, 接受了一些邀请的证词之后由于他的程序错误而被迫取消了听证会. More than 100 people made the trip to Austin for the hearing, only to be turned away with a promise from 该隐 to hold another hearing.
A budget, bullying and threat to education funding
- We anticipated seeing the Senate budget introduced in the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday. The budget will be a first glance at how the state will address public education funding. 然而, 我们不希望在会议的晚些时候得到关于州政府将如何使用大量联邦资金的信息.
- Also scheduled for Tuesday in the House Public Education Committee is a hearing on HB 256 (菲利普·科尔特斯, nancy安东尼奥), 我们支持的一项法案将要求各地区包括一项“反欺凌措施，以解决职场欺凌问题”的政策, including provisions to address the bullying of a teacher by a parent.”
- 本周还将听取延长州税法中一项条款的到期日期的议案。该条款允许学区向迁往德州的公司提供优惠(房产税减免). These breaks to large corporations will cost our state $1.9 billion in the next budget cycle alone. 德州尾 and our allies oppose these giveaways to corporations.
- 众议院管理委员会将考虑取消在众议院地板上戴口罩的要求.
更多来自参议院的消息
On Tuesday, in Senate Transportation, 德州尾 supported SB 445 (布莱恩·休斯, R-Mineola), which would expand school bus traffic laws to also apply during times when school buses deliver food.
更多来自众议院的消息
众议院公共教育委员会在审议委员会之外通过了以下法案，并将其列入众议院议事日程.
- HB 159 (玛丽·冈萨雷斯, D-El Paso) makes changes to the requirements, 预期的能力, and certifications of educators working with students with disabilities, who are defined in the bill as those eligible to participate in a school’s special education program. (德州船尾支持)
- HB 725 (Jared帕特森, 美素佳儿(R-Friso)将允许在其他州或地区被寄养的孩子有资格参加免费公立学校学前教育项目, so long as the child currently lives in Texas, beginning with the 2021-22 school year. (德州船尾支持)
- HB 785 (阿尔玛•艾伦, D-Houston)将要求每年对学生行为干预计划进行审查，并对BIPs的进展进行评估. The bill would also set up a process to inform parents of the use of restraints on students.
- HB 1114 (Shawn蒂埃里, d -休斯顿)将允许一个地区扩大以学校为基础的健康中心，包括提供精神健康服务, 包括心理健康教育. 该法案还将扩大地方健康教育和卫生保健咨询委员会的成员，包括至少一名在德克萨斯州执业的精神卫生保健专业人员.
These bills of note were heard by the House Public Education Committee:
- HB 2120 (Keith贝尔, R-Forney) would require that school boards adopt a grievance policy for employees, 家长和学生, 和公众, including a requirement that the resolution of a complaint occur within 120 days after it is filed. (德州船尾支持)
- HB 2954 (Senfronia汤普森, D-Houston) would require TEA to establish a suicide prevention, 干预, and postvention program for optional implementation in elementary schools. (德州船尾支持)
- HB 2519 (把达比, R-San Angelo)将包括在州教育认证委员会(SBEC)对农村教育工作者的要求，并对有关教育工作者合同的法律进行几项有利的修改. The bill would: shorten the “no-penalty” deadline for educators to resign from their contract from 45 days down to 30 days before the first day of instruction; mandate other changes to increase educators’ awareness of disciplinary actions being taken against them; and enable SBEC to consider other factors in contract abandonment cases. (德州船尾支持)
- HB 2557 (格伦•罗杰斯, R-Graford)将创建一个学校安全志愿者项目，使退休执法人员和退伍军人能够为学校提供安全服务，并在学校携带手枪. (德州船尾反对)
本周账单:
HB 4382 由代表. Ana-Maria Ramos (D- Dallas)将允许学区员工请假进行新型冠状病毒肺炎隔离，而不必使用他们的事假或1993年《365在线体育》规定的事假. 这一规定将减轻许多员工的巨大压力，他们担心失去工资，没有时间来进行隔离.
拉莫斯还提出 HB 2234, which is often affectionately referred to as the “Grow Your Own Teacher Bill.该法案要求参加高中双学分课程的学生和在学校任职的教育助理在大学获得学费和费用减免，以获得教师学位. 该法案将有助于减轻那些寻求教师学位的人的经济负担，并激励更多的人进入这一行业.