We have completed week 1 of the 9 week Legislative Session and it has already been very busy in your state legislature.
HERE you will find the legislative bill tracker supplied to us by our team at GrayRobinson. All of the bills we are tracking are listed on the report in numerical order. Bills that align to our platform are highlighted in yellow. A few of the bills to highlight:
- HB 1 School Choice by Rep. Tuck was heard in 2 committees this week. Language was added to the bill to include public school deregulation, changes to teacher certification, and creating a tiered priority system to help ensure students of greatest need are still the first to receive a scholarship. The bill is expected to be placed on the calendar for 2nd reading on the House floor later this week.
- SB 202 K-12 Education by Sen. Simon, which is similar to HB 1, was also heard in committee this week. The bill was heard in the Senate Education Appropriations Committee with one amendment being added which addressed concerns about private schools that accept scholarships and close during the school year. Concerns were also raised about the analysis provided by staff which indicated the cost of this bill was indeterminate. The bill still has one more committee stop in the Senate.
- HB 477 Term Limits for District School Board Members by Rep. Rizo was heard in its last committee this week and passed along party lines. It is expected to be placed on the calendar for 2nd reading on the House floor later this week. The Senate companion has yet to be heard in committee.
- HB 7039 Student Outcomes by Education Quality Subcommittee and Rep. Trabulsy was filed this week and heard in its 1st committee. The bill revises instructional materials, programs and strategies that can be used with students when teaching reading and math. It also revises reading intervention and adds specifics around math interventions.
We will continue to keep you up to date throughout Legislative Session. We look forward to seeing many of you this week at Day in the Legislature. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
