1. Legislative Update Legislative Update
Presented to the District Improvement & Planning Committee by
Dr. Maroba Zoeller, Chief Governmental Relations Officer
May 24, 2017

2. Final Countdown
Tuesday, May 23rd, was the last day for the full House to vote on Senate bills on second reading.
Wednesday, May 24 is the deadline for House members to consider senate bills on third or final reading 
Friday, May 26th, will be the last day to for the House members to accept Senate amendments or request conference committees.  Before midnight that night, the Senate will also have to print and distribute any tax or appropriations bills. 
251 bills have passed first chamber;
22 bills have passed both chambers;
Several hundred tracked bills are still alive.

3. LATEST ACTION
Huberty Sends HB 21 to Conference Committee Today House Public Education Committee Chairman Dan Huberty spoke passionately from the House floor on HB 21, which was returned from the Senate with major changes, including a provision that would establish Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for students with disabilities and, as Huberty said, containing “no method of finance, leaving no money to pay for the bill.”
Governor to Sign SB 7 on Improper Educator/Student Relationships Thursday Gov. Greg Abbott has announced he will sign SB 7, related to improper school employee/student relationships, on Thursday, May 25, in a bill-signing ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Capitol.

4. Final Countdown
The Lt. Governor had also stated that without the voucher or charter school facility funding provision recommended by the Senate, HB 21 (school finance) and HB 22 (accountability) would not move. Late Sunday night the Senate passed passed HB 21 as amended by Senate Education Committee Chair Larry Taylor. Originally a school finance bill authored by House Public Education Committee Chairman Dan Huberty that would have added $1.8 billion in public education funding, the bill now includes a provision to establish an Education Savings Account (ESA) program for students receiving services under IDEA or Section 504. The Senate version of HB 21 provides for $530 million in public education funding as noted above. A conference committee to compromise between Senate and House versions must be appointed by Friday. By Saturday, conference committee reports must be distributed to House members.

5. HB 21 Opening the door to Vouchers & Facilities Funding for Charter Schools
Amendment Summary:a conference committee must be appointed by Friday. By Saturday, conference committee reports must be distributed to House members.
1.  A newly created special purpose funding allotment for students with Dyslexia;
2.  A 6-year phase-in to address the Small District Adjustment Penalty;
3.  Education Savings Accounts for children with special needs
tuition at an accredited private school, or online course/school, or education assistance (tutor/tutoring service), or Computer hardware/software.
4.  Hardship Transition Grant Program funding for District's facing losses to changes relative to current law;
5.  A Grant Program providing services to students with Autism;
6.  Facilities Funding (up to $50M) to Charter Schools and an increase in funding to the Existing Debt Allotment for Traditional ISD's ($50M);
7.  The establishment of the Texas Commission on Public School Finance.

6. Final Countdown
   
This week Lt. Governor Patrick stated he would be willing to go to a special session if “property tax relief” and the “bathroom bill” are not advanced.
In response, on Sunday the House added an amendment to SB 2078 (Bonnen) School Safety bill:
“The board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of an open- enrollment charter school shall ensure that each school or school facility accommodates the right of each student to access restrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities with privacy, dignity, and safety by requiring the provision of single-occupancy facilities for use by a student who does not wish to use the facilities designated for use or commonly used by persons of the student’s biological sex.”
After the amendment was added to Senate Bill 2078 on a vote, the House gave preliminary approval to the bill. A final vote is scheduled for Monday, returning the measure to the Senate to consider the changes

7. SENT TO THE GOVERNOR
Several education-related bills were sent to the governor on Tuesday, May 23, including SB 22, which creates a P-TECH program requiring the commissioner of education to establish and administer a Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program for students who wish to participate in a work-based education program, beginning in the school year. SB 22 takes effect September 1, 2017 (
SB 693 (Garcia) requires three-point seat belts on some new school district-purchased school buses.

8. CSHB 22 Accountability
Senate Education Committee Chair Larry Taylor (R- Friendswood) on Thursday swapped out HB 22 by House Public Education Committee Chair Dan Huberty (R- Houston) with his school accountability overhaul bill, SB The Senate committee substitute for HB 22 revises the accountability system to incorporate three domains: student achievement, school performance, and school climate. Indicators demonstrating how schools perform in closing achievement gaps between groups of students would be incorporated into domains I and II.
Chairman Taylor’s version of HB 22 must now pass the full Senate, and then a conference committee will be needed to reach agreement with the House. The Senate has until midnight tonight to pass this bill on second and third reading.

9. Progress on Budget Appropriations
Saturday, the conference committee tasked with hammering out a compromise on the state budget bill, Senate Bill 1, announced that it had completed its work and unveiled the agreed-to bill. Regarding public education funding,
SB 1 adds about $530 million above what is anticipated for student enrollment growth. This includes $150 million for hardship grants awarded to districts facing significant losses when Additional State Aid for Tax Reduction (ASATR) funding ceases; $50 million for school facilities funding; $50 million for charter school facilities funding; and about $175 million to increase overall funding
Governor Abbott got $236M for “high quality” Pre-K (taken out of schools basic funding); $16M for university scholar recruitment program; $86M for Texas Enterprise Fund; and $22million for film and music incentives.

10. TRS Bill Approved by Senate: Sent to Governor Sunday
Senate approved House Bill 3976 that will modify the benefits plan under the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. They warned that this is a stop-gap measure just a first step to keep the plan solvent in years to come:
All TRS retirees 65 and older would be transitioned to Medicare Advantage. The premiums would be about $146 per month;
 Most "non-Medicare-eligible retirees" under the age of 65 would enroll in a health care plan with a $3,000 deductible and monthly premiums starting at $200 a month, rising to $370 over four years.
Changes are necessary in anticipation of a $37 million shortfall predicted for the pension system by the end of By the end of 2020, the system's deficit will be $269 million. 
Note: Budget conferees on Saturday accepted an agreement that would increase the school district contribution for TRSCare from 0.55 to 0.75 percent ($133 million for the biennium). This is the maximum school district contribution allowed under statute. The state will also increase its contribution from 1.0 to 1.25 percent.

11. Bills Sent to the Governor May 15-19
HB 728 (Guerra, et al.), sent to the governor on May 18, requires the SBOE to develop and implement an Advanced Computer Science Program under which students could complete an advanced mathematics or advanced computer science course. (Current public school computer science courses often do not count toward a student's required coursework nor do they meet entrance requirements for college.) HB 728 takes effect immediately.
HB 1428 (Smithee), sent to the governor on May 18, amends the Insurance Code to require TRS to mediate the settlement of certain out-of-network health benefit claims involving balance billing for members of TRS.
HB 1638 (Guillen), sent to the governor on May 16, requires TEA and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to develop and align goals for all dual credit programs to ensure the availability of standard outcomes on which these programs can evaluated. The bill also ensures that partnerships are structured to achieve state goals by requiring memoranda of understanding for all dual credit programs to contain program-specific goals and quality assurances.

12. Bills Sent to the Governor May 15-19
SB 7 (Bettencourt), sent to the governor on May 16, relates to improper school employee/student relationships. SB 7 takes effect September 1, The governor has stated publicly that he will sign the bill.
SB 587 (Campbell), sent to the governor on May 18, makes a student who is a dependent of a member of the U.S. military who has been deployed or transferred to Texas and was enrolled in a publicly funded school outside of Texas in the preceding school year eligible to enroll full-time in courses provided through the TXVSN. SB 587 takes effect immediately.
SB 693 (Garcia/Phelan), which would require school districts to purchase new buses equipped with three-point seatbelts. A district may still purchase buses without seatbelts a school board if it determines in a public meeting there aren’t sufficient funds to purchase buses with seatbelts.

13. Bills Sent to the Governor May 8-12
SB 160 (Rodriguez) prohibits the commissioner of education or TEA from adopting or implementing a performance indicator in any TEA monitoring system, including PEIMS, that solely measures a school district's or open-enrollment charter school's aggregated number or percentage of enrolled students who receive special education services.
SB 671 (Campbell) requires the SBOE to adopt criteria to allow a student to comply with the public high school graduation credit requirements for a language other than English for one credit by successfully completing a dual-language immersion program at an elementary school. SB 671 takes effect immediately.
SB 2105 (Miles) amends the Labor Code to require the Texas Workforce Commission to provide to TEA at least each quarter for secondary school students information regarding career and technical education partnership opportunities with business and industry and information regarding professional development opportunities for teachers and learning opportunities for students through industry mentorships, internships, summer programs, after-school programs, and career-based student leadership opportunities. SB 2105 takes effect September 1, 2017.

14. Clarification of Special Ed Video Camera Placement & Operation
The House Public Education Committee has approved Senate bill Senate Bill and now awaits a House vote, Senate Bill 1398 does the following:
Clarifies that requests for cameras are limited to classrooms where the requesting parent has a child in regular attendance or to which the requesting staff member is assigned;
Clarifies who may view video footage;
Provides a definition for “staff member”;
Sets a timeline for installation of cameras at 45 school business days;
Specifies that a camera must be operated and maintained for the remainder of the school year in which the request was received;
Reduces video storage requirements to three months;
Allows a district to ask TEA for an extension of time to begin video camera operation.

15. Rules on Bills Sent to the Governor
Except in the case of a bill sent to the governor within 10 days of final adjournment, on receiving a bill, the governor has 10 days in which to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature. 
A bill takes effect immediately (upon governor's signature or inaction — see below) because it received a vote of at least two-thirds of all the members elected to each house
If the governor elects to veto the bill and the Legislature is still in session, the bill is returned to the chamber in which it originated with an explanation of the governor’s objections. A two-thirds majority in each chamber is required to override the veto.
If the governor neither vetoes nor signs the bill within the allotted time, the bill becomes law. 
If a bill is sent to the governor within 10 days of final adjournment, the governor has until 20 days after final adjournment to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature.

16. Important Dates
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 (134th day)—last day for House to consider Senate bills on second reading
Sunday, May 28, 2017 (139th day)—last day for House to adopt conference committee reports
Monday, May 29, 2017 (140th day)—Sine Die
Sunday, June 18, 2017 (20th day after session)—last day the governor can sign or veto bills passed during the regular session

17. Dr. Maroba Zoeller Chief Governmental Relations Officer (P) 972-236-0618 maroba_zoeller@allenisd.org