The 82nd Legislative Sessions: Game over, reset
A summary of the 82nd Legislative Sessions
The 82nd Legislative Session and the subsequent special session finally ended in late June, leaving educators and their advocates at the Capitol with feelings of relief that lawmakers were gone, dismay over what happened between January 11 and June 29, and a sense of resolve for the future.
While dozens of education-related bills passed, only a handful were of particular significance. The vast majority of time and energy for both lawmakers and education lobbyists was consumed by school and state funding legislation and deregulation issues. What eventually passed included a state budget that made significant cuts to public education funding, school finance changes to facilitate the distribution of $4 billion less in state funding than needed, and a deregulation bill that crushed hard-fought teacher benefits and protections.
SENATE BILL 8
After months of continually defending against major revisions to teacher benefits and protections, teachers were mere hours away from escaping the regular session with no harmful statutory changes (aside from the significant budget cuts). But a late-session filibuster of a key fiscal bill forced a special session, and opened the door to renewed consideration of deregulation bills.
TCTA was not supportive of last-minute efforts to kill the school finance bill during the regular session, under the theory (which proved to be accurate) that there would be no more money to be had for the schools in a special session, and it was likely we would not dodge the deregulation bullet again. Unfortunately, it only took one legislator to decide to filibuster, and she was encouraged by a handful of her colleagues and other organizations, most notably the Texas American Federation of Teachers, which promptly issued a press release calling the filibuster a public service. Had the school finance bill passed during the regular session, legislators would still have likely been called back to a special session on unrelated issues like windstorm insurance, but it is far from certain that deregulation measures would have been included in the call.
In laying out the initial agenda for the special session, Gov. Rick Perry not only called for the required fiscal matters legislation, but included measures that will allow school districts to operate more efficiently. That phrase encompasses the battles that teachers and administrators had fought throughout the regular session. Many (though not all) school administrators argued even before the session began that with an anticipated significant reduction in state funding to education, more flexibility at the local level was needed; this resulted in legislative proposals to eliminate 22:1 class-size caps and the state minimum salary schedule, allow for unpaid furloughs for teachers, and remove key teacher legal protections to make it easier to unilaterally break teacher contracts (i.e., fire teachers mid-year).
Due to Senate procedural rule changes in the special session that stacked the deck against the ability to block legislation, and despite valiant efforts by TCTA, the bill that finally passed in the last days of the special session was Senate Bill 8. Read more here about what SB 8 will mean for you.
What does SB 8 mean for you?
For bills passed in the special session, including SB 8, a veto is possible through July 19. If a bill is not signed or vetoed by that date, it will become law without the governors signature.
FUNDING FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS
HB 1, the state budget, funded public education at $4 billion below the amount needed to continue current services. It also reduced or zeroed out a number of discretionary grants. Highlights of funding for education programs are detailed here.
Bills that passed during the regular session
SCHOOL FINANCE
The $4 billion in reductions to public school formula funding required changes in the school finance structure. The school finance provisions eventually agreed on were a compromise between the House-supported plan (an across-the-board cut to each district of around 6%) and the Senate plan (which cut less from poorer districts than wealthier districts). It includes one year of each approach: the across-the-board cut next year, and the more equalized reduction the following year.
The school finance changes will affect schools differently. In the first year (2011-12), the cuts average 3.3% statewide (about $190 per student). Some districts see cuts of under 2%, others over 4%, but the range is relatively small.
In year two (2012-13), the reductions average closer to 6% (over $300 per student), with a much greater variation primarily depending on district wealth. A number of districts experience a reduction of only 1.3%, while others are at almost 9%. Specific information on your district can be found here.
School finance printouts for 2011-12 and 2012-13
WHAT DIDNT PASS
More Rainy Day Fund money for public education. An amendment added to a budget bill in the special session would have allocated more than $2 billion in Rainy Day Fund money for public schools, if the fund increased beyond current levels. That provision was removed in the final version of the bill.
Class-size changes. Until the final days of the special session, changes to the class-size law were on the table, though the proposed changes became milder as the sessions progressed. Ultimately, no class-size proposal passed, and current law remains intact.
TRS multiplier. One of the most persistent rumors we ve encountered was about potential changes to the TRS multiplier (part of the formula for determining retirement benefits). No such revision was ever even proposed during the regular or special session. There were changes made to some TRS programs (see TRS section on pages 8- 9), but no revisions were made to either retirement eligibility or the calculation of retirement benefits.
Private school vouchers and charter school expansion. A voucher bill was proposed during the special session and had a hearing in a supportive committee, but was never voted out. Various bills to expand the number of charter schools in Texas were proposed, but none made it through the legislative process.
Accountability changes. HB 500 in the regular session would have relaxed accountability standards, eliminating the requirement that beginning in the 2011-12 school year, 9th grade students in the recommended high school program achieve a certain cumulative score on 12 end-of-course exams in order to graduate, and instead requiring students to pass one specified EOC exam in each of the four core subject areas. /Despite strong House support, equally strong opposition in the Senate prevented its passage.
TCTA ACCOMPLISHMENTS
TCTA passed several bills during the regular session - a major accomplishment given the overall political atmosphere and the difficulty of passing legislation. Once again, TCTA initiated and passed more bills than the other three teacher groups combined.
TCTA was also instrumental in the following during both the regular and special sessions:
- Drafted the necessary language and successfully lobbied to ensure retention of the salary driver that increases the state minimum salary schedule when state education funding increases.
- Fought successfully against elimination of the state minimum salary schedule and major changes in class-size laws.
- Was heavily involved in the development of the proposals in SB 8 (special session) that ensure administrators and other professionals will be subject to any salary reductions and furloughs that affect teachers, and that establish a process for ensuring input from employees and the public regarding a proposed furlough program.
- Successfully staved off private school vouchers and harmful virtual school proposals.
- Defended against further erosion of teacher rights and benefits that would have resulted from significant expansion of charter schools and proposals making it easier to convert to home-rule districts.
- Defeated legislation that would have required teacher appraisals to be based primarily on standardized student test scores, as well as a proposal that would have emphasized the use of test scores in determining teacher compensation.
- Worked extensively with legislators to modify legislation regarding staff development training to eliminate mandated annual training on certain topics.
- Helped prevent the passage of bills that would have reduced teachers disciplinary options.
OTHER BILLS THAT PASSED
More than 80 education bills passed during the regular session (January-May). TCTA has provided brief summaries of each bill, arranged by categories for your convenience.
TCTA will continue to analyze legislation resulting from the sessions and will report to you on implementation issues through our newly designed website at tcta.org and eUpdates. The annual TCTA Survival Guide is undergoing extensive revision to reflect the many changes to education law and will be available after the school year begins.
