| Bill Number | Sponsor | Last Action | Bill Categories | Bill Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 877 | Rep. Mary Gonzalez | Filed |
Requires districts to appoint an "educational representative" for students with disabilities who are 18+ or whose disabilities of minority have been removed; have been certified as not having the ability to provide informed consent regarding their educational program; and have not been determined incompetent. The representative is the student's spouse; parent; or other appropriate individual preferred by the student who is not a district employee and has significant knowledge of the student and the student's strengths, opportunities and goals. |
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| HB 893 | Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins | Filed |
Requires the commissioner to develop a program for the state to provide financial assistance to a charter holder seeking to construct or acquire facilities for instruction. The program may include the provision of forgivable loans, a loan guarantee process (for a charter holder with at least 5 years of successful operation of a school), and assistance to charter holders in obtaining loans from private lenders. |
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| HB 925 | Rep. Ron Reynolds | Filed |
Requires the commissioner to adopt procedures for districts to adjust district boundaries to ensure that all homes in a subdivision are in the same district. |
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| HB 944 | Rep. Mary Gonzalez | Filed |
Revises the procedures for a charter school expansion amendment to include SBOE approval (which is also required for any charter revision - previously required commissioner approval). Defines "expansion amendment" as an amendment that allows the school to increase maximum allowable enrollment, extend grade levels, add a campus or site, or change geographic boundaries. Requires that a charter school can request approval of an expansion amendment no more than once per year (that limitation previously applied only to revisions of maximum enrollment). |
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| HB 1192 | Rep. Gina Hinojosa | Filed | Accountability |
Provides for the cancellation of STAAR during emergency declarations issued by the governor and/or president of the US. The commissioner would have to apply for a federal waiver of testing requirements for a school or school district that is located in the area of the disaster, and the bill requires the state not to consider these assessments when it comes to possible district or campus takeovers. |
| HB 1613 | Rep. Ray Lopez | Filed | Teachers |
Extends the deadline for K-3 teachers and principals to attend a literacy achievement academy from 2021-22 to 2023-24. |
| SB 1 | Sen. Jane Nelson | Filed | Finance |
The Senate's base budget for the 2022-23 biennium. |
| SB 36 | Sen. Judith Zaffirini | Filed | Discipline |
Adds to the definition of hazing laws regarding having firsthand knowledge of the planning of hazing and failing to report to the dean of students or other appropriate official of the institution, that the report can be made to a peace officer or law enforcement agency. Clarifies in the section that says a person who voluntarily reports is immune from liability, that the "person" includes a student group, and that the report can be made to a peace officer or law enforcement agency. |
| SB 37 | Sen. Judith Zaffirini | Filed | Prekindergarten |
Revises preK laws to require that a district offer preK to any child who is at least four years old. A district may offer preK if it identifies 15 or more children who are at least three years old, and are unable to speak/comprehend English, are educationally disadvanged, are homeless, are the child of active duty military, are the child of military injured or killed while on active duty, are or have ever been in Department of Family and Protective Services conservatorship following an adversary hearing, or are a child of a person eligible for the Star of Texas Award. |
| SB 77 | Sen. Borris Miles | Filed | Students |
Prohibits dress/grooming policies, including for extracurricular activities, from discriminating against a hair texture or protective hairstyle (such as braids, locks and twists) commonly or historically associated with race. Applies to institutions of higher education as well. Also applies to employers, labor unions and employment agencies. |
| SB 78 | Sen. Borris Miles | Filed | Governance |
Requires schools, including charters, to notify parents if the school does not have a full-time nurse, counselor or librarian (or the equivalent - for example, two half-time nurses) assigned for more than 30 consecutive days during the same school year. The requirement does not apply to a district or charter school with fewer than 10,000 students. |
| SB 79 | Sen. Borris Miles | Filed | COVID-19 |
Requires that a school authority report to the Department of State Health Services and TEA if a child, employee or volunteer provides notice to the authority that they are infected with a communicable disease for which the governor has declared a state of disaster. |
| SB 88 | Sen. Jose Menendez | Filed | Special populations |
The commissioner must distribute funds to each district to provide special education liaison services and employ one or more certified educators to serve as special education liaison for the district. If the district has a SPED liaison, that person serves as the district's representative on a student's IEP committee. |
| SB 89 | Sen. Jose Menendez | Filed | Special populations |
Titled the COVID-19 Special Education Recovery Act. Provides that for each child in special education during 2019-20 or 2020-21, the district must prepare a supplement included with the written statement of the IEP. |
| SB 96 | Sen. Jose Menendez | Filed | Mental Health |
Allows districts to contract with a local mental health authority to provide mental health services on a campus. Upon parent request, a local mental health authority providing on-campus services that conducts a mental or behavioral health assessment or provides services to the parent's student can provide results to the student's primary care provider of the assessment and of any services provided. |