Legislative Debrief
Public and Higher
Education and the
th
84 Legislative Session
Lanet Greenhaw
Dallas Regional Chamber
September 29, 2015
Overview of 84th Session
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New Governor, Lt. Governor, Comptroller, AG
New Senate Education chair
• 5 returning and 6 new members
• 3 North Texas Delegation members (2 opposed nearly all our
priority agenda items)
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New Appropriations/Finance chairs
New members: 1/4 of Senate & 1/6 of House
Stable House Public Education committee
• Aycock returns – (Announced not running again)
• 7 returning and 4 new members
• No one from North Texas delegation on Committee
Overview of 84th Session
Compared to 2013:
• House filed 6% more bills and passed 12% more
• Senate filed 8% more bills and passed 29% fewer
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION
• HB 1 general appropriations bill adds nearly $4 billion new
dollars to public education:
• $2.3 billion for statewide enrollment growth
• $1.5 billion in new funding to increase basic allotments for
public school districts
• More districts on formula funding
• Improved equity among districts
• Reduced reliance on target revenue for some districts
• $321.6 million for math and reading academies for
teacher professional development, the Student Success
Initiative to advance student achievement, early college
high schools, and Advanced Placement initiatives
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
STATE BUDGET – TAX CUTS
• Homestead exemption increased from $15,000 to
$25,000: $1.2 billion
• Franchise tax reduction: $2.6 billion
• HOLD HARMLESS PROVISIONS IN PLACE (for now)
STATE BUDGET – OTHER BILL IMPACT
• $768M for TRS-Care – no long term fix
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
IMPROVING PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS
• DRC advocated for state funding for full-day, quality Pre-K
classes, as originally proposed in Representative Eric
Johnson’s HB 1100, and left pending in the House Public
Education Committee.
HB 4 was the Governor’s Plan and moved through as a $118
million Grant Program:
• For half-day programs
• Provides up to $1,500 per student
• Requires certain quality standards
• Important Amendment: State-Wide Data Collection
• Set Back: Limited funding, one-year grant program,
quality standards minimal, for half-day
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
PUBLIC SCHOOL PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION
• HB 2804 broadens the current student academic
assessment and accountability system
• Adds a fifth domain to report new areas of student
progress.
• STAAR results + student growth + closing gaps = 55%
• Non-STAAR measures/graduation rates = 35%
• Parent and student engagement = 10%
• A-F grades for campuses starting 2017-18
• Designed to drive local engagement and support by
creating a sense of urgency from the public to improve
poor-performing campuses.
• Takes effect over the next year and a half.
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT
• HB 1842 – Creates interventions and sanctions of
low performing public schools
• Year 1: District turnaround team
• Year 2: Turnaround plan
• Year 3: Plan goes into effect unless
commissioner rejects plan, then alternative
management for campus; BOM for district; or
campus closure
• Year 5: Campus closure or district BOM
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT
• HB 1842 also:
• Allows innovation zones and university partnerships
for local initiatives
• Simplifies high performing charters’ ability to expand
under existing charter
• Expands & strengthens TEA’s overall monitoring
authority
• HB 1164 – Pilot program for local writing assessments
(originally proposed eliminating STAAR writing)
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
TRAINING TEACHERS
• SB 925, SB 934, SB 935, and SB 972 offer targeted
training and professional development
• For kindergarten through 5th grade teachers in
math, reading, comprehension, and literacy
• Establishes a reading excellence pilot program.
• Designed to improve grade level performance and
overall student achievement
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
IMPROVING COLLEGE AND CAREER PREPAREDNESS
• HB 18 provides much-needed guidance, public materials,
and instruction for students who are navigating the state’s
graduation requirements (from HB 5)
• Helps students understand career and technical education
opportunities, explore post-secondary options, and
discover career choices.
• Creates career counseling academies to train counselors
and student advisors on these same topics, nontraditional curriculum and credit options, college
admission, and regional workforce needs.
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
IMPROVING COLLEGE AND CAREER PREPAREDNESS
• HB 18 expands the number of districts and charter schools
that can participate in the Texas High Performance Schools
Consortium, developing innovative and next-generation
learning standards and assessment and accountability
systems. (Vetoed in 83rd Legislative Session)
• HB 505 permits students to take an unlimited number of
dual credit courses for graduation. Helps students move
through the education pipeline more quickly and saves
money.
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
ALTERNATE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
• SB 149 creates an alternative graduation opportunity for students
who have completed coursework but not passed the end of course
exam required for graduation.
• Creates personal graduation committees that determine alternate
ways for students to demonstrate subject mastery, allowing them to
move forward with graduation.
• The DRC teamed up with the Metro 8 Chambers to advocate for
strong safeguards and accountability measures in the legislation, to
prevent abuse and keep this as an exception not graduation pathway:
• Limits the use of this graduation exception to only students who
have failed a minimum of two tests.
• Added mandatory public reporting requirements .
• Added a 2017 sunset review.
• Gov. Abbott signed it into effect on May 11, allowing school
districts to implement the bill for this year’s May 2015 graduations.
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
OTHER BILLS OF IMPACT
• SB 507 – Cameras in special education classrooms
• Upon request
• Archived videos for six months
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HB 2398 – Decriminalizes truancy
SB 66 – Epi-pens
SB 265 – Sunscreen in school
HB 2610 – Converts “180 days” of instruction to
“75,600 minutes” (to deal with lost days)
• District may not end year prior to May 15
• HB 283 – Districts with more than 10,000 students
must record, post and archive school board meetings
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
OTHER BILLS OF IMPACT -- Governance
• SB 1760 – Takes a 60% board vote to increase tax rate
• HB 1378 – District Debt obligations must be posted on
website
• HB 1295 – Additional disclosures for certain District
contracts
• HB 3106 – Commissioner may extend Board of Managers
up to 2 years for Districts under TEA Management for
financial issues or low academic performance
• HB 685 – Streamlines open records request responses
• HB 744 – Requires insurance for off-campus events
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
Missed Opportunity: EDUCATOR APPRAISALS AND
PREOFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• SB 893 was designed to allow public school districts to
build local performance and development-based appraisal
frameworks for their educators.
• Passed in the Senate, did not make it out of the House
Public Education Committee for further consideration.
• Programs would have included incentive-based pay,
support for continuing education , targeted professional
development, and career advancement opportunities.
• Advancing teacher performance, accountability, and
compensation would better equip teachers with the skills
and knowledge to better educate our students and
prepare them for the workforce.
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
Missed Opportunity: SCHOOL FINANCE REFORM
• The DRC and Metro 8 Chambers advocated strongly
for Representative Jimmie Don Aycock’s (R-Killeen)
HB 1759, to drastically reform the state’s school
finance system
• Proposed an additional $800 million in funding to
Texas public education
• Chairman Aycock withdrew the bill when it was not
supported in the Senate.
• Leaves the issue in the hands the Texas Supreme
Court, currently hearing the appeal of the school
finance lawsuit – Decision expected March 2016 –
Outcome: Special Session?
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
What Didn’t Pass:
(Wins and Losses)
• School finance - Loss
• Local control of start date - Loss
• Flexible school day changes - Loss
• State comp ed flexibility - Loss
• Understandable bond ballot language - Loss
• TEKS Review (Several bills failed, 1 vetoed) - Loss
Public Education and the
84th Legislative Session
What Didn’t Pass:
• Vouchers/Tax credit-scholarships - Win
• Opportunity/Achievement school districts - Win
• Local control districts (Home-Rule changes) - Win
• Parent trigger changes - Win
• Unchecked virtual school expansion – Win
• Ban on using public funds for lobbying
• Trustee term limits, recall & financial disclosures
Higher Education and the
84th Legislative Session
APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
• HB 1 was the general appropriations bill that
provided increases in state-funded student
financial aid programs
• TEXAS Grant program: $32 million increase,
allocating $715 million to keep the maximum
annual award at $5,000 per student for 71,500
recipients in 2016 and 2017.
• Tuition Equalization Grant: $12.3 million increase,
allocating $192.3 million in 2016 and 2017.
Higher Education and the
84th Legislative Session
CAPITAL BUILDING FUNDS FOR COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES
• Tuition revenue bonds provide public universities with a
method to finance capital building programs, allowing
universities to build more classrooms and laboratory
space.
• HB 100 authorizes revenue bonds to fund much-needed
capital improvement projects at public universities.
• North Texas universities will share $494 million.
• The first time a Texas public university capital building
program has been authorized since 2006.
Higher Education and the
84th Legislative Session
Missed Opportunity: EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION BACCALAUREATE DEGREE PROGRAMS
• HB 3836 would have allowed Dallas County Community
College District (DCCCD) to offer a four-year baccalaureate
degree in early childhood education, and only if local
higher education institutions did not first collectively
address the teacher shortage.
• The DRC and several education partners in the region
strongly supported this bill, to address a severe workforce
shortage in quality teachers in Dallas County and to better
prepare teachers to educate our youngest students.
• The bill unanimously passed in the House, but never made
it out of the Senate Committee on Higher Education.
Higher Education and the
84th Legislative Session
Missed Opportunity: COMMON COURSE NUMBERING
FOR PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
• HB 61 would have created a single common course
numbering system for public institutions of higher
education in Texas, making it easier and more costeffective for students to enroll in post-secondary
education.
• This bill was placed on the House calendar, but it never
came to a vote.
Public and Higher Education and the
84th Legislative Session
Dallas Regional Education Partners Collaboration
Public and Higher Education and the
84th Legislative Session
LOOKING FORWARD
• TEA and THECB Rulemaking during legislation
implementation
• Opportunities to comment, impact
• House and Senate Interim Charges
• Opportunities to engage and impact during committee
hearings, studies
• Possible Special Session on School Finance
• March Primaries – in Texas, most seats are won or lost
in primary races
• Engage Legislators – Get them into your Districts,
Institutions
Public and Higher Education and the
84th Legislative Session
Contact
Lanet Greenhaw
Managing Director of Education
Pre-K – 12 Policy
[email protected]
214-712-1945
Elizabeth Caudill
Manager of Education
Higher Education Policy
[email protected]
214-746-6713
Dallas Regional Chamber Pro-Growth Legislative Agenda
DRC and Ft Worth Chamber Legislative Accountability Index
www.dallaschamber.org