TCTA testifies at Senate interim hearing

TCTA TESTIFIES AT SENATE INTERIM HEARING

The Senate Education Committee met on October 6 and 7 for a series of interim hearings intended to monitor the implementation of legislation from the previous legislative session and to discuss emerging issues in public education.

While the makeup of the committee is not set in stone due to the upcoming November election, it is currently chaired by Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), the vice chair of the committee during the last legislative session; the former chair, Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), resigned his position in the Senate to serve as chancellor of the Texas Tech University system. Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) took over as vice chair.

Hearing Day One

On October 6, the committee heard invited testimony on several topics including four-day school weeks, shifting enrollment trends, and talent-development pipelines for school leaders. The committee also discussed implementation of House Bill 2, the wide-ranging school finance bill, and Senate Bill 571, a bill focused on tightening reporting requirements for educator misconduct.

Four-Day School Weeks

Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, the state changed its requirement that school districts operate for 180 instructional days to 75,600 instructional minutes. This change was intended to offer districts some flexibility in how they structure their academic calendars to better fit local needs.

Now, almost two hundred school districts have used that flexibility to implement four-day school weeks with longer school days. Some shifted to this model to reduce staffing costs, while others touted the shorter school week to attract talent to rural school districts that typically have a harder time recruiting and retaining teachers than their urban counterparts. Most districts operating this model use one day per week for student extracurriculars, staff development, or department planning time.

Results have been mixed. According to TEA, student growth has slowed or reversed in these districts and teacher retention gains have been minor or nonexistent. Commissioner of Education Mike Morath spoke strongly against four-day school weeks and even floated the idea of the Legislature banning the practice outright. Several superintendents of small districts using a four-day model cautioned the committee members against overregulating the practice, instead suggesting that districts using the model be required to show that they still produce positive student outcomes with a modified academic calendar.

Student Enrollment Trends

Student enrollment has generally trended down statewide. A state demographer was invited to answer the committee's questions on why the downturn in student enrollment has occurred and what the outlook is for that trend to reverse in the future. According to the demographer, a handful of districts have experienced growing student populations, but lower birthrates and fewer families moving to Texas from other states are mostly to blame for the decline.

When directly asked whether the state can expect to see enrollment increase in the near future, the demographer said that it is not likely.

Even with direct increases to teacher pay and adjustments to state funding formulas from House Bill 2 last legislative session, several districts have reported lower amounts of state aid since the bill's passage. Student enrollment and attendance drive state funding formulas, so losing even a small number of students per year can cause significant funding losses for school districts.

School Leadership Pipeline

Some school districts have expressed difficulty in hiring campus administrators and other district leaders. Typically, school districts look to their exemplary teachers to find potential new campus administrators, but ironically, Teacher Incentive Allotment designations have lifted teacher salaries above those of campus administrators, reducing the incentive for a teacher to take steps to move into campus or district leadership.

According to some of the invited panelists, school districts are increasingly looking to leaders from outside of education to fill these roles.

House Bill 2 - School Finance

The most consequential bill of the last legislative session, House Bill 2 infused billions of dollars into the state's public school districts and charter schools, mostly directed at increasing teacher and support staff salaries. Other major components include a shift to an intensity-based model for special education funding and an "anything but compensation" fund designed to allow more flexible funding for school districts.

Those who testified thanked the committee for their work on investing in public education, but cautioned them not to rest on their laurels. The real effect of this investment has varied from district to district with some teachers barely feeling the impact of their salary increases due to rapidly increasing healthcare premiums. Additionally, the Teacher Retention Allotment (TRA) and Support Staff Retention Allotment (SSRA) were narrowly tailored to apply to only select school employees, leaving many others who are critical in supporting students left without a salary increase.

TCTA provided written and oral testimony on the implementation of HB 2, thanking the committee for increasing salaries, but also encouraging them to increase the number of experience brackets in the TRA to allow more salary growth for teachers as they continue in their careers. Additionally, TCTA recommended expanding TRA eligibility to all professional positions covered by the state minimum salary schedule instead of restricting it only to those who teach an average of four hours per day as well as increasing the SSRA.

TCTA encouraged the committee to maintain a clear distinction between the new TRA and the existing Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), stressing that incentive compensation is no substitute for broad-based salary growth. TCTA also suggested numerous improvements to the TIA system to make it more equitable and transparent for teachers seeking designation.

Senate Bill 571 - Misconduct Reporting

In response to a perceived increase in educator misconduct, Senate Bill 571 strengthened reporting requirements for school district leaders by shortening timelines to report to TEA. These shortened timelines have resulted in a dramatic increase in report volume and have caused a backlog of cases at TEA. TEA Inspector General Levi Fuller was invited to speak to the committee about implementation of the new bill, and he mostly dismissed questions about the logistical challenges they have faced with the overwhelming number of reports.

TCTA spoke about the logistical challenges of handling such a backlog of reports and made numerous suggestions that would maintain the original intent of the bill but provide more transparency and due process for educators accused of misconduct.

Hearing Day Two

On October 7, the committee continued their agenda with a robust discussion on the rollout of the state's new voucher program as well as efforts to prevent perceived foreign influence in Texas schools. They also discussed implementation of Senate Bill 12, a parents' rights and anti-DEI bill; Senate Bill 13, a school library bill; and House Bill 6, a school discipline bill.

School Voucher Rollout

Much of the meeting was spent debating the effectiveness of the voucher program, called Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA). A representative from the Comptroller's office was present to answer questions about the process through which families applied for and are awarded vouchers. Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) asked him a series of pointed questions about the plurality of voucher applicants for private Pre-K and Kindergarten schools. West speculated that the high number of applications for early childhood vouchers may simply be because of the difficulty in securing affordable childcare in Texas.

Republicans were united in their praise for the program, but the two Democrats on the committee were more skeptical. While last session's voucher legislation capped the program at $1 billion in the first biennium, there are far fewer guardrails on the number of vouchers that can be awarded going forward.

How the voucher program looks going forward will almost certainly be a subject of intense debate next legislative session.

Promoting America & Texas First

Efforts to shift Texas' curriculum to focus more on American and Texas history have borne fruit both in the Legislature and at the State Board of Education. In 2021, the Legislature passed House Bill 4509 which requires educators to "cultivate in students an informed American patriotism," among other things.

After efforts to edit the state's social studies curriculum to that end failed in 2022, the SBOE adopted comprehensive changes this past September to both comply with HB 4509 and to combat a perceived infiltration of Islam into Texas' curriculum.

SBOE Chairman Aaron Kinsey (R-Midland) was invited to speak on the Board's efforts in the past year. Republicans on the committee thanked Kinsey for his work.

Senate Bill 12 - Parents' Rights and DEI

Senate Bill 12 significantly increases parents' rights regarding almost all aspect of their children's education as well as placing strict limits on "DEI duties" in school districts, among other things.

One of the provisions of the bill created a requirement for parental consent for any medical or mental health care for students, including something as small as giving a child a bandage. TEA released guidance shortly after the bill was passed to clarify how districts can most effectively comply with that provision.

Senators had a few questions about how parents are able to learn about their rights and about changes to parent grievance procedures.

Senate Bill 13 - School Libraries

Senate Bill 13 requires increased oversight and transparency of school libraries and the formation of local library advisory councils to advise on changes to library collections. The bill also creates a process for challenging the inclusion of books in school libraries.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has applauded the bill, but suggested at a recent press conference that it go even further, saying school districts that retain harmful material suffer negative consequences on their accountability ratings.

House Bill 6 - School Discipline

House Bill 6 strengthens tools available to teachers and administrators to address student behavior in the classroom. TEA was invited to review the bill's many provisions for the committee as well as field questions about implementation challenges across the state.

Sen. Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton) asked TEA if there has been a noticeable effect on teacher retention due to HB 6, but they did not have any conclusive data to support that conclusion.

TCTA provided testimony on the bill, asking that the committee continue supporting the law's positive changes and let the new changes take root before making significant changes in the upcoming legislative session. TCTA also asked that information be made readily available online for teachers about their new rights and responsibilities under HB 6 without adding additional training requirements. Additionally, TCTA encouraged continued monitoring of whether the bill has improved teacher and student safety, classroom order, and the ability of students to learn without repeated disruption.

~~

With the November election approaching, no further interim hearings have been scheduled at this time. TCTA is already at work providing the most up-to-date information from teachers about how recent legislation has affected the profession and will continue to advocate for teachers in every venue.

Updates from the Capitol

Publication Date