Legislative meetings canceled this week

Neither the House, Senate, or legislative committees met this week due to the serious winter storm that affected most of the state.The House had scheduled its first budget hearings for this week, including taking testimony regarding the TRS and TEA/school finance budgets, but those hearings were rescheduled.

Next week, the Senate Finance Committee will consider testimony on TRS and TEA Monday. The House Appropriations Committee will be briefed on several topics including public education funding on Monday, and the Teacher Retirement System on Tuesday. The detailed work in both committees is typically done in subcommittees/workgroups that break out to consider different portions of the budget.

TCTA has prepared testimony to both committees, including requests to continue to fully fund schools and hold districts harmless for enrollment drops due to COVID-19; and to increase state funding for school employee health insurance.