Senate Education considers bill to protect UIL referees/judges from spectators

Like its House counterpart, the Senate Education Committee had a shorter-than-usual agenda this week, some of which pertained only to higher education issues. The public education bills were:

HB 473 by Rep. Lacey Hull/Sen. Kevin Sparks, requiring parent notice before a threat assessment team conducts an assessment of a student.

HB 1297 by Rep. Harold Dutton/Sen. Brian Birdwell, which allows districts to test vision via an electronic eye chart.

HB 2484 by Rep. Ryan Guillen/Sen. Morgan LaMantia, which bans spectators, including parents, from extracurricular activities if they have intentionally caused bodily injury to a referee, judge or other official. Witnesses testified that physical abuse towards officials is getting worse, causing many to leave.

SB 2518 by Sen. Cesar Blanco, which extends from one to three years the time that a special education teacher with bilingual students can take to earn bilingual certification.