Variety of bills on Monday schedules

Although the education committees did not have hearings Monday, several education-related bills were scheduled for hearings in other committees.

• TCTA supported SB 706 by Sen. Eddie Lucio, the TRS Sunset Bill, which was heard in the Senate Finance Committee.
• TCTA opposed a bill by Rep. Gene Wu in the House Juvenile Justice and Family Committee that would allow commissioners courts in counties of more than 125,000 people to vote to cease operating a juvenile justice alternative education program (JJAEP). TCTA is concerned that without a JJAEP, students could be expelled to the street – a circumstance that the JJAEPs were specifically designed to avoid.
• TCTA supported a bill by Rep. Diego Bernal in the same committee that would require school districts to consider mitigating circumstances before expelling students.
• TCTA opposed a bill in the House Ways and Means Committee by Rep. Andy Murr that would eliminate school district maintenance and operations property taxes and set up a commission to study the issue. Such taxes are a key source of funding for districts and should not be eliminated without other funds designated to replace them.
• TCTA supported a bill by Rep. James Talarico heard in the House Environmental Regulation Committee that would help improve air quality in schools.

All of the bills were left pending.