• House Bill 100 (Leo Wilson, et al. | SP: Middleton) prohibits school districts from purchasing, adopting, or otherwise utilizing instructional materials that have been rejected by the State Board of Education.

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• House Bill 8 (89(2), Buckley, et al. | SP: Bettencourt) eliminates the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) and replaces it with the Instructionally Supportive Assessment Program (ISAP). Under ISAP, students will perform assessments at the beginning, middle, and end of the year or course, as applicable. Scores will be made available to parents and educators to improve educational quality throughout the school year. Additionally, HB 8 amends the state’s A-F accountability system with new indicators of success. It also establishes the grant program to assist certain school districts in developing local accountability plans that comply with current law. Lastly, the bill includes a variety of provisions to ensure that public school accountability is maintained amidst legal challenges.

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• House Bill 1481 (Fairly, et al. | SP: Creighton) requires the board of trustees of school districts and the governing body of open-enrollment charter schools to adopt policies that prohibit students from using cellphones and other personal communication devices during the school day.

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• Senate Bill 37 (Creighton | SP: Shaheen) improves the quality of education at public institutions of higher education by ensuring that the general education curriculum meets state standards. The bill also lays out the rights and responsibilities of the presidents and governing boards of these institutions while limiting the role of faculty senates. Additionally, SB 37 creates the Office of the Ombudsman under the Texas Higher Education Board to act as an intermediary between the legislature and public institutions of higher education.

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• House Bill 2 (Buckley, et al. | SP: Creighton) provides Texas public schools with more than $8 billion in new funding, with over $4 billion dedicated to increases in teacher pay. The bill also provides additional funding for teacher preparation, school safety, special education, and career and technical education.

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• House Bill 20 (Gates, et al. | SP: Schwertner) establishes the Applied Sciences Pathway program to provide students in public schools with the opportunity to concurrently earn a high school diploma and industry-specific certificates from institutions of higher education. The certificates will signify readiness for job placement in certain high-wage, high-growth fields.

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• House Bill 27 (King, et al. | SP: Flores) requires the inclusion of curriculum on personal financial literacy in the foundation high school program. 

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• Senate Joint Resolution 59 (Birdwell | SP: Lambert, et al.) proposes a constitutional amendment to establish the permanent technical institution infrastructure fund and the available workforce education fund to provide a dedicated source of funding for capital projects and equipment purchases related to educational programs offered by the Texas State Technical College System. 

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• House Bill 3372 (Metcalf, et al. | SP: Middleton) will deter self-dealing and corruption by public school administrators. The bill prohibits school district, campus, and program administrators from receiving any financial benefit for the performance of personal services for any business that conducts or solicits business with their school district. Additionally, the bill prohibits administrators from receiving financial benefits for the performance of personal services for education businesses that provide curriculum or administrative services or other school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, or regional education service centers, unless they have received approval from their district’s board of trustees and are not a member of a board of managers, a superintendent, or an assistant superintendent.

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• Senate Bill 24 (Campbell, et al. | SP: Leach, et al.) requires Texas schools to provide a comprehensive education on the history, tactics, and consequences of communism by way of examining historical events and incorporating victim testimonies.