Two weeks remain in the 2019 Texas Legislative Session, and state lawmakers are working to address pending legislation related to public education.
Most notably, during his February State of the State address, Gov. Greg Abbott called upon lawmakers to reform the state’s outdated school finance system and strengthen school safety and security. Both issues are emergency items and are moving through the Legislature.
HB 3 makes transformative changes to the state’s school finance system. HB 3 received 148 ayes and only one nay from the House of Representatives on April 3. On April 25, the Senate Education Committee took up the bill and made several revisions. After hours of debate on the Senate’s changes to the legislation, HB 3 was ultimately approved by the full Senate with 26 ayes, 2 nays and 3 abstentions on May 6.