Tuesday, March 3, was the deadline for committees to report general bills originating in their own chamber. General bills not passed by committees by Tuesday’s deadline died on the calendar. Click here to review our first bill tracking spreadsheet which includes those education bills which survived Tuesday’s deadline and are under consideration by the full House or full Senate. Here is a quick update on several critical issues we are monitoring:
Teacher pay raise– SB 2001 passed the Senate in early February. It has been transferred to the House and referred to the Education and Appropriations committees.
Teacher shortage/Revise requirements for entry into teacher prep programs – The Senate and House have both passed their respective bills (SB 2511 and HB 994), so the bills will now be considered by the other chamber.
Vouchers – SB 2594 is awaiting consideration by the full Senate.
Limiting local school boards’ budgeting authority – When HB 989 was passed by House Education this past Tuesday, Rep. Charles Busby, the author of the bill, told committee members that he is going to amend the bill on the House floor to remove the language which limits local school boards from raising ad valorem taxes. HB 989 is awaiting consideration by the full House.
Religious exemptions for vaccines - During its meeting Tuesday morning, the Senate Education Committee laid SB 2562 on the table subject to call and the bill then died on the calendar. SB 2562 would have allowed religious exemptions for school immunization requirements.
Include WorkKeys in the accountability model- HB 1556 was transmitted to the Senate last week, but it has not been referred to a committee in that chamber.
Each chamber must pass its own general bills by next Thursday, March 12, or the bills will die on the calendar.
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