The most controversial of these bills, Senate Bill 2, a school voucher bill, reached his desk Saturday, May 3, when it was signed into law. Abbott had already adamantly declared his intention to sign the bill into law as soon as possible, effectively designating $1 billion of the state budget to offer parents a $10,000 voucher to afford private school education.
A number of other education bills are moving through the lawmaking process. Some will pass, some will fail, and like school, others will be held back, destined to repeat the legislative process next session. Here’s how the coming education bills will fare:
Senate Bill 10, Ten Commandments In Classrooms
This bill would mandate that public school classrooms display the Ten Commandments. The bill even lists certain size requirements (16x20 inches) for proper compliance. Supporters of the bill, including its author, Sen. Phil King, argue that the Ten Commandments are integral to the foundation of the country, similar to the Declaration of Independence, and deserve a place on the wall above the heads of public school children.The Texas Tribune reported that over a dozen opponents of the bill waited almost 20 hours at the Capitol to speak against it.
The bill passed the Senate on a 20-11 vote but has yet to be referred to a committee in the House. It faces an uphill battle in the more liberal House, where similar legislation has failed in previous sessions. Abbott has not declared whether or not he would sign the bill if it were to reach his desk.
House Bill 2, Basic Student Allotment Increase
House Bill 2, part of the so-called "Texas Two-Step" in conjunction with SB 2, passed the House in a near-unanimous vote and is in committee in the Senate. The bill, which would increase the basic student allotment by hundreds of dollars, is one of the heftier education reform bills drafted by Republicans this session. Though passing in a 142-5 vote, Texas House Democrats argued that the increase to the basic allotment, though the first since 2019, was not nearly enough to adequately repair the broken Texas education system. HB 2 will provide school districts with $220 more per student enrolled in their district, but experts say the number needs another zero in order to properly provide for students.
“We appreciate that lawmakers have included an increase to the basic allotment in House Bill 2 after six years of stagnation,” said Patty Quinzi, director of public affairs at Texas AFT, in a press release. “However, House Bill 2 falls over $1,000 short of what Texas schools need just to keep up with inflation since the last increase in 2019. Without a substantial increase in the basic allotment, we don’t see how schools can be successful given all of the state mandates added since the last increase.”
Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows heavily pushed the Texas Two-Step bills ahead of their House votes, which occurred on the same day. If Abbott’s determination to sign SB2 is any indication, HB2 will more than likely be signed into law.
House Bill 4, No More STAAR Tests
In the early stages of the bill approval process is HB 4, which would restructure the standardized testing system, doing away with STAAR testing. Filed by Rep. Jeff Buckley, who also authored HB 2, the bill was unanimously approved by the House Public Education Committee.While all parties have critiqued the efficacy and fairness of standardized testing, the bill is partisan and garners significant Republican support. Only four of its 81 sponsors are Democrats.
If the bill passes the House and Senate, it’s unclear whether Abbott would sign it into law. The governor has previously supported existing national standardized testing during school voucher debates and offered standardized testing as a means of holding schools accountable. But in 2020, he waived STAAR testing requirements in light of COVID.
“The move to waive testing requirements reflects the Governor’s emphasis on public health over all other priorities at this time,” said a 2020 release from the governor’s office. “In normal times, Texas’ assessment system provides educators and parents with reliable information on whether or not their students have mastered grade-level content. The Governor remains committed to ensuring parents, students, and school districts have access to this information in future years.”
Locally, Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde wrote a Dallas Morning News op-ed supporting HB 4 and replacing the STAAR test.
HB 4814, The F.U.R.R.I.E.S Act
In every session, there’s bound to be some bills that make you wonder what the impetus for their filing was. House Bill 4814 is a peak example of one of those bills. The Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education Act, or F.U.R.R.I.E.S Act, would ban children from using litter boxes in classrooms, as well as behaving in a number of non-human behaviors like meowing. When recently asked, the representative behind the bill, Stan Gerdes, could not provide an example of a singular Texas school supplying classrooms with litter boxes.
The bill has zero co-sponsors and was described by Rep. James Talarico as a “culture war attack” and a poor use of “debunked conspiracy theories.” After being referred early last month, it has not passed the House Public Education Committee.
To give credit where credit is due, Abbott has recirculated the same conspiracy theory about children using litter boxes in classrooms while continuously pushing for school vouchers.
“In some small rural sections of school districts in the state of Texas, they have in their schools what are called furries. Y'all know what this is?” Abbott said while speaking to a crowd of pastors in Austin.
The litter box angle is an interesting approach to push taxpaying dollars away from public schools, but it still seems unlikely that this bill will go any further.
