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RISD staff brief trustees on busy Texas legislative session, highlight discipline and finance bills
Summary
District staff updated the board on education legislation in the Texas Legislature, noting more than 5,800 bills filed and identifying key measures affecting discipline, funding, teacher pay and vouchers; staff said discipline-related measures (House Bill 6) and the finance bill (House Bill 2 / Senate Bill 1) are priorities for the district.
District staff provided a legislative update in the board’s March meeting, summarizing activity in the Texas Legislature and how pending measures could affect Richardson ISD.
Miss Morris, who presented the update, said as of the briefing more than 5,800 bills had been filed and that more than 900 of them relate to education. She told trustees the session runs through June 3 and reminded the board the state must pass its budget (Senate Bill 1 in this session). "As of today, 5,852 bills have been filed, and more than 900 of them are education related," she said.
Morris and other staff summarized district priorities and where they currently appear in legislation: discipline changes (House Bill 6, which the district listed as its top priority and said was headed to committee and a hearing), the larger finance and basic-allotment increases (House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 1), teacher-pay proposals (Senate Bill 26 and provisions in House Bill 2), and accountability measures (House Bill 4). The presenter also reviewed bills addressing school libraries, school prayer and posting of the Ten Commandments — noting the latter (Senate Bill 10) had passed out of the Senate education committee and that a related House bill carried a much higher bill number.
Board members asked for clarification about the Ten Commandments and prayer bills. Staff said the Ten Commandments measure would require posting the text in classrooms if enacted and that the proposed prayer measure (listed as SB11 in presentation materials) would allow districts to create an optional time for prayer that students could opt into; staff stressed the bills contain limited detail and that districts would still have discretion to decide how to implement any statutory changes.
Trustees discussed funding mechanics, asking staff to explain how proposed increases might interact with prior appropriations and with a proposed education savings account (voucher) program. Staff described high-level spending numbers cited in committee analysis and fiscal notes, including a multi‑billion-dollar increase labeled "new money" in current proposals and a proposed $1 billion initial allocation for an education savings-account program in the biennium, and cautioned that fiscal effects will change as bills move through the process.
Staff emphasized the fluid nature of the session and that the district is monitoring bills as they develop.
