In this edition of IDRA’s Texas Education Policy Alert, you’ll find get information on a litany of harmful discipline bills, ways to get involved to oppose vouchers, and what hearings are upcoming this week!
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In this edition…
- Committee Hearings This Week
- Discipline Day in the Texas Senate
- Keep Going! Share Your Comments and Call Your Rep!
- Highlights from Last Week
Coming Up: Week of March 25, 2025
Texas House: Tuesday
- House Public Education Committee
- 8:00 a.m. (See notice)
- House Higher Education Committee
- 8:00 a.m. (See notice)
- Watch hearings live
- Watch past hearings
Texas Senate: Tuesday
- Senate Education K-16 Committee
- 8:00 a.m. (See notice)
- Watch hearings live
- Watch past hearings
School Discipline Day – Hearing This Week
This week, the Texas Senate Education K-16 Committee will meet to hear a litany of harmful discipline bills. These bills would create exclusionary discipline practices in schools, give schools the ability to remove students for vaguely defined behaviors, and allow for unlimited student placements in in-school suspension.
All students deserve safe and welcoming schools that do not use harmful discipline and school police to punish young people.
SB 27 – Would increase the use of punitive and exclusionary discipline practices in schools for students who have had one single instance of “unruly” or “disruptive” behavior.
SB 1871 – Authorizes the removal of students from the classroom to include any time a student “interferes” with teacher communication or student learning, or a student demonstrates even a single instance of “unruly” or “disruptive” behavior.
SB 1872 – Would mandate that students be sent to a juvenile justice alternative educational program (JJAEP) regardless of whether an alleged incident occurs on or off campus.
SB 1873 – This bill would remove any time limits to a student’s placement in in-school suspension (ISS).
SB 1874 – Would remove the ability of parents and caregivers to hold school employees that harm children in the administration of school discipline accountable for violations of the law.
Action Alert! Call the House Public Education Committee
Action: Advocates should call the House Public Education committee before the bill gets voted out of committee. Find their office numbers below!
House Public Education Committee Members
- Rep. James Talarico – (512) 463-0821
- Chairman Rep. Brad Buckley – (512) 463-0684
- Vice Chair Rep. Diego Bernal – (512) 463-0532
- Rep. Alma Allen – (512) 463-0744
- Rep. Trent Ashby – (512) 463-0508
- Rep. John Bryant – (512) 463-0576
- Rep. Charles Cunningham – (512) 463-0520
- Rep. Harold Dutton – (512) 463-0510
- Rep. James Frank – (512) 463-0534
- Rep. Gina Hinojosa – (512) 463-0668
- Rep. Todd Hunter – (512) 463-0672
- Rep. Helen Kerwin – (512) 463-0538
- Rep. Jeff Leach – (512) 463-0544
- Rep. Terri Leo Wilson – (512) 463-0502
- Rep. Alan Schoolcraft – (512) 463-0602
The Last Chance to be Heard is Now!
There will be no more hearings on the voucher bills that are making their way around the Texas Capitol. We know that you and most Texans were not able to testify about these bills in person. But it’s not too late to speak up! We’ve created our own comment tool so you can voice your concerns about the harms of a Texas voucher bill. It takes just about three minutes to send. We will share these stories on social media and with members of the Texas House and Senate.
Thank you to the folks we’ve received comments from. Please continue to submit comment and call your legislators urging them to vote no on vouchers!
Testimony from Last Week
Zero Tolerance Discipline Has Not and Will Not Help Texas Students, Families or Teachers – IDRA Testimony Against HB 6, submitted by Paige Duggins-Clay, J.D., to the Texas House Committee on Public Education, March 18, 2025
Defining and Monitoring Chronic Absenteeism is Critical to Addressing Attrition of Texas Students – Education Justice Advocates Joint Written Testimony for HB 213, submitted by Paige Duggins-Clay, J.D, to the Texas House Committee on Public Education, March 18, 2025
Tools & Resources
Learn more about IDRA’s policy recommendations for Texas
See our Infographic: 5 Data Snacks on IDRA’s Policy Priorities
The Big Cost of Proposed Voucher Legislation, Data Map
How to Testify before the Texas Legislature, Infographic
Get more advocacy tips and videos on IDRA’s SEEN website.
