Like a slightly dormant but not forgotten volcano, the Texas Capitol is stirring to life again after the 2026 primary season with a few big announcements from the top offices in the House and Senate.
Speaker Dustin Burrows office released interim charges for House Legislative committees to consider in advance of the 90th session beginning in January 2027.
House Public Education
The primary word in these charges seems to be “monitor.” To be fair, there were some monster bills passed last session, mostly notably House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2, that mandated not only huge policy changes but also had hefty funding packages and Texas deserved a detailed update on how these bills and the attached tax-payer dollars are affecting their neighborhood schools (or not).
Also on the monitoring charges:
- HB 6, relating to discipline management, student removal, virtual schools, and access to telehealth mental health services in public schools
- HB 8 (Second Called Session), relating to public school accountability and transparency, including the implementation of an instructionally supportive assessment program (aka the STAAR replacement bill)
- HB 1481, relating to school district and open-enrollment charter school policies regarding student use of personal communication devices
We will also be closely following their charge related to educator misconduct. The Senate passed a significant bill on this topic, SB 571, which shortened the reporting window for certain suspected misconduct and gave the Texas Education Agency significant staff and budget increased to handle the inevitable overreporting of the same.
There will also be an item on teacher recruitment and retention. Discussion will cover implementation of teacher preparation changes in HB 2 and whether these changes are having an impact on school districts’ ability to recruit and retain qualified educators in the classroom.
Hotline readers will be aware that the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) is still engaged in rulemaking on these two previously mentioned charges and so the impacts are not yet known. However, the committee will still look to make recommendations to tighten around educator misconduct and strengthen the educator pipeline.
And what’s going on in the Senate?
On the other side of the building, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick named new committees and chairs, but has yet to release interim charge work.
Notably absent from the committee list was newly sworn in Senator Taylor Rehmet, a veteran and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Texas State Council President, who was elected to represent the SD-9 in the Texas Senate in a special election at the end of January.
In his response, Rehmet stated that Patrick had chosen to silence the voters of SD-9 in Tarrant County and he promised to use every tool available to improve the lives of his constituents. He’s already off to a strong start. On the campaign trail, Rehmet sat across from teachers who quietly admitted they were spending their own paychecks to buy basics like pencils and paper they know their students need. Teachers should not have to sacrifice themselves to make up for state neglect. Rehmet took action and opened a free Teacher Supply Closet with this simple invitation to teachers: if you’re an educator, come take what you need. Rehmet also partnered with the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas to deliver meals to neighbors in need. The new senator has hit the ground running and is diligently serving the people Patrick has chosen to silence.
Patrick was quick to contradict Rehmet’s response, saying he will be assigned committees should he win the November election. But this leaves Rehmet out of interim hearings, where legislative priorities are shaped. The Dallas Morning News editorial board put it well: “Most Americans, and most Texans, are exhausted by the way our political leaders practice politics. The mean-spirited, zero-sum world they live in is not the world normal people want.” The voters of Tarrant County are already seeing Rehmet’s hard work and they will remember in November when we expect Rehmet to be elected to a full term.
Patrick’s business-as-usual attitude also glosses over the fact that he has chosen to bifurcate the education committee into K-12 and higher education again. These had previously been combined under then Sen. Brandon Creighton. Patrick has named Sen. Paul Bettencourt as chair of the reconstituted Higher Education Committee and has placed Sen. Donna Campbell as the head of the K-12 committee.
Texas AFT will report in future editions of the Hotline as the interim work of both chambers progresses.