What to expect with the House Public Education Committee interim hearing

Name: House Public Education Committee interim hearing
Start: Monday, May 11

22 hours ago
3 min read

The House Public Education committee will meet in Austin Monday, May 11 for the first of at least a few hearings to discuss their interim charges for the 89 ^th Legislature. On the agenda for this hearing will be the implementation of House Bill (HB) 1431 and the “State of Education:”

Study the current state of public education in Texas. Examine academic outcomes, enrollment trends pertaining to the stability of the school finance system, school safety, and the role of technology and artificial intelligence. Identify emerging challenges, opportunities, and best practices to sustain and expand high-performing schools across Texas. Explore ways to streamline statutory and regulatory provisions to improve efficiency in district operations.

It is expected that the Commissioner of Education Mike Morath will report on how the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is working to implement the giant slate of edicts from the 89^th session(s). He may also use this opportunity to lay the groundwork for his requests for the next budget cycle. There are also likely to be several panels related to the various topics in the charge.

While there are specific items mentioned, the charge is broad enough to encompass a host of issues related to public education. And in an extraordinarily consequential election year, where campaign rhetoric either celebrates or condemns our current policy and politics, we find ourselves thinking about how education is impacted by factors both in and outside the classroom.

Earlier this week, researcher Dr. Josh Cowan wrote eloquently about the affordability issues facing families in these uncertain economic times. For example, the average cost of a gallon of regular gas in Texas is $4.10, about $1.30 per gallon more than it was a year ago when all this legislation was moving through the Texas House. The second Trump administration’s slashing of federal funding and programs like SNAP has impacted the availability and eligibility of the free and reduced lunch programs that many students rely on for regular meals. A surprising number of the entities (60%) that have enrolled to be recipients of Texas’ new voucher program are private pre-K providers, which is a comment on huge costs of quality childcare and early education for working parents.

So while examining the impact of cell phone bans (HB 1431) and “the role of technology and artificial intelligence” are important topics, they are not the big “education issues” facing most working Texans. These economic stresses are real, immediate, and they impact every member of a household. And though we often tout public schools as the bedrock of democracy (which they are!), we cannot educate and build the next generation of engaged citizens when basic needs like housing and food are not guaranteed. Cowan makes a compelling argument that the “affordability” agenda and the education agenda are really one and the same. [Seriously, every education policy nerd should subscribe to The Forum.]

Yet, it is the job of policy makers to confront and assess not only the issues of today but also to shape our schools to help students meet the societal and workforce needs of the future. The work is daunting, exhausting, and deeply necessary.

Texas AFT will be watching this and all education interim hearings with an analytical eye. As we begin the work of building our members’ legislative agenda for the 90^th Legislative session, we will keep both the classroom and the kitchen table at the forefront of our work.