Texas Scorecard by Erin Anderson June 12, 2023
“We’re not done yet.” —Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law four measures passed during the regular legislative session that he said provide “transformative changes” to improve the education process for parents, students, and teachers.
But the governor acknowledged lawmakers need to do more.
“To be clear, we’re not done yet,” Abbott said at a press conference on Monday to ceremonially sign the parent empowerment bills.
“We all know that in addition to the changes I’m about to sign into law, we need to deliver on the promise to parents that parents will have the ability to choose the education pathway best for their child,” he said.
The bills Abbott signed Monday will take effect on September 1:
House Bill 900 by State Rep. Jared Patterson (R–Frisco) prohibits school library material that is sexually explicit, vulgar, or educationally unsuitable.
“I’m signing a law that gets that trash out of our schools,” Abbott said. “Our students need materials that not only will educate them, but also prepare them to advance our state and our country.”
House Bill 1605 by State Rep. Brad Buckley (R–Salado) “transforms school curriculum” and “eases the workload for teachers, so they can spend less time gathering content and more time on instruction,” Abbott said.
He said the new law also ensures students are not exposed to ideological content and provides parents online access to view their child’s instructional materials.
Some parents objected to the bill’s emphasis on “open education resources” (OER)—instructional materials purchased or developed by the Texas Education Agency and made freely available to teachers. School districts are not required to adopt the OER curriculum but are incentivized to do so.
House Bill 1926 by State Rep. Lacey Hull (R–Houston) extends the state’s special education services program, created in 2020, by removing the $30 million cap on annual funding for the program.
House Bill 3803 by State Rep. Charles Cunningham (R–Humble) reinstates the ability of parent to determine whether their students repeat a grade level course for grades 4-8 or high school.
“Parents, not school administrators, should have that option to determine whether it’s in their child’s best interest,” Abbott said.
He said a common theme for the session that will continue going forward is that parents know what is best for their child.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/abbott-signs-parent-empowerment-measures-into-law/
