______DERON ROBINSON, GENERAL COUNSEL

May 8, 2019

To: Allen ISD Council of PTAs Allen ISD Legislative Focus Group Allen ISD Leadership

Re: Legislative Updates

I wanted to make you aware of several bills we are currently tracking through the . House Bill 4242: This bill would require an independent of the STAAR assessments to ensure the test is appropriate for grade level readability, as well as reduce penalties associated with the 2018-2019 STAAR exam. This bill passed the Texas House yesterday, and will now need to be championed in the for passage. I recommend contacting the Texas Senate if you support this legislation. House Bill 3985: This bill was created by Allen ISD’s and officially authored by Representative , which would allow school districts the ability to obtain historical claims data from TRS ActiveCare to explore reasonability of other insurance coverages for employees. This bill passed unanimously through the Texas House, and will now be taken to the Texas Senate. I recommend contacting the Texas Senate if you support this legislation. House Bill 1480: This bill eliminates Social Studies and US History assessments, and eliminates STAAR promotion requirements for grades 5 and 8. This bill has passed the Texas House and is scheduled to be considered before the Senate Public Education Committee on Thursday, May 9, 2019. I recommend contacting the Texas Senate if you support this legislation. House Bill 3: This bill provides positive provisions such as increased basic allotment for students, dyslexia funding, increase special education funding, reduced recapture, property tax relief, and an early childhood allotment to assist with full-day pre-k. The Texas Senate also includes GT weights and a $5,000 across-the- board salary increase for teachers and librarians. However, as amended by the Senate this bill also includes such negative provisions such as: merit-based pay; outcomes-based funding; increased reliance on STAAR testing in grades 3,5, 6, and 8; having more STAAR testing at various times throughout the year; and the stipulation that school cannot start before the third Monday in August. This bill is going to a conference with 5 members each of the Texas Senate and Texas House. We hope the final bill will be more in line with the Texas House version. I recommend letting your Legislative Contacts know your position on this piece of legislation.

612 E. Bethany Drive • P.O. Box 13 • Allen, Texas 75013 • (972) 236-9365 • http://www.allenisd.org

Senate Bill 29: The Companion Bill to the recent House Bill 281, this bill would prohibit school districts from supporting PTAs and other nonprofit organizations such as the Texas Association of School Boards, the Texas Association of School Administrators, and the Texas Association of School Business Officials if these organizations directly or indirectly attempt to influence legislation. This bill has passed the Texas Senate, has passed out of the House State Affairs Committee, and now has been sent to the House Calendars Committee for that Committee to consider putting before the entire Texas House for a vote. This bill could easily fulfill its stated purpose by simply prohibiting political subdivisions from hiring registered lobbyists, which very few school districts do. I recommend contacting your State Representative if you oppose this legislation. Senate Bill 1569: This bill would make it illegal for board members or employees to advocate for/against a political philosophy or matter of public interest. It would also make it illegal for employees or trustees to have communication in person or to a group regarding matters of public interest. This bill passed the Texas Senate and now will be considered by the House Elections Committee on May 13, 2019. I recommend contacting your State Representative if you oppose this legislation. Legislative Contacts:

Candy Noble Capitol Office District Office P.O. Box 2910 206 North Murphy Road Austin, TX 78768 Suite 123 Phone: 512-463-0186 Murphy, Texas 75094 Email: [email protected]

Jeff Leach Capitol Office District Office P.O. Box 2910 550 S. Watters Road Austin, TX 78768 Suite 280 Phone: 512-463-0544 Allen, Texas 75013 Email: [email protected] 972-424-1419

Scott Sanford Capitol Office District Office P.O. Box 2910 115 West Virginia Street Austin, TX 78768 Suite 103 Phone: 512-463-0356 McKinney, Texas 75069 Email: [email protected] 972-548-7500

Angela Paxton Capitol Office District Office P.O. Box 12068 604 S. Watters Road Capitol Station Suite 100 Austin, TX 78711 Allen, Texas 75013 Phone: 512-463-0108 972-908-3424 Email: [email protected]