Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has announced his interim charges for the Senate, a set of 57 issues he is calling on Senate Committees to investigate and research ahead of the legislative session next year. The list of charges runs the gamut of issues conservatives have called on the legislature to address, including property tax relief, protecting Texas land from hostile foreign ownership, and strengthening laws preventing electioneering by school districts and other political subdivisions.  “The Senate’s work to study the list of charges will begin in the coming weeks and months. Following completion of hearings, committees will submit reports with their specific findings and policy recommendations before December 1, 2024,” said Patrick. view article

Examining charitable bail organizations and banning Delta 9 were also among Patrick’s priorities in the next legislative session.  Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick put improving housing affordability, fighting antisemitism on college campuses and examining charitable bail organizations among 57 items on a to-do list for senators before the next legislative session begins in January.  Patrick, who oversees the Senate and wields tremendous power over bills passed into law, said the list was whittled from hundreds of ideas submitted from the state’s 31 senators, which the lieutenant governor reviewed with his staff.  “Come January 2025, the Senate will hit the ground running at the start of the 89th Legislative Session,” Patrick said in a statement. “The priorities of the conservative majority of Texans will be accomplished, including school choice, continued property tax relief, and strengthening the power grid.” view article

Immigration, abortion, Gaza, taxes, the economy, President Joe Biden’s age, President Donald Trump’s trials—voters had a lot on their minds as they cast primary election ballots on Super Tuesday, the nation’s biggest day for voting outside the general election. Voters in 15 states took to the polls on March 5 to select candidates for November’s presidential election. Voters in California, Texas, North Carolina, and Alabama cast nominating ballots for key House and Senate races, and voters in North Carolina selected nominees for a gubernatorial contest. While the presidential primary drew the most attention, our reporters on the ground in more than 10 states monitored races that could affect the balance of power in Congress and explored the implications of the day’s results for the November election and beyond. view article

Teachers and students in Liberty Hill ISD have been exploring new ways to learn through the use of artificial intelligence, or AI, this school year. District teachers and staff said AI has enhanced students’ learning experience and prepared them for future careers as AI becomes increasingly prevalent in many industries. “We are trying to prepare students for jobs that don't even exist,” LHISD instructional coach Jennifer Norris said. “We don't want students to be thinking for today. We want students to be thinking for the future.” view article

Patrick listed 57 interim charges in his release with a potential second list of issues to come. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has released the Texas Senate’s 2024 Interim Legislative Charges. Interim charges are priorities that lawmakers will focus on in the lead-up to the regular session. “The 57 interim charges I released today reflect issues that Texans have asked us to study. Our 31 senators submitted hundreds of ideas, with many senators sharing similar proposals,” Patrick wrote in a press release. The charges include having the Border Security Committee review local and state agencies’ participation in border security, monitoring the implementation of a variety of border-related laws, and support for personnel at the border. Border security is an issue that remains on the minds of voters across political lines as problems continue to mount in relation to the large number of illegal immigrants attempting to enter the country. The Texas Energy Fund was front and center in Patrick’s conversation earlier this year with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. It is addressed in the legislative charges as the Business and Commerce Committee is tasked with reviewing the impact of how grants and loans will be employed in the future construction and use of electric power plants in Texas. view article

The Houston event is part of a series of fundraisers Phelan has hosted after coming in second place to former Orange County GOP Chairman David Covey in the March primary. view article

The border officials want lawmakers to establish a new statewide agency to protect the public from transnational criminal organizations. As illegal aliens continue to pour across the southern border into Texas, three border county officials are calling for an immediate special session to establish a statewide law enforcement agency tasked with fighting border-related crimes. In a letter sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, Kinney County Judge John Paul Schuster, County Attorney Brent Smith, and Sheriff Brad Coe asked that Abbott call a legislative session “to allow for the passage of Rep. Ryan Guillen’s bill, which establishes a new Texas Homeland Security Division…” view article

The Lieutenant Governor’s Office has released the 2024 Legislative Interim Charges for the Texas Senate. No hearings on the charges are posted at this time, but we anticipate they will begin in a few weeks. See some of the charges related to public schools.

State Rep. Gary VanDeaver is currently facing a primary runoff election against Chris Spencer.  A new report reveals Republican State Rep. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston was a paid consultant for a lobbying firm. A 2022 personal financial statement, first reported by the Dallas Express, shows that VanDeaver was employed by Powell Law Group from 2020-2022.   According to the firm’s website, the group offers “turnkey public policy and governmental affairs programs for school district leaders and businesses in the education space who want to influence local and state legislative and regulatory matters.”  While VanDeaver claimed the Powell Group “is not a lobby firm,” the group’s own website states that their government relations services include lobbying.  view article

As we approach the end of the school year, we’ll review how public schools were impacted by new legislation, how they’ve reacted and what challenges remain. view article

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says “continued property tax relief” would be a top conservative priority when the Legislature reconvenes.  Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says “continued property tax relief” would be a top conservative priority when the Legislature reconvenes. view article

A group of lawmakers requested a public hearing last week to discuss reports of “concerning developments” at Houston ISD roughly a year after the state took the troubled district over. Reps. Christina Morales (D-Houston), Ann Johnson (D-Houston), Jarvis Johnson (D-Houston), Penny Morales Shaw (D-Houston), Mary Ann Perez (D-Houston), Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston), Shawn Thierry (D-Houston), Hubert Vo (D-Houston), and Gene Wu (D-Houston) signed a letter addressed to House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) in which they claimed to have received several complaints about the State Board of Managers running Houston ISD. view article

The Lieutenant Governor’s Office has released the 2024 Legislative Interim Charges for the Texas Senate. Some of the charges related to public schools are below. No hearings on the charges are posted at this time, but we anticipate they will begin in a few weeks. view article

The requested hearing is intended to address potential violations of state law, what evidence points to the new superintendent’s education model being effective, and students with disabilities not receiving state-mandated accommodations.  Nearly a year into the state’s takeover of Houston Independent School District, nine Houston-area state representatives have sent a letter to Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan requesting a public hearing on the state of the district.  The Texas Education Agency began a temporary takeover of Houston ISD last year due to persistent academic failures at some campuses, corrupt school officials, and the presence of a state conservator for years.  Now, in a letter, State Rep. Christina Morales and eight other representatives wrote: view article

While Gov. Greg Abbott is sharing news that Texas will kick off the 89th Legislative Session in January 2025 with an estimated $20 billion budget surplus, school districts across the state are running out of funds and preparing to file deficit budgets for the 2024-2025 school year. Bob Popinski, Senior Director of Policy at Raise Your Hand Texas said districts are strapped for funding for a number of reasons, including double-digit inflation since 2019, the COVID-19 funding cliff, enrollment declines in some school districts, an increase in unfunded mandates coming out of the Capitol and inaction by the 88th Legislature. “In a time of inflation, which every family is going through, our teachers in Texas are currently underpaid by about $7,500 compared to the national average,” Popinski said. “Texas will continue to fall behind that, so if you want to be competitive and try to attract and retain the best teachers in the state, school districts are losing the ability to do so.” view article

Humble ISD trustees voted Tuesday to accept the retirement of the superintendent's husband, Troy Kite, and to release the findings of a lengthy Title IX investigation that, alongside multiple related Title IX cases, cost the district more than $500,000 to mediate. Kite, Humble ISD’s executive director of UIL and fine arts, is married to Humble ISD Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen. A Title IX complaint was first filed by assistant athletic director Jana Williams against Kite nearly a year ago. Kite made two complaints in response: his own Title IX complaint and a general grievance. Discussion of these complaints has been held in closed session by the Board of Trustees over the course of months. view article

During a private meeting at Ed Young's Second Baptist Church in Houston, dozens of right-wing Christians strategized how to win seats in the 2024 elections.  As millions of Texans prepared to stare at the sky Monday to glimpse the total solar eclipse, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick joined his pastor Ed Young in a prayer circle at Houston's Second Baptist Church, where they embraced conservative kingmakers and called for pastors and believers to run for office. view article

State Reps. Christina Morales and Penny Morales Shaw, two Democrats who represent parts of Houston, made a long-planned visit Tuesday to the public school district that serves their city. They toured Wainwright Elementary in the northwest part of town, Morales said, and among other observations noticed that timers were being used as part of lesson plans, a feature of the New Education System (NES) under state-appointed Houston ISD superintendent Mike Miles. Morales said they also were told a learning coach for students who speak Spanish, and complete assignments in Spanish, did not speak the language and therefore could not provide assistance. view article

Many independent school districts, including the largest ones, do not allow chaplains to serve as counselors, which is now allowed under a new Texas law.  Last year, Texas passed a law allowing school districts to recruit chaplains using school safety funds. So far, only one school has employed a full-time religious mentor to counsel students, according to staffing data from the Texas Education Agency.  The largest 25 school districts in the state already rejected the legislation, which encompasses almost two million students and about a third of Texas public school students, according to tracking done by the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.  While Arlington ISD is on the list of districts that rejected the measure, the city’s public charter network Newman International Academy was the lone school district to hire a chaplain during the 2023-24 school year. view article

Texas will hold its 2024 runoff elections May 28 to finalize which Democratic and Republican primary candidates will be on the ballot in the November general election. During the March 5 primaries, no candidate exceeded 50% of the vote in 32 races, bringing about runoff races between the candidates who came in first and second. The winner will face the other major party’s nominee in that race, as well as possible Libertarian and Green party candidates. Independent and write-in candidates have until the summer to file their candidacies. Listed below are all of the candidates who will be on the ballot in the primary runoffs for congressional, legislative and state board of education races. This year, there are no runoffs for any statewide races. view article

There are eight candidates on the ballot in Killeen who are vying for two seats on the Killeen ISD Board of Trustees.  The election, on May 4, will decide which candidates will fill the seats being vacated by Cullen Mills in Place 6, who has decided not to run for reelection, and a Place 7 seat vacated by JoAnn Purser, who relocated out of the district earlier this year.  Three candidates are running for the Place 6 seat. In alphabetical order, they are Tina Capito, Lan Carter and John Doranski. view article

Straus, who is Jewish, publicly confirmed the conversation for the first time Thursday. It had previously been reported by Texas Monthly.  Former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus said on Thursday that Midland oil magnate Tim Dunn, one of the state’s most powerful and influential GOP megadonors, once told him that only Christians should hold leadership positions in the lower chamber.  Straus, a Republican who is Jewish, relayed the encounter in an interview with former Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. It appeared to be the first time Straus publicly confirmed the anecdote, which was first reported by Texas Monthly in a 2018 story that cited “Straus insiders.” The alleged remarks came at a November 2010 meeting, shortly after Dunn’s political network had targeted many of the Democrats and moderate Republicans who had helped Straus ascend to the speakership the year before. With Straus poised to seek a second term as speaker the following January, he said he asked Dunn to meet in the hopes of finding common ground on “fiscal tax issues.” view article

In an interview with the Luke Macias Show, Republican State Rep. Tom Oliverson of Cypress explained how he would use the speakership to change the structure and culture of the House. Oliverson, who announced his candidacy for House Speaker last month, said he will “give the voters what they voted for, which is actual representation.” He described the results of the March GOP Primary as Texans “calling for a change.” Oliverson also explained there is a “pattern of behavior” in House leadership that he doesn’t support—namely, lording power over members, pushing them around, and telling them how they have to vote. The impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton last May came as a surprise to many House members, who did not expect it. While Oliverson was absent for the vote due to his son’s graduation that day, he said the entire affair was “so cloak and

A CBP source says there were more than 137,000 illegal border crossers arrested by Border Patrol.  Although official border numbers for March are not expected until the middle of the month, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection source shared data that shows there were more than 189,000 encounters at the southwest border.  Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin posted on X that a CBP source had shared internal data from the southern border revealing that Border Patrol agents had arrested approximately 137,500 illegal aliens attempting to cross into the United States. This would make the number of encounters in March a new low since President Joe Biden took office—with the prior low being 163,672. view article

The March primary elections for the Texas House saw historic amounts of spending. An analysis by NBC 5 found that more than $25 million was spent in total throughout the state for Texas House races from January through the first week of March. One of the major spenders tells NBC 5 they plan to spend millions more on the handful of runoff elections still in play. Club for Growth spent $4 million in Republican primary elections through its affiliate, the School Freedom Fund. The group's President, David McIntosh, confirms they have already set another $4 view article

Denton ISD Superintendent Jamie Wilson talks about the issues the lack of state funding is causing his district. view article

School security and school vouchers have absolutely nothing in common except the word “school” and yet Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues to block funding for state-mandated security measures without passage of his pet school savings account legislation. The impact on public schools, particularly those in rural areas like ours, has been dramatic. view article

Major political donors, with the largest contributions coming from out of state, supporting Texas GOP primary candidates friendly to "school choice" proposals, or voucher programs, vastly outspent those donating to incumbents who oppose such proposals in 20 key Texas House races, according to an American-Statesman analysis of campaign finance data. view article

Will Gov. Abbott’s efforts be spoiled by anti-school choice Parent PAC’s wildcard?   Gov. Greg Abbott recently declared he’s just two votes shy of passing school-choice legislation during the next legislative session.  However, one critical race could determine the fate of his ambitious education reform agenda: the runoff between incumbent Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and challenger David Covey.  For years, a reliable bloc of Republican lawmakers, bolstered by the Texas Parent PAC, has maintained a firewall against school choice in the House. But that wall is rapidly crumbling. view article

Two of Texas’ top decision-makers, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, expressed confidence that state lawmakers will approve a private school voucher plan next year. Speaking on March 20 at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual conference in Austin, Abbott said school voucher supporters were “on the threshold of success” after several anti-voucher Republicans were unseated or sent to tight runoffs in the March 5 primary election. Abbott led the charge to oust over a dozen Texas House Republicans, who are largely from rural communities, after they voted against his voucher plan last fall. He said lawmakers were “fighting against” their constituents by rejecting vouchers. view article

Lawmakers and grassroots activists respond to Phelan’s proclamation that no one can announce for speaker before his own election.  With Speaker Dade Phelan facing an uphill battle in his own re-election campaign at home, he says it’s inappropriate for candidates to announce their intention to run for speaker before the runoff.  Phelan, who came in second place to challenger David Covey in the March primary, will be on the ballot in a runoff election on May 28.   Just last week, however, State Rep. Tom Oliverson (R–Cypress) officially kicked off the race to lead the chamber by announcing his candidacy, saying “Republican voters across Texas sent a strong and unmistakable signal that Texas needs a new paradigm.” He promised a series of reforms, including ending Phelan’s practice of awarding chairmanship positions to Democrats. view article

Two of Texas’ top decision-makers, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, expressed confidence that state lawmakers will approve a private school voucher plan next year. Speaking on March 20 at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual conference in Austin, Abbott said school voucher supporters were “on the threshold of success” after several anti-voucher Republicans were unseated or sent to tight runoffs in the March 5 primary election. Abbott led the charge to oust over a dozen Texas House Republicans, who are largely from rural communities, after they voted against his voucher plan last fall. He said lawmakers were “fighting against” their constituents by rejecting vouchers. view article

U.S. Rep. Kay Granger to step down from powerful House appropriations leadership position WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, will step down early as chair of the influential House Appropriations Committee, she announced in a letter to Republican leadership Friday. "As I reflect on my time in the House of Representatives and more than 5 years as Ranking Member and now Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, I realize I have accomplished more than I ever could have imagined," Granger wrote in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson. The chairmanship is one of the most powerful positions held by a Texan in Congress. The Appropriations Committee sets funding levels every year for a host of government programs. Granger has been the top Republican on the committee since 2019. view article

Oliverson, one of Phelan’s committee chairmen, said the speaker has lost the confidence of the Republican caucus. State Rep. Tom Oliverson on Thursday announced a surprise challenge to Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, condemning his fellow Republican’s “dysfunctional” leadership as he fights for political survival in a May runoff. Oliverson, an anesthesiologist from Cypress in his fourth term, pitched himself as the right man to realign the lower chamber with the priorities of the Republican party, which he said Phelan too often ignored. He criticized Phelan for appointing Democrats to chair some House committees and pledged to end the longstanding tradition if elected speaker. “The Texas House is a collegial body, but there is a difference between collegiality and capitulation,” Oliverson, 51, said. “The majority must not be held captive by the will of the minority.” Phelan has defended the practice, arguing that it allows the Legislature to function free of the gridlock seen in Congress. His defenders also say that Democrats — who chair eight of the House’s 34 standing committees — have not used their positions to hold up conservative priorities, most of which flow through committees overseen by Republicans. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. view article

Austin ISD is entering into the 2024-25 budget planning cycle facing a potential $60M deficit if the district maintains the same spending as last year. How we got here: Despite Texas’s $33B budget surplus, virtually no additional per-student funding was approved during the last 88th Legislative Session. The big picture: Inflationary costs such as energy, fuel, insurance and other cost of living expenses have increased by roughly 17% since the last time the state increased funding. Austin ISD’s recapture payment continues to be the highest of any district in the state at $908M last fiscal year. The Texas Legislature meets every two years, which means districts across Texas won’t see additional funds next year either. Flashback: Last June, we adopted a $52M deficit budget in anticipation that the legislature would increase the basic student allotment. However, due to ongoing reductions through the year, we anticipate finishing the 2023–24 fiscal year with a $31 million deficit. view article