Make it Matter Monday 5/26

Happy Memorial Day!

“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt

Learn

You can learn more about what's happening down at the House and with specific bills in the session using the House Research Organization portal. 

Explore the House Research Org

Do

Austin ISD is struggling with a historic budget deficit and it looking for options to help save money. They've been having community conversations with campuses who are potentially affected by school consolidations and have now released a survey for everyone in AISD. Please read this information and take the survey so they know how you feel. 

Then join the Consolidation Process info sessions via Zoom on Tuesday, May 27, and Thursday, June 5. Both are at 6pm and you can join them at bit.ly/AustinISDFuture

Don't sit this one out, y'all. 

Take the School Consolidation Survey Here

Share

Sometimes it seems like our advocacy doesn't work but Raise Your Hand Texas has a wonderful video explaining the impact of our advocacy in real-time on a bill that's important to all of us. 

Watch it to understand why every single call and signature helps, then share it with your communities to inspire them to keep their advocacy going and encourage others to join in. 

Watch and share this inspiring video

SPILLING THE CAPITOL TEA

Updates

SB 2 - Voucher bill 

The voucher bill was signed by the Governor with his billionaire benefactors by his side. According to AFT, the bill will go to court. 

HB 2 - School Funding

The Texas Senate passed HB 2 (Buckley/Creighton) as amended on the third reading. The bill will go back to the House for a final vote before being sent to the Governor for his signature. This bill is half of what our schools need, continues to leave major mandates unfunded, and has substituted a Basic Costs allotment, which can only go to a handful of items and won't even cover those costs for many districts, and only provides $55 additional money for the basic allotment, which is truly flexible and can be used to meet the financial needs of our districts. 

I haven't seen runs of how this bill will affect our district but I've heard from other districts that it will only net them a small amount of money that won't begin to cover their deficits. It will give some large raises to some of our teachers, which is helpful in keeping them in the classrooms, and will give very small raises to the other folks on and supporting our campuses. And it provides some money for all day Pre-K, which is desperately needed in our state. 

See one-pager released by legislative staff and the bill with amendments here.

It's a very small step in the right direction and is better than nothing. They are going to crow about this "historic investment" but we need to make sure everyone understands that it doesn't even begin to make up for decades of historic neglect. Those who crow the loudest will be telling us they understand the least. Listen for them. 

HB 4 - Accountability bill

HB 4 Committee Substitute passed out of the Senate Education Committee on Sunday. It closely aligns with the Senate version of the bill which is not helpful. The House version was far better. I do not have a copy of that bill yet - we have folks going down on Monday to ask a Senator for a copy (that's how you have to do it with Committee Substitutes, apparently). Hopefully we'll have a recap on the Google group soon. 

It's on the intent Calendar for the Senate on Tuesday. 

CALL TO ACTION -- SPED Update (HB6)

The SPED community has some asks: 

HB6: Reject or Revamp – It Harms Vulnerable Students

HB6 must not pass in its current form. This bill:

• Expands discipline and policing powers in schools without evidence-based behavioral supports.

• Poses direct harm to students with disabilities, mental health needs, trauma histories, and multilingual learners.

• Undermines federal protections, including the right to a Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) under IDEA, which ensures students are not punished for behavior caused by their disability.

• Could result in illegal removals, increased referrals to alternative placements, and disproportionate discipline of students of color and students with IEPs.

Instead of support, HB6 increases risk. What Texas schools need are funds to address:

• Much needed classroom supports 

• Staff training including Behavioral intervention and trauma-informed training, de-escalation and positive behavior strategies

Recommendation:

• Reject HB6 as written.

• If pursued, revamp HB6 to ensure it complies with IDEA and Section 504, protects student rights, and directs funding toward staff training and student supports—not surveillance and exclusion.

(Thank you to LeAnn H for the SPED updates)

Library Bill Update (SB 13)

SB 13 will be debated on the House floor on Monday, May 26.

SB 13 would ban books by using vendor ratings for "sexually explicit content” based on vague and broad definitions, create an unnecessary “catalog” of library materials that parents can already access, and allow school districts to establish “library advisory councils” that could easily be infiltrated by bad actors seeking to censor materials about LGBTQIA+, Black, and brown people.

Texas Freedom Network, public education advocates, equality partners, and Texans against book bans will hold a Read-In at the Texas Capitol on Monday, May 26, the day that SB 13 is being heard on the Texas House floor.

Mark Your Calendar: Sine Die, June 2nd

The last day of the session is June 2 and it's called Sine Die (last day). We will join Texas leaders down at the Capitol over our lunch hour. It's apparently quite the party and something everyone should experience at least once. We will spend our lunch our thanking the legislative heroes who fought valiantly for public education this session. We'll have light lunch and snacks available. 

Sine Die Pub Ed Appreciation CelebrationMonday, June 2, Noon - 2Room E2.1006, House Member's Lounge,RSVP today!

Mark Your Calendar: Advocacy Celebration, June 14th

This has been a remarkable session, with stunning amounts of engagement and a constellation of stars who have popped up out schools all over the district to shine a light on our problems and solution, help communities find their voice, and spoke truth to power at every opportunity in the Capitol hearings and School Board meetings. 

Join us on June 14th from 6-9 for a potluck grill and celebration. We'll have hot dogs and sausages and fixin's. Bring a sidedish to share (and other protein if hot dogs are not your thing) and whatever you want to drink. We have a giant kid-friendly yard so bring your family and some extra camp chairs. 

RSVP for you and your family today. 

This is it! (from Daphne)

This is my last Make it Matter Monday. The session has one week to go and most bills are almost over the line. Next Monday we will be down at the Capitol celebrating Sine Die with those reps and Senators who worked so hard for us this session. 

It was a disappointing session in a lot of ways and the incompatibility between this state leadership and our goals for a robust, well-resourced, appropriately funded public education system are clear. We will need to continue our tireless advocacy through to the next election and help ensure the folks we elect to represent us understand the real issues facing our schools and are committed to working to solve them.

But in many many ways this session was a huge success. The engagement was stunning. Watching community members all over the district catch the advocacy bug, wanting to learn more, do more, and say more, was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. We had at least 50 people join us in person at Capitol over the course of the session. Now that so many people understand what is happening, they're going to bring more and more people along with them on this ride and next session there will be 500 hundred of us walking the halls and speaking truth to power. 

Don't lose your mojo just because the session is over and it sucked. There is a lot of work to do both at the federal level and the local level. And there are bills we need to work with representatives to write and share to prepare for the next session. So stay engaged, share what you know, and make sure everyone you know votes every single time. 

I will be handing over the reigns of this advocacy group to Laurie Solis, who has been working tirelessly for several years as our ACPTA President. She has been by my side for several sessions and will bring a different, smarter, and refreshing lens on advocacy at both the state and local level that I think y'all are really going to love. And Laurie will be surrounded by the same large group of hands-on, smart, thoughtful, intelligent, creative and passion folks who popped out of communities across our city this year to form a sparkling advocacy team that gets my through every day. I call them Team Awesome and they are the unsung heroes of this group, our district, and our state. 

I will continue to support her and this groups' efforts in a more background position as I transition to my new role as Anderson High School Band Booster President. I've been advocating for all Texas children for years. I'm looking forward to spending more with mine. 

Thank you for helping me try to change the world, y'all. It's been a blast and I'm so proud of all of us. 

Lots of love, 

Daphne Hoffacker ACPTA Advocacy Chair austincouncilpta.org/advocacy