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The ACPTA has been gathering clips of compelling testimony from the January 28th Senate K-16 Education Committee hearing on SB 2 (vouchers) on our YouTube channel. Many of them are from area parents and grandparents and all the messages are important. View and share, y'all!
SPILLING THE CAPITOL TEA
Senate
Tuesday, Jan. 27th, the Senate K-16 Education committee, chaired by Senator Creighton with a committee of 10 other senators, held a public hearing for the first time this session. They heard SB 2, a voucher bill authored by Creighton and co-sponsored by 8 of the committee members.
There was overwhelming opposition to the bill with 330 people registering, 280 against SB 2 and 50 in support. Committee members listened to over 100 people testify, overwhelmingly against. But it predictably passed out of committee 9-2 anyway.
It's worth listening to the testimony videos on our ACPTA YouTube page to get a sense of the things people were concerned about. In opposition were public school parents and grandparents, district officials from across the state, as well as student advocacy organizations, including the TX PTA, hardcore fiscal conservatives, and conservative home-school moms. In support were a number of voucher-supported vendors from other states and some religious vendors here in Texas.
The Senators are getting an earful from public education supports so thank you to those who followed our call to action and called them. That call to action continues this week as the Senate takes to the floor to debate the bill.
PLEASE BE COURTEOUS! There is no need to be rude. Politely state your opposition to SB 2 and then thank them. This is a marathon and you never know which of these folks will be our ally on an important issue in the future.
The Senate will debate SB 2 on the floor on Tuesday, Feb 4th. Tune in via Texas Legislature Online to watch and listen in to the debate. There are also some Senate hearings on the calendar for the Finance committee as they haggle over spending.
House
We may hear who gets chosen for the House K-12 Education committee this week. Maybe not. There are no hearings on the calendar for the House.
The Goss'
We don't think Abbott has the votes in the House for vouchers. You never know what sort of shenanigans could change that calculus but for now we need to lay back a bit and let the new reps hear from their constituents, not us. At some point we'll launch a love campaign aimed at new rural reps who might help us in the voucher fight but for now we need to give the dust a little time to settle.
We heard the Senate K-16 Education committee is favorable toward HB 1157, filed by our very own Rep. Gina Hinojosa, which moves us to enrollment based funding from attendance based funding. Also, HB 2191, by Rep.Landgraf, which ties increases in the basic allotment automatically to inflation, seems to be viewed favorably. Both of these would be good news for us our schools so we'll watch for hearings on them and keep you posted.
Also, SB 2’s own actuarial analysis shows that vouchers could destabilize the Teacher Retirement System (TRS). This messaging is getting a lot of traction, particularly in teacher and retired teacher groups. Let everyone you know know about this. If there's one thing Texans can unite over, it's our teachers.
Fed Ed - Same Script, Different Characters
Unsurprisingly, vouchers have come up for as a priority for the new administration in Washington DC. As in local politics, our voice is our power. You can not sit silently by.
Reach out to your congress critters and let them know what you support and what you oppose. Again, be courteous and make it short.
Hi, my name is ..... I oppose giving public tax dollars to parents so they can send their kids to (or, more likely, get a coupon for) private school. Thank you.
It's that easy. They may ask you for your zip code - they need that to know track who is and isn't a constituent. If they ask you for your phone number you can say, I'd prefer not to answer.
Action is the antidote to anxiety. Get off your arse.
Advocacy Tip: Engage with a Purpose
Advocacy is a marathon so to last for the long haul you need to find out what type of engagement is easy and fun for you. Look for ways to contribute that fill you up, not deplete you. Once you have the first thrill of calling a reps office and knowing your opinion has been counted, it's easy to take that on as a task that you can do throughout the session. Maybe you like making cartoons or memes out of the crazy stuff that you're hearing to help people understand it. That's awesome!
Right now we need everyone to apply their time, talent, or treasure to getting funding for our schools to they can provide a safe, supportive learning environment for all our students and educators.
Find your thang and rock it. When it starts depleting you, find something else.
How ya doin'?
Being a caring person in a world that seems be overwhelmed by callous leaders and disconnected policy can be a lot. And Texas is Extra. So if you're feeling hopeless, it's understandable. Here is my theme song during the long days of a Texas legislative session. It helps to know that we make our own joy/love/connection. If they didn't give it to us, they can't take it away.
Take care of yourself. Make that a priority.
UPCOMING EVENTS
ACPTA EVENTS
Education Series - Tuesday, Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, 7pm via Zoom
Join us via zoom at 7pm the next two Tuesday evenings to learn more about school funding (2/4, register here) and how to effectively tell our stories in a way that people making decisions will listen (2/11, register here), with Mario Piña, Raise Your Hand Texas and Ash Hall, ACLU.
OUR HOUSE Open House - Monday, Feb. 17th, Texas Capitol, Rm E2.1006
This is a school holiday/teacher PD day. We're asking principals to allow teachers to leave before or between PD sessions to join us for a bit and parents to bring their children. Drop in anytime between 1 and 4pm to have fun while getting more comfortable with the State Capitol and our funding issues. We'll share tips for how to advocate and where to learn more about the issues, and give everyone an opportunity to visit state representative offices and share what they've learned. We'll have snacks and activities for all ages, which will rotate continuously throughout the afternoon so you'll get something out of it no matter when you come or how long you're able to stay.
More information: https://www.austincouncilpta.org/rally-day-2025
Register to volunteer (students and families welcome).
PTA Rally Day - Monday, Feb. 24th, 9 am - 3 pm, South Steps of the Capitol
Rally Day is a bi-annual gathering of PTAs and their communities from across the state at the Texas Capitol to show their support for their schools. There is a student caucus in the morning from 9:30-11, with student panels and student discussions. There will be an opportunity to ask questions. The Rally is at 11:30, which is where we need to see a lot of faces, and then we have meetings with all eight of our area representatives from 1-3 pm.
More information: https://www.austincouncilpta.org/rally-day-2025 and https://www.txpta.org/rally-day
NON-ACPTA OPPORTUNITIES
School Voucher Forum, Indivisible 1431 - Sunday, Feb. 9, 2:30pm, Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Church, Cedar Park
ACPTA Advocacy Chair, Daphne Hoffacker, will join State Representative Vikki Goodwin and others on a panel discussion about school vouchers.
More information and to register: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/750225/
Save Our Schools Rally - February 22, 11-1pm, South Steps of the Capitol
Thousands of Texans from around the state gather at the Texas State Capitol to rally for school funding.
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