The long-awaited news regarding an ADA hold harmless came today when Governor Greg Abbott announced that TEA will implement such a measure for the first four reporting periods of the 2021-22 school year.

Funding will be made available for school districts that have experienced attendance rate declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic and districts will be allowed to exclude low attendance days. TEA has not yet updated FAQ guidance documents to with details regarding the possible limits on how many days may be excluded or what requirements districts must meet in order to qualify. We will share those details once they become available.

In addition to the usual legislative committee activity we have come to expect each interim, there are several other commissions and a task force to keep track of.

The House Ways & Means Committee will conduct an interim hearing on Thursday, April 21, at 10 a.m. to consider interim charges pertaining to taxpayer suits, the sale of cigarettes/tobacco, methods of providing additional property tax relief from $3 billion in federal funds available for this purpose, and local sales tax sourcing.

The Task Force will include 24 additional teachers, and there is a call for nominations, with an April 1 deadline.

This Commission has already had one meeting, and will meet again tomorrow, March 30. According to their posting, they will taking up the topic of innovative models. You will be able to watch the live stream of that meeting here.

This group conducted their first meeting on March 17, at which they heard an overview of special education in Texas, special education finance, and federal funding for special education.

We hope you can make plans to join us for our Legislative Planning Workshop coming up June 8-9 in Dallas. We will begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 8, break late in the afternoon and then reconvene the following morning and conclude by 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 9. We'll assess the current state of affairs, make some projections about what to expect, and work to make plans and establish priorities. We hope you will make plans to join us!

A block of rooms are available at a discounted group rate at the DoubleTree for those who would like to make a room reservation.