The Texas Governor delivered his State of the State Address Thursday, February 16. He named seven emergency items to prioritize, including four that impact K-12 education in some way:
- Private school vouchers through education savings accounts that would divert funds away from public education;
- School safety;
- Property tax cuts that could reduce funding to public schools; and
- Ending all COVID-19 safety restrictions in perpetuity, which could affect how public schools keep students and staff safe in future pandemics or public health crises.
Typically, the Legislature cannot discuss legislation beyond the budget in the first 60 days it meets. However, the Governor’s emergency items present an exception. Bills on these priority items could come up more quickly than others.