Texas School Law Books
The TEA has begun accepting predistribution orders for the 2020 Texas School Law Bulletin, the definitive reference containing the full text, with an index, of the bulk of Texas education law that is published in even-numbered years following regular legislative sessions.
Copies (soft cover only this year) ordered directly from TEA are $75 each. (That’s a much better deal than ordering directly from the publisher, LexisNexis, where you can currently order a copy of either the electronic or printed version for $9,999 each.)
We haven’t been able to get our copy yet — because the TEA was awaiting the arrival of errata sheets from LexisNexis before distributing the books — but we were told that this year’s edition is “very thick.” That’s not surprising, given that the printed version of HB3 alone totals 308 pages, and there were lots of other school bills that became law in 2019.
To order from TEA, click the image of the book above, or click this link: texednews.com/20/03/lawbook.pdf
Parenting Texting Initiative
The TEA has just embarked on the initial stage of a planned new initiative that, for the first time, will utilize a statewide texting system.
When launched, the initiative will focus on using texting technology to provide Texas parents of young children — from birth to age 8 — with research-based tips to improve early literacy skills for their children, and to provide them with info of relevant events near them, based on their zip codes.
The initiative, according to a recently issued TEA Request for Offers (use Chrome browser), seeks responses (due by Feb. 4) from nonprofits, private companies, higher-ed and individuals to run the program for TEA, starting some time in Fall 2020, and reaching up to 100,000 parents via texts in the first year.
The project is being developed by the TEA with the help of the Texas Workforce Commission, and is a part of the Texas Reading Initiative Statewide Program to improve the early literacy skills (reading) for young children.
Vaping News
The TEA released (Jan. 17) an advisory to school officials that provides a number of links to online resources and contact information about the vaping crisis, especially among young Texans.
Over 330,000 middle and high school students reported vaping in 2018 in a statewide survey, representing 13 percent of all Texas students in grades 6-12, the advisory notes.
Rule News
The TEA is accepting public comments on proposed rules to implement:
- info HB3 provisions (in three separate proposed rules) concerning ISD property tax rate calculations. A consolidated public hearing on the three rules will be held at TEA headquarters (Feb. 5). Comment deadline: Feb. 18.
- info SB1557 provisions for Purple Star Campus designations for campuses demonstrating outstanding support for military-connected families. Comment deadline: Feb. 10.
CTE News
— The TEA is accepting public comments (until March 17) on the state plan for the federal Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, commonly known as Perkins V.
Perkins V includes key changes that will impact the implementation of career and technical education (CTE) programs.
The final Texas Perkins V four-year state plan, covering all the requirements of the Act, will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education upon approval by the governor and the State Board of Education in April 2020.
Mandatory Survey
The TEA announced (Jan. 17) that districts serving PK-3 grades are required to complete a mandatory HB3 Reading Practices Survey by Jan. 30.