State Legislative Priorities
87TH TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SESSION
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SCHOOL FINANCE
- Maintain funding levels set in HB 3
- Protect HB 3 funding that helps address the needs of at-risk students and dyslexic students
- Eliminate penalties on school districts that provide property tax relief to homeowners
- In determining recapture thresholds, continue HB 3’s focus on student needs and consider extra costs not currently covered by school finance formula for special need students
STUDENT EQUITY
- Provide additional funding to address the digital divide and to ensure connectivity for all students who need remote instruction
- Reestablish the telecom discount program to support distance learning
- Provide school districts the ability to quickly shift to remote instruction (both full-time or as needed, as determined by the district) when a disaster has occurred
- Assist school districts in supporting families with remote instruction and needed technology, such as hot spots, to ensure that parents have the necessities for continued education of students
COVID CONSIDERATIONS
- Help school districts with resources and flexibility in addressing staff shortages, attendance variations, health and safety issues, mental health issues, and truancy issues arising from COVID-19
- Address recapture problems that could arise from potential tax collection issues due to COVID-19
- Help school districts with funding to protect students with cybersecurity software and/or hardware appliances for internet filtering and other protective technologies
- Help school districts with funding to help with the systems management of devices such as computing devices and hotspots that include asset management, software application deployment, and engagement tracking
Contact
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Matthew Conner
Director of Government Relations
Office of Communications and Public RelationsHouston Independent School District
4400 West 18th Street
Houston, Texas 77092
Phone: 713-556-8869
Matthew.Conner@houstonisd.org