The 89th legislative session of the Texas Legislature is well underway. The Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) is closely monitoring more than 100 bills we think may have some impact on the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology. One area we are closely monitoring and advocating for includes issues related to public schools. THSA's advocacy is focused on:
- Ensuring that when students with a disability are enrolled in a private school, that institution must fund and provide appropriate evaluations and therapy. Compliance with state and federal regulations, such as IDEA, must be maintained.
- Seeking increased funding for public education to provide students with an adequate and equitable education as required by the Texas constitution. This includes increasing the per student allotment for public schools to minimally match the rate of inflation and cost of living increases.
- Prioritizing including speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists in any legislation that provides pay raises to employees in public schools, such as teachers, librarians, and school nurses.
Issue 1: Ensuring that when students with a disability are enrolled in a private school, that institution must fund and provide appropriate evaluations and therapy. Compliance with state and federal regulations, such as IDEA, must be maintained.
- TSHA seeks to adjust legislation such as House Bill 3 or Senate Bill 2 to ensure that private schools must use the funds received through state-supported vouchers and/or educational savings accounts to provide appropriate evaluations and therapy to individual students with disabilities.
- Currently, private schools are not required to provide evaluations and therapy for students with disabilities under Texas state law.
- While public schools receive no per student allotment for a child enrolled in a private school, a public school may still be asked to support the cost of transportation, evaluation, and therapy for a student with a disability for needed therapy. As more students may move to private schools following passage of any school choice legislation, the burden on public schools is likely to increase, and the school’s proportionate share funding would not be adequate.
- TSHA seeks to adjust legislation such as House Bill 3 or Senate Bill 2 to ensure that when state funds are utilized for children with a disability, private institutions must comply with state and federal regulations, such as IDEA.
- Private schools are not currently compelled to comply with federal regulations, such as IDEA.
Issue 2: Seeking increased funding for public education and special education to provide students with an adequate and equitable education as required by the Texas constitution.
This includes increasing the per student allotment for public schools to match inflation and cost of living increases from the last increase in student allotment in 2019.
- TSHA seeks to adjust legislation such as House Bill 2 to request that legislators fully fund public education, inclusive of special education programs, even in the event that school choice legislation is passed.
- House Bill 2 proposes to increase the per student allotment in public schools from $6,160 to $6,380. TSHA proposes an increase in this per student allotment beyond $6,380 to minimally match inflation and cost of living increases.
- TSHA seeks to adjust legislation such as House Bill 3 or Senate Bill 2 to request that in the event school choice legislation is passed, the per student allotment for state-supported private school attendance is not higher than the per student allotment for public school attendance.
- As previously stated, TSHA supports an increase in the per student allotment beyond the $6,380 proposed in House Bill 2 to match with inflation and cost of living increases.
- While House Bill 2 increases the per student allotment for public school students from $6,160 to $6,380, Senate Bill 2 offers a per student allotment of $10,000 in the form of an educational savings account for a school of choice. TSHA believes that the state-supported per student allotment for private schools should not exceed the per student allotment for public schools or legislators should match this higher allotment for public schools.
Issue 3: Include SLPs and audiologists in teacher pay raise legislation.
- TSHA seeks to adjust legislation such as Senate Bill 26 to include speech-language pathologists and audiologists in any bills that support salary raises for public school staff.
- Speech-language pathologists and audiologists are considered “instructional” in our public schools. However, they are not included in current legislation increasing pay for some public school staff.
How Can You Advocate? Contact Your Legislators!
Have five minutes? Write or call your legislators.
Lawmakers respond best to calls or emails directly from their constituents with unique messages. We encourage you to:
- Find your Texas Senate and Texas House representatives through Who Represents Me?
- Call or send an email to your Texas state representative and state senator asking for their support to:
- Ensure that when students with a disability are enrolled in a private school, that institution must fund and provide appropriate evaluations and therapy.
- Increase funding for public education and special education to provide students with an adequate and equitable education. This includes increasing the per student allotment for public schools to minimally match the rate of inflation and cost of living increases.
- Include SLPs and audiologists in teacher/school staff pay raise legislation.
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