The 89^th 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 of focus is voucher legislation. We recognize that our members and colleagues have specific questions about voucher legislation, such as what TSHA’s position on vouchers is and what we are advocating for related to vouchers and/or school choice legislation. 

TSHA had a longstanding position of opposition to vouchers. However, if political analysts are correct, in the most recent election enough pro-voucher supporters were elected to the Texas Legislature to almost guarantee passage of voucher legislation in some form during the 89^th legislative session. As such, the focus of TSHA’s advocacy around vouchers has pivoted to working with our members and legislators to ensure protections for students with disabilities and to increase funding for public education and special education.

TSHA’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.

In addition to our advocacy around these points, TSHA is prioritizing including speech-language pathologists and audiologists in any legislation that provides pay raises to employees in public schools, such as teachers, librarians, and school nurses. 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.  

For more details on what TSHA is advocating for related to these issues, take a look at our Issue Brief. Want to help us tackle these issues? We encourage you to contact your legislators. We’ve compiled campaigns and resources for you.  

Thank you for your continued support of the professions and TSHA. We welcome other feedback regarding creative solutions and language that can be used to advocate for continued funding of special education and public schools. Please reach out to our legislative team with your thoughts or questions:

• Lori Colletti, Vice President off Advocacy (government@txsha.org)
• Larry Higdon, Director of Governmental Relations (lwhtsha@gmail.com)
• Mark Hanna, Legal and Legislative Counsel

With gratitude,

Lisa Milliken, MA, CCC-SLP, FNAP, CDP, RAC- CT, CADDCT
TSHA President

Jessica Carter, MS, CCC-SLP
TSHA President-Elect

Lori Colletti, MS, CCC-SLP
TSHA Vice President of Advocacy