Governor Abbott Signs Multiple Education Bills in Texas: What it Means
Parents play a crucial role in their children’s education, and that role has just gotten even more significant in Texas. Governor Abbott has recently signed multiple education bills into law, giving parents more power to make decisions about their children’s education. These bills cover topics such as library materials, course curricula, special education services, and grade-level repetition. Let’s take a look at each bill in detail, explaining what it means for parents, educators, and students in Texas.
House Bill 900
The first bill we’ll look at is House Bill 900, which aims to remove materials from school libraries. The bill states that book vendors must assign ratings to books, and books deemed as “sexually explicit” will be removed from library bookshelves. The bill also states that parents must sign a consent form before children can check out certain books from the library.
House Bill 1605
The second bill we’ll examine is House Bill 1605, which instructs the Texas Education Agency to create open-source, high-quality instructional materials for teachers. This is intended to lighten the load on teachers “so they do not have to devote personal or planning time to develop instructional materials themselves.” This bill also gives parents the ability to access and review instructional materials and get greater transparency into what their children are learning in school.
House Bill 1926
The third bill we’ll cover is House Bill 1926, which expands access to special education services for students with special needs. Removing the cap on funds for Supplemental Special Education Services ensures that students with disabilities have access to the resources and support they need to succeed academically. This bill is intended to provide better resources to special needs students and their families, allowing them to be more involved in their children’s education.
House Bill 3803
The fourth bill we’ll examine is House Bill 3803, which reinforces certain provisions that were previously passed during the pandemic to combat learning loss. This law allows parents, not the school, to determine whether their child should repeat a grade level for 4th through 8th grades or high school level courses. Parents may also elect whether a child should retake any course from the previous year except in the case where the child has met all requirements for graduation.
Progress Learning Supports the Parent-educator Relationship
At Progress Learning, we’ve always recognized the important role parents play in their children’s education. As such, we will continue to keep a close eye on the ever-evolving legislative landscape that affects students, educators, and families. Here are a few of the ways Progress Learning allows parents to actively participate in their child’s educational journey:
Progress Learning is fully optimized for all web-enabled devices and can be accessed anywhere, including at home. Parents can log in to their student’s portal anytime to see what their child is working on.
Progress Learning offers in-depth progress monitoring that allows both teachers and parents to track and assess the child’s strengths and areas of weakness. These reports help parents identify any potential challenges early on and collaborate with teachers to address them effectively.
Progress Learning offers a wide array of messaging options that allows teachers, parents, and students to stay in constant contact.
We also offer a variety of take-home resources that teachers can send home with students to give parents a deeper insight into what’s going on in the classroom.
Discover how Progress Learning can help you navigate these new bills and empower parents.
