= Voted with TCTA position  = Voted against TCTA position  = Absent  = Present Not Voting

KEY SENATE VOTES IN 2021

The following were some of the key bills of interest to educators during the 2021 regular session.

Vote No. 1 — HB 1525 by Huberty/Taylor makes revisions and corrections to the major school finance bill of 2019. Sen. Lucio offered a TCTA-proposed amendment to protect teacher pay raises, so that districts must pay an employee compensation at least equal to what the employee received for the 2019-20 school year. The amendment failed 14-17. TCTA supported the amendment. A vote FOR the amendment is in support of TCTA’s position; a vote against the amendment is in opposition to TCTA’s position. 

Vote No. 2 — SB 1716 by Taylor/Bonnen, as it was proposed in the Senate, included language that essentially created a special education voucher program (it was later amended in the House to remove the problematic language). It passed the Senate 21-9. TCTA opposed the bill. A vote FOR SB 1716 is in opposition to TCTA’s position; a vote AGAINST SB 1716 is in support of TCTA’s position.

Vote No. 3 — HB 3979 by Toth/Creighton was the first of two bills designed to address concerns about public schools teaching “critical race theory.” Though the issue was highly politicized, TCTA’s opposition to the bill was based on concerns about potential legal issues for teachers, not on politics. The bill passed the Senate 18-13. TCTA opposed the bill. A vote FOR HB 3979 is in opposition to TCTA’s position; a vote AGAINST HB 3979 is in support of TCTA’s position.

Vote No. 4 — SB 487 by Hughes/Deshotel would have limited the ability of local officials to respond to community concerns about new charter schools in the area. The bill passed the Senate 22-8. TCTA opposed the bill. A vote FOR SB 487 is in opposition to TCTA’s position; a vote AGAINST SB 487 is in support of TCTA’s position.