Please see the resources available below to communicate about the Senate’s Committee Substitute for House Bill 1525. In addition to the tools below, you can also see the talking points available at CSHB 1525 Threatens Funding for Public Schools.
Sample Text Message for Senators
One of the most effective ways to communication at this point of the legislative session is via text messaging. If you have the cell phone number for your member(s) of the Texas Senate, you might consider a message similar to the one provided below.
Please do not support the Senate version of HB 1525, the school finance “cleanup” bill. This bill paves the way for damaging cuts in funding by empowering the Commissioner to reduce entitlements and by capping Formula Transition Grants. It also forces districts to spend years sitting on dollars that schools need now to help kids catch up. The Senate version of this bill breaks several promises made to public schools.
Sample Email
You can click here to find the contact information for your member of the Texas Senate (if you don’t already have that info). Then simply copy and paste the information below, and feel free to make edits to personalize your message.
Thank you for your service in this legislative session. I’m writing to voice my strong concerns about the Senate version of HB 1525, the school finance “clean up” bill. The Senate version paves the way for funding reductions that will harm our students.
CSHB 1525 threatens to break the promise that House Bill 3 from 2019 would not cause funding cuts. It expressly gives the unelected Commissioner of Education the power to reduce school districts’ entitlements. There is no reason for the Commissioner to have this authority. Further, it puts an arbitrary cap on the Formula Transition Grants that the Legislature created to protect schools from the negative impact of formula changes. Students should not be punished because our state officials missed the mark when estimating how much this grant would cost.
CSHB 1525 also breaks the promise not to use federal COVID relief funding to supplant state and local funding. It requires school districts to put some dollars away in reserves for several years, slowing down the distribution of dollars to schools. However, students need help immediately so that the interruptions they have experienced over the last year do not cause long-term damage to their academic performance. Our community wants students to get the help they need now; legislators should not stand in the way of that help.
We loudly cheered when the Legislature passed House Bill 3 into law two years ago. However, the Senate version of HB 1525 takes several major steps backwards. Please speak up for our students and insist on meaningful change to this bill before it goes any further.
I appreciate your consideration of these urgent concerns.
Sample Tweets/Facebook Posts
Social media is a great way to get important messages across in a manner that reaches both legislators and other interested parties alike. Please consider using one (or more) of the suggested options below.
The Senate version of #HB1525 threatens to reduce funding for public ed, break promises that legislators made, and severely restrict the use of COVID relief funds. Our kids deserve better. #txlege #txed (Click to tweet)
The Texas Senate is advancing a version of #HB1525 that threatens to cut school funding at a time when kids need extra help. It’s supposed to be a cleanup bill. It actually makes a whole new mess. #txlege #txed (Click to tweet)
The Texas Senate version of #HB1525 will hurt public schools. It gives the Commissioner new authority to reduce school district funding while forcing districts to sit on resources that kids need now. #txlege #txed (Click to tweet)