This week, the Texas House took historic action by finally eliminating the STAAR test. House Bill 4 would replace the high-stakes, one-time STAAR tests with shorter, more meaningful progress checks throughout the year. As the joint author of this bill, I’m so proud of the comprehensive reforms House Bill 4 makes to assessing student outcomes by putting timely data in the hands of teachers and parents, reducing classroom stress, and creating a smarter, fairer accountability system for our schools.
I greatly appreciate the support of countless parents, teachers, students, administrators, and other members of the public education community who wholeheartedly support this bill that finally alleviates the burden of high-stakes testing in Texas schools. I look forward to seeing HB 4 pass through the Senate and arrive on the Governor’s desk very soon.
With that, here’s an update from your State Capitol…
Capitol Update
With just a little over two weeks left in the 89th Legislative Session, the work in Austin remains at full throttle. The first major legislative deadline, the House Bill passing deadline, passed this Thursday as the lower chamber rushed to hear as many bills as possible before the stroke of midnight.
The House considered nearly 1,800 bills this week, with over 400 bills considered on Thursday alone. The House will now focus solely on bills authored in the Senate until the final deadline to pass all bills on May 27.
On another note, I am proud to report that HB 2000, Audrii’s Law, passed out of the Senate last Friday, May 9, and is now on its way to the Governor’s desk. As a reminder, HB 2000 closes a dangerous loophole in the law that allowed predators convicted of child grooming to stay off the Sex Offender Registry.
Tragically, the death of Audrii Cunningham was the catalyst for change to ensure that her death was not in vain and that we close all legal loopholes to protect our children from dangerous sexual predators. I am very grateful to Senator Nichols for sponsoring HB 2000 and moving the bill swiftly through the Senate. I look forward to Audrii’s Law receiving the Governor’s signature and becoming law in Audrii’s honor.
Finally, the House built upon its past measures of property tax relief by passing HJR 73 this week. HJR 73 proposes a constitutional amendment that would allow certain taxing entities to freeze the amount of property taxes they charge on the homes of low-income Texans who are either disabled or at least 65 years old, and would also apply to a qualifying surviving spouse who is at least 55 years old.
I was proud to support HJR 73 on the floor of the House this week, and I look forward to the bill passing through the Senate and coming before the voters during the November 2025 constitutional amendments election.
The mobile office is still on the road again this month and our District Director looks forward to seeing you on May 21 at the Houston County Courthouse Annex in Crockett from 9:30-11:30 am, or at the Trinity County Courthouse in Groveton from 1:30-3:30 pm.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office if we can help you in any way. My district office may be reached at (936) 634-2762. Additionally, I welcome you to follow along on my Official Facebook Page, where I will post regular updates on what’s happening in your State Capitol and share information that could be useful to you and your family: https://www.facebook.com/RepTrentAshby/.
