The overview
Megan DeWolfe, FISD’s director of government affairs and community engagement, presented a list of the district’s priorities for the upcoming session during an Oct. 15 board of trustees meeting.
The list was developed by the district’s Legislative Leadership Committee, DeWolfe said. The committee, which is made up of 120 members, represents 10 stakeholder groups and the district’s 12 high school feeder patterns, she said.
“We want our district’s priorities to be representative of our key stakeholders in our community, to be community-driven,” DeWolfe said.
The details
FISD’s six legislative priorities cover topics related to three subcommittees: school finance; assessment and accountability; and student experience, according to meeting documents.
- Increase the basic allotment and and provide an ongoing inflationary adjustment in the school funding formula
- Adjust program allotments to reflect the actual cost of services provided and expand allowable costs for program spending
- Maintain local control in the development of curricular resources and selection of instructional materials to meet the diverse needs of students
- Provide a comprehensive view of the strengths and needs of schools by broadening the state accountability system to include meaningful, diversified data points and locally developed accountability measures
- Create a school safety advisory committee to study and make recommendations for all hazard emergency management programs, and consider providing funding for school districts or education services centers who implement those programs
- Create an advisory committee to study and make recommendations regarding the effectiveness of current state-level supports for student mental health and the implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs
What it means
Creating the priorities list is a year-long process for the district’s committee, DeWolfe said.
The six priorities the committee submitted may not mention every school-related issue by name but they do leave room for conversation, DeWolfe said. For example, the priorities do not mention unfunded mandates but it can be brought up in discussions about program allotments.
“Even though it may not be written as a legislative priority to not have unfunded mandates or to fund every bill, that’s something that we’re always talking to legislators about when we’re talking about different bills that have been filed,” said Kimberly Smith, FISD’s chief finance and strategy officer.
FISD has a software that notifies district officials if a bill has been proposed that touches on any of its priorities, DeWolfe said. However, it is typical for multiple bills to come up in a session and just because a bill has been filed does not mean it will pass, she said.
What comes next
Board members are expected to approve the priorities during a November meeting. The Texas Legislature is set to convene Jan. 14.
The FISD Legislative Leadership Committee is currently planning some trips to Austin to advocate in-person, DeWolfe said.
