Diana Herrera, Edgewood ISD, San Antonio, testifies in opposition to HB3 with a personal story, March 11

Dear {name},

This week, the House Committee on Public Education held the first marathon public hearing of the legislative session on HB 3, the House’s voucher bill. Hundreds of witnesses signed up to testify on the bill, and after hours of invited testimony, public testimony continued into the morning of the next day. Texans, and especially members of our Public School Defenders team, are making their voices heard on this proposed shift in our public education system. Our LegeTV staff watched the entire hearing and created a YouTube playlist of 39 of the most significant points in the 22+ hours of testimony.

Rep. Talarico remarks on the political tension surrounding the voucher issue and school funding, March 11

Watch videos from the HB 3 hearing

The hearing came on the heels of the committee’s hearing on HB 2, which would increase state funding for public schools. While Texas Impact supports efforts to increase school funding, it’s important to view HB 2 in the context of historic and current public school finance in Texas. Former House Public Education budget chair Paul Colbert provided an explanation of where Texas stands on public school funding, which we ran through our Texas Impact “decoder,” including providing a transcript of Colbert’s testimony and the committee’s questions.

Check out the school funding decoder

Also this week, the Senate State Affairs Committee took testimony on SB 406, which would prevent changes to the sex and gender marker on a birth certificate. The testimony on SB 406 was at times technical, so we’ve provided a decoder for it, too.

Check out the gender-marker decoder

Last week, the Senate Education K-16 Committee reported favorably SB 10, which would require a poster-sized copy of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom in Texas. That bill is headed to the Senate floor, and the House version has a large number of co-sponsors, increasing the likelihood it will move quickly as well. 

Faith leaders from around the state are mobilizing to oppose SB 10, and you can help. Please consider signing on to the Texas Faith Leader Letter Opposing Ten Commandment Displays in Public Schools by 5PM CDT on Monday, March 17, 2025.

Committees are now in full swing, with hearings in both chambers most weekdays. Texas Impact’s weekly Action Alert is posted at noon on Mondays on our website, but sometimes that’s not quick enough to cover all the bases. Key committees that meet on Monday mornings include House Public Health and Senate State Affairs. 

On Monday, March 17, the House Public Health Committee will take testimony on HB 713 by Howard, which would ensure the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee can review cases that involve abortions without legally jeopardizing the reviewers. Also on March 17, the Senate State Affairs Committee will take testimony on SB 8 by Schwertner, which would require the sheriff of each county with a population of 100,000 or more to request, and as offered, enter into a written agreement with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Section 287(g), Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1357(g)), or an agreement under a similar federal program to authorize officers and employees of the sheriff's department to enforce federal immigration law.

Finally, registration is now closed for Family Matters: Faith Days at the Capitol, and we’re looking forward to seeing many Texas Impact members there. Even if you’re not attending Faith Days, there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved in the legislative session. Thanks for all you are doing to advance just public policy in Texas!

Love,

Bee Moorhead

Texas Impact Executive Director

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