89th Legislature Begins Special Session | July 22, 2025

On Monday, July 21, the 89th Texas Legislature reconvened for its first called special session. 

Governor Greg Abbott called for the special session on July 9, issuing a proclamation in which he identified 18 agenda items for lawmakers to address: 

• Flood warning systems;
• Flood emergency communications; 
• Relief funding for Hill Country floods; 
• Natural disaster preparation and recovery; 
• Eliminate STAAR test; 
• Cut property tax; 
• Protect children from THC; 
• Regulate hemp-derived products; 
• Protect unborn children; 
• Ban taxpayer-funded lobbying; 
• Protect human trafficking victims; 
• Police personnel records; 
• Protect women's spaces; 
• Attorney general election powers; 
• Redistricting; 
• Title theft and deed fraud; 
• Water project initiatives; and
• State judicial department operations. 

Many of the items that are expected to receive the most attention are those related to the recent flooding disasters in central Texas; however, several items have the potential to impact public education. The most obvious one is the elimination of the STAAR test and replacing it with more effective tools to assess student progress. That would have been accomplished with House Bill 4 in the regular session, but the legislation did not make it past the finish line to be approved by both chambers. 

Keller ISD, last month, called upon Governor Abbott to use a special session to urge the legislature to reconsider elimination of the STAAR. 

It's unclear at this point to what degree other special session priorities might impact Texas public schools, though further taxing restrictions could potentially involve school districts. HB 19 in the regular session failed to pass, but would have severely restricted districts' bond capacity and therefore restricted local communities' ability to approve capital projects for their schools. Additionally, it's unknown to what degree efforts to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying might have on school districts associating with organizations that provide support services for schools but also have divisions that advocate for schools in Austin. 

Both the House and the Senate gaveled in Monday, with the House announcing plans to begin meeting Thursday following Wednesday's meeting of the Joint Select Committee on Disaster Preparation and Fooding. The Senate met Monday, but spent most of its time discussion congressional redistricting.