Texas Governor Greg Abbott released an official call for a third special session of the 88th Legislature, set to begin at 1 p.m. Monday, October 9. 

Within the proclamation, he charged the legislature with addressing six issues: 

• Legislation providing education savings accounts for all Texas schoolchildren. 
• Legislation to do more to reduce illegal immigration by creating a criminal offense for illegal entry into this state from a foreign nation and authorizing all licensed peace officers to remove illegal immigrants from Texas. 
• Legislation to impede illegal entry into Texas by increasing the penalties for certain criminal conduct involving the smuggling of persons or the operation of a stash house. 
• Legislation to impede illegal entry into Texas by providing more funding for the construction, operation, and maintenance of border barrier infrastructure. 
• Legislation concerning public safety, security, environmental quality, and property ownership in areas like the Colony Ridge development in Liberty County, Texas. 
• Legislation prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates by private employers. 

There had been hope that the charge might include something specifically about public school funding since no increases were included in the regular session. The basic per-student allotment has not increased since 2019, despite a 17% increase in inflation over that time, leaving many school districts – Keller ISD included – struggling to figure out how to continue offering the same services when the cost of doing business has increased so dramatically. 

On a similar note, the state Comptroller's office released the Certification Revenue Estimate for the fiscal 2024-25 biennium. The report estimates what the state expects to spend over the two-year period compared to the estimated revenue the state will generate. The forecast, as reported, is that the state will have an $18.29 billion surplus at the end of fiscal year 2025. As a reminder, the state had a nearly $33 billion surplus entering the legislative session last spring.