Happy Mother’s Day! Plus Property Tax Relief Progress, Top 40 Priority Bills Pass Senate, Fort Worth ISD Update

First, I would like to open this week by wishing all of our mothers a very happy Mother’s Day. I have been blessed in life to have a wonderful Mom who was taken from this world much too early due to illness, but she left a great impact on me. In so many ways, my stepmother Barbara filled the void left after my Mom’s passing. Proverbs 31 could be speaking of my bride Terry in this verse: “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”  This describes Terry perfectly! If you are a Mom, we can’t thank you enough for the critically important role you play in the life of your family. Enjoy your day!

State of Texas Considers Fort Worth ISD Action

I would like to begin by addressing a matter which constituents in Tarrant and other northern counties of Senate District 10 may have read about, and that is the possible takeover of the Fort Worth ISD (FWISD) by the state. These kinds of actions are not taken lightly. In fact, state action in these situations is actually prescribed in great detail in state law, and compels action to ensure that students in an underperforming district receive the education to which they are entitled. Here are some disturbing data points related to the district:

• FWISD has 77 campuses rated D or F, based on the 2023 A-F state accountability ratings; this represents 42% of the 183 campuses.
• FWISD rated a D overall.
• Eight of these campuses have not met minimum academic standards since at least 2018.
• The Leadership Academy at Forest Oak 6th Grade campus has received an unacceptable academic rating for five consecutive years, triggering mandatory commissioner action. 
• In terms of grade level proficiency, data from the most recent available year indicate that only 32% of 3rd grade students are reading on grade level and only 31% of students are doing math on grade level.

It’s not surprising, then, that Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath has said that Fort Worth ISD is the “worst performing urban school district in the state of Texas.” I met with Commissioner Morath on Monday to discuss this situation. He has not made a decision on final action, but will continue to gather information. A state takeover would not be unprecedented. After the Houston ISD continued to show poor performance, in 2023 the Texas Education Agency placed the district under a board of managers. HISD has seen significant improvement since then. 

Regardless, this is an unacceptable situation, and something must change. I was raised in Fort Worth and am a product of FWISD, having graduated from Eastern Hills High School. Every child in the district deserves to have the opportunity to a quality education, and right now too many kids are being denied that chance. We must do better.

Sen. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican who represents about half of Fort Worth ISD, said the Texas Education Agency “has an obligation to take a very, very hard look at taking over the school district.” The district has gone too long without meaningful improvement in its academic performance, he said, and state education officials need to do something substantial to turn the district around.

Progress on Property Tax Relief

We have recently made important progress on resolving the differences between the Senate and House on how to provide another round of major property tax relief to both homeowners and businesses. No one disputes the need to provide desperately needed relief. The issue, once again this session, is how to best structure a package to do so. On Monday, the Senate Local Government and the House Ways & Means Committees took up and passed bills from the opposite chambers that would raise the amount of money homeowners can deduct from their local school property tax bills and the amount that owners can write off for business personal property taxes. The House Ways & Means Committee Chair has stated that SB 4, which the Senate passed earlier this session, will pass out of his committee as is. SB 4 increases the homestead exemption for all homeowners up to $140,000; senior and disabled homeowners can receive a $200,000 homestead exemption.  

On the Senate side, the Local Government Committee voted out legislation from the House related to how we provide business property tax relief. After numerous discussions, we have agreed to raise the business personal property exemption to $125,000. I expect there will be significant action in the coming week, bringing us closer to final passage on legislation that can be sent to the Governor for him to sign.

All 40 Top Senate Priorities Have Passed the Senate

In my most recent newsletter I updated you on the progress of priority legislation, and I can now report that the Senate has passed all 40 of our key priority bills. Some progress has been made by the Texas House in advancing some of this legislation, but much work remains to be done. With the clock ticking towards the last day of the session on Monday, June 2, time is of the essence.  I’m proud of the Senate for advancing a robust conservative agenda, including bills such as:

SB 4:  Provides major property tax relief
SB 6:  A bill I authored to improve the reliability of our Texas Electric Grid
SB 8:  Requires local law enforcement to assist the federal government in their deportation efforts
SB 10:  A bill I authored to place the Ten Commandments in our schools
SB 14:  The DOGE bill I authored to increase government efficiency and reform. This bill has already been signed by Gov. Abbott
SB 20:  Putting an end to Artificial Intelligence (AI) Child Pornography
SB 26:  Increasing Teacher Pay
SB 40:  To protect our citizens, implementing much needed bail reform