The child advocacy nonprofit Children at Risk says 11 bills it drafted passed in the 89th legislature and were then signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The organization's president and CEO, Bob Sanborn, said in a virtual press conference Thursday recapping the recent session that months of preparation and hard work paid off last session — including funds in the state budget for childcare scholarships.
"For the first time in the history of Texas," said Sanborn, "we have allocated a hundred million dollars to subsidizing childcare for families in Texas."
Sanborn said his group advocates not only for children but for working families. Andrea Coker, with the North Texas Commission, said that's what makes the $100 million so important — because childcare is a workforce and business issue.
"Our businesses here in Texas need families to have childcare options," Coker said. "They need them to be affordable because they need to go to work. There are openings in the workforce right now that are not filled because people who could take those jobs don't have childcare options."
Sanborn also praised the massive House Bill 2, an $8.5 billion education bill that'll fund teacher pay raises, pre-k, special education and other education efforts.
Another piece of legislation, Senate Bill 991, address students who are chronically absent, said Children at Risk's Chief Government Affairs Officer Mandi Kimball.
"The legislature really prioritized this population to put in strategies and try to prevent children and students from falling behind," she said.
She said other bills will help protect students from sexual exploitation, including House Bill 451, which requires child Protective Services and the juvenile justice system to screen for at-risk kids.
"This is extremely important because we know that this is a vulnerable population that many are taking advantage of," she said.
She said the governor also signed Senate Bill 2167 that targets illicit massage businesses, which, said Kimball, can be fronts for human trafficking.
But, Children at Risk saw some losses, too: Sanborn grouped the 89th session into "the good, the bad and the ugly." The "bad," he said, included Education Savings Accounts, which will send $1 billion in public funds to private schools. The nonprofit opposed Senate Bill 2.
The "ugly," Sanborn said, was Abbott's line-item veto of the $60 million summer EBT program included in the state's budget.
"To have this pass the house, pass the senate, and then have the governor veto it was really quite ugly," said Sanborn.
Abbott cited uncertainty over federal matching funds and said once there's more clarity over the program, the legislature can "reconsider funding this item."
Now, Children at Risk will get ready for Abbott's special legislative session, set for July 21.
Bill Zeeble is KERA's education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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