Sen. Paul Bettencourt introduced SB 571, a bill on Education, Family, Labor, and Minors, to the Texas Senate on Thursday, Dec. 12 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.
More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’relating to the eligibility of certain contract employees to provide services to a public school and access to the registry of persons who are not eligible for employment at public schools’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
This bill amends the Texas Education Code to outline the eligibility criteria for certain contract employees providing services at public schools. It specifies that individuals employed by entities contracting with school districts must not have felony or specific misdemeanor convictions that would disqualify them under existing regulations, nor be listed for misconduct in the interagency reportable conduct system. The bill mandates equal access to the employment eligibility registry for various educational and private entities, enabling them to verify the qualifications of potential employees or contractors. Additionally, specific provisions in Sections 22.0834(a-1), (l), and 22.0834(p)(2) are repealed to align with these modifications. The bill’s changes will apply only to contracts entered into on or after the effective date, which is immediate upon receiving a two-thirds majority vote in both legislative houses or otherwise on Sept. 1, 2025.
Paul Bettencourt, the chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government, proposed another 10 bills during the 89(R) legislative session. He is also a member of the Senate Committee on Committee of the Whole Senate, a member of the Senate Committee on Education K-16, a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, a member of the Senate Committee on State Affairs, and a member of the Senate Committee on Transportation.
Bettencourt graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS.
Paul Bettencourt is currently serving in the Texas State Senate, representing the state’s 7th Senate district. He replaced previous state senator Dan Patrick in 2015.
Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.
You can read more about the bills and other measures here.
| Legislative Session | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 89(R) | SB 570 | 12/12/2024 | Relating to an attendance policy adopted by public schools to prevent truancy |
| 89(R) | SB 569 | 12/12/2024 | Relating to the provision of virtual education in public schools and to certain waivers and modifications by the commissioner of education to the method of calculating average daily attendance in an emergency or crisis for purposes of preserving school district funding entitlements under the Foundation School Program during that emergency or crisis; authorizing a fee |
| 89(R) | SB 568 | 12/12/2024 | Relating to special education in public schools, including funding for special education under the Foundation School Program |
| 89(R) | SB 511 | 11/25/2024 | Relating to prohibiting an officer or employee of this state or of a political subdivision of this state from distributing certain voter registration application forms; creating a criminal offense |
| 89(R) | SB 510 | 11/25/2024 | Relating to the failure of a voter registrar to comply with voter registration laws |
| 89(R) | SB 509 | 11/25/2024 | Relating to requiring notice to the attorney general in an action under the Election Code seeking a temporary restraining order |
| 89(R) | SB 508 | 11/25/2024 | Relating to preparing and delivering precinct election returns; increasing a criminal penalty |
| 89(R) | SB 507 | 11/25/2024 | Relating to election supplies and the conduct of elections; creating criminal offenses; increasing criminal penalties |
| 89(R) | SB 506 | 11/25/2024 | Relating to requirements for certain petitions requesting an election and ballot propositions and to related procedures and provisions |
| 89(R) | SB 505 | 11/25/2024 | Relating to processes to address election irregularities; providing a civil penalty |
| 88(2) | SB 2 | 07/10/2023 | Relating to providing property tax relief through the public school finance system, exemptions, limitations on appraisals and taxes, and property tax administration; authorizing the imposition of a fee |
| 88(2) | SB 3 | 07/10/2023 | Relating to the amount of the total revenue exemption for the franchise tax and the exclusion of certain taxable entities from the requirement to file a franchise tax report |
| 88(1) | SB 26 | 06/20/2023 | Relating to providing property tax relief through the public school finance system, exemptions, and limitations on taxes and providing franchise tax relief |
| 88(1) | SB 1 | 05/30/2023 | Relating to a reduction in the maximum compressed tax rate of a school district and additional state aid for certain school districts impacted by compression, an increase in the amount of certain exemptions from ad valorem taxation by a school district applicable to residence homesteads, an adjustment in the amount of the limitation on school district ad valorem taxes imposed on the residence homesteads of the elderly or disabled to reflect increases in the exemption amounts, and the protection of school districts against the resulting loss in local revenue |
| 88(R) | SB 2599 | 04/06/2023 | Relating to the creation of the Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 594; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments, fees, and taxes |
| 88(R) | SB 2600 | 04/06/2023 | Relating to the creation of the Firefly Municipal Utility District No. 1; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments, fees, and taxes |
| 88(R) | SB 4 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the maximum compressed tax rate of a school district |
| 88(R) | SB 2329 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to daylight saving time |
| 88(R) | SB 2330 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the authorization and reporting of expenditures for lobbying activities by certain political subdivisions and other public entities |
| 88(R) | SB 2331 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to centrally counted optical scan ballots |
| 88(R) | SB 2349 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to consent to the creation of certain political subdivisions |
| 88(R) | SB 2350 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the voter-approval tax rate used to calculate the unused increment rate of a taxing unit for ad valorem tax purposes |
| 88(R) | SB 2354 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the establishment of the Education Savings Account Program to allow certain disadvantaged children and their siblings to use public money to pursue educational alternatives to public schools and an insurance premium tax credit for contributions made for purposes of that program |
| 88(R) | SB 2355 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the appeal of certain ad valorem tax determinations through binding arbitration |
| 88(R) | SB 2431 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the Harris County Flood Control District; providing for the appointment of the governing body |
| 88(R) | SB 2432 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the State Auditor conducting an audit of counties with a population over 1 million and their use of funds related to acts passed by congress |
| 88(R) | SB 2433 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to certain election practices and procedures; increasing a criminal penalty; providing an administrative penalty |
| 88(R) | SB 2434 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the dissolution of the SH130 Municipal Management District No. 1 |
| 88(R) | SB 2514 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the provision of information relating to certain election officials appointed by the commissioners court |
| 88(R) | SB 2515 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the restriction of the use of toll road funds for road projects |
| 88(R) | SB 2516 | 03/10/2023 | Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates of certain taxing units |
| 88(R) | SB 2035 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the issuance of certain anticipation notes and certificates of obligation |
| 88(R) | SB 2037 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the regulation of platting and subdivisions of land by a municipality or county |
| 88(R) | SB 2038 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to release of an area from a municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction by petition or election |
| 88(R) | SB 2063 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the oversight of and reporting requirements for the county elections administrator |
| 88(R) | SB 2064 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the dissemination of patient information through a telemedicine, telehealth, or teledentistry service |
| 88(R) | SB 2065 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the recovery of overpayments made to dentists by certain employee benefit plans and health insurers |
| 88(R) | SB 2066 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to state agency employment openings and aptitude assessments |
| 88(R) | SB 2067 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the public sale of real property taken in execution of a judgment |
| 88(R) | SB 2068 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the information maintained by the Texas Education Agency regarding postsecondary education and career opportunities |
| 88(R) | SB 2069 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the required posting of signs regarding human trafficking penalties by certain schools |
| 88(R) | SB 2070 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to the funding of projects by the Public Utility Commission of Texas to promote the reliability and resiliency of the power grid in this state; authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds |
| 88(R) | SB 2071 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to automatic recounts of certain elections |
| 88(R) | SB 2072 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to service retirement benefits payable by the Employees Retirement System of Texas to commissioned peace officers employed by the attorney general |
| 88(R) | SB 2073 | 03/09/2023 | Relating to certain suits for personal injury that arise as a result of conduct that violates certain Penal Code provisions concerning sexual offenses against a child but that are filed against certain persons who did not commit the conduct that violated those Penal Code provisions |
| 88(R) | SB 1861 | 03/08/2023 | Relating to the provision of virtual education in public schools and to certain waivers and modifications by the commissioner of education to the method of calculating average daily attendance in an emergency or crisis for purposes of preserving school district funding entitlements under the Foundation School Program during that emergency or crisis; authorizing a fee |
| 88(R) | SB 1862 | 03/08/2023 | Relating to the creation of the office of inspector general at the Texas Education Agency to investigate the administration of public education |
| 88(R) | SB 1863 | 03/08/2023 | Relating to the authorization for and transfer of a charter for an adult high school charter school program |
| 88(R) | SB 1888 | 03/08/2023 | Relating to the inclusion of chronically absent and truant students as students at risk of dropping out of school and the collection and reporting of data regarding those students |
| 88(R) | SB 1907 | 03/08/2023 | Relating to preparing and delivering precinct election returns; increasing a criminal penalty |
