Senate Education Committee to Examine Four-Day School Weeks, Enrollment Decline and Teacher Pay

The Texas Senate Committee on Education will gavel in at 8 a.m. Oct. 6 in Room E1.028 of the Capitol Extension to take invited and public testimony on four interim charges from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: school calendars and instructional time, shrinking enrollment, the supply of school-turnaround talent and implementation of 2025 education laws, including teacher pay, according to the official hearing notice. Public testimony is limited to two minutes per person, and anyone submitting written testimony should bring 10 copies with a name on each.

Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, chairs the eight-member panel, with Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, as vice chair, according to Texas Legislature Online. Six members are Republicans and two are Democrats. The committee has posted a second hearing at 8 a.m. Oct. 7, according to a separate notice, which falls outside this preview’s window.

The Maximizing Instructional Time charge asks members to review the more than 200 districts using a four-day or hybrid school week, examine related learning loss in reading and math, and draft guidelines to support achievement. The scale of the shift is documented: a news report put the count at more than 200 districts affecting 212,000 students. A University of Houston Education Research Center working paper counted 181 districts on four-day weeks in 2024-25, up from 156 the year before, according to The Texan, which reported that districts cite teacher retention, not academic gains, as their main motivation and that research on the schedule’s effects is mixed.

The Shifting Enrollment, Right-Sizing charge notes that school-age enrollment fell from 5.54 million to 5.47 million students over the past two years, despite rapid population growth statewide, according to the notice. The committee is asked to examine enrollment patterns and identify ways districts can use tax dollars more efficiently while preserving program access and student outcomes.

The Improving School Transformation Talent charge asks members to evaluate access to, and the effectiveness of, experts who improve school academic performance, and to suggest ways to strengthen the leadership pipeline through training, policies and practices that speed academic progress.

The Monitoring charge covers legislation the committee handled in 2025 and singles out House Bill 2, the public education and school finance bill. The notice asks members to review teacher pay increases passed over the last decade, including HB 2’s, and to track their effect on teacher incomes and efforts to close the rural pay gap. The Legislature’s plan carried a price tag of $8.5 billion, and under its Teacher Retention Allotment, teachers with five or more years of experience get permanent raises of $5,000 in districts with more than 5,000 students and $8,000 in smaller districts, according to the Texas Tribune. The Texas Education Agency has published implementation guidance on the allotment.

Because this is an interim hearing, the committee will take no vote and no legislation is before it. Its findings will help shape bills filed when the 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027.

Meeting at a glance

Committee members

• Sen. Donna Campbell, R–New Braunfels (SD-25) — Chair
• Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R–Houston (SD-7) — Vice Chair
• Sen. Brent Hagenbuch, R–Denton (SD-30)
• Sen. Phil King, R–Weatherford (SD-10)
• Sen. José Menéndez, D–San Antonio (SD-26)
• Sen. Tan Parker, R–Flower Mound (SD-12)
• Sen. Angela Paxton, R–McKinney (SD-8)
• Sen. Royce West, D–Dallas (SD-23)