AUSTIN – Today the Texas Senate passed two critical pieces of school reform legislation; Senate Bill 6 (SB 6) by Senator Larry Taylor and Senate Bill 13 (SB 13) by Senator Charles Perry, et al.

SB 6 by Sen. Larry Taylor was passed to third reading by a vote of 20-10, and will bring a letter grade system (A-F) for public school campuses based on their performance.

“Parental involvement is critical to achieving high performance public schools and the best way to encourage that is by placing a letter grade on the marquee of their child’s school,” said Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. “School campuses should be graded on their performance and the school’s parents have a right to know that grade.”

SB 13 by Sen. Perry builds on the success of House Bill 5 (HB5) from last session, to enable high school students to earn college credit through additional dual credit courses, provide for efficiency in teacher certification to teach dual credit and enable high schools to compete for funding for career and tech centers and equipment.

“With the passage of SB 13, students will be better prepared for the workforce,” said Patrick. “They will receive additional counseling tools to expose them to the wide array of educational and career opportunities available to them. Flexibility for our students is key to making sure our Texas economy has a capable and strong workforce.

“SB 13 and SB 6 are two very important bills that will improve accountability in our public schools and strengthen our workforce,” concluded Patrick.