Monitoring the Session

HB 1581

bill adding training and monitoring for bilingual programs

Did not pass

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. R.D. "Bobby" GuerraDHouse 41

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to public school bilingual education programs, dual language immersion programs, and special language programs.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Materials for administrators, closer TEA monitoring.

The bill tells the education commissioner to build training materials for school administrators on bilingual and dual language immersion programs, and tells the Texas Education Agency to write rules for closer monitoring of bilingual and special language programs. It touches school districts that must offer bilingual or special language programs, their administrators, and emergent bilingual students. On the ground, districts may have to report more data through the state reporting system, and the agency must identify weak programs and give those districts technical help starting September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R HB 2164 (Died in committee) and this bill (Did not pass). Checked against 88R only.DO-OVER. Reworked text of a bill filed before that died: 88R HB 2164 (Died in committee). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.GOT HALFWAY. Passed the House on May 13, 2025. Died in the Senate: received, never referred to a committee.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB1581 · 2024-12-11

SOLD BY

Rep. R.D. "Bobby" GuerraDHouse 41 Rep. James TalaricoDHouse 50 Rep. Mihaela PlesaDHouse 70

+ 2 more authors, 4 coauthors

ITEM

relating to public school bilingual education programs, dual language immersion programs, and special language programs.

WHAT IT DOES

Materials for administrators, closer TEA monitoring.

The bill tells the education commissioner to build training materials for school administrators on bilingual and dual language immersion programs, and tells the Texas Education Agency to write rules for closer monitoring of bilingual and special language programs. It touches school districts that must offer bilingual or special language programs, their administrators, and emergent bilingual students. On the ground, districts may have to report more data through the state reporting system, and the agency must identify weak programs and give those districts technical help starting September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

Net to General Revenue · FY 2026($464,911)

LBB estimate, flow · fiscal note version I · ( ) = negative · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 2, 2025

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1581, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($934,661) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027. The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.

First year · FY 2026 · ($464,911)

Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Public Education
  4. Referred to s/c on Academic & Career-Oriented Education by chair
  5. Scheduled for public hearing in s/c on . . .
  6. Considered by s/c in public hearing
  7. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in subcommittee
  8. Left pending in subcommittee
  9. Recalled from subcommittee
  10. Considered in public hearing
  11. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  12. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  13. Committee report distributed
  14. Committee report sent to Calendars
  15. Considered in Calendars
  16. Placed on General State Calendar
  17. Read 2nd time
  18. Passed to engrossment
  19. Record vote RV#2204
  20. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  21. Read 3rd time
  22. Passed
  23. Record vote RV#2271
  24. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  25. Reported engrossed
  26. Received from the House
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 86 yea · 44 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 13, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

R.D. "Bobby" Guerra

Donors

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas$3KTexas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$2KExxon Mobile PAC$1K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Oct 28, 2024 to Oct 11, 2025. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas$2,500.00

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas

$2,500.00

Cash
$2,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$2,500.00

Also funds 53 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Aug 15, 2024 to Sep 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Nov 15, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100985170.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$1,500.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$1,500.00

Cash
$1,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$1,500.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 12, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100985170.

Exxon Mobile PAC$1,000.00

Exxon Mobile PAC

$1,000.00

Cash
$1,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$1,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Oct 31, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 31, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100985170.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas

$2,500.00

Cash
$2,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$2,500.00

Also funds 53 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Aug 15, 2024 to Sep 21, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Nov 15, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100985170.

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$1,500.00

Cash
$1,500.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$1,500.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 12, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100985170.

×

Exxon Mobile PAC

$1,000.00

Cash
$1,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$1,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Oct 31, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 31, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100985170.

Votes2

House May 13, 2025

Yea
86
Nay
44
Present, not voting
2
Absent
4
Excused
14
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2271

HB 1581 was passed by (Record 2271): 86 Yeas, 44 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 86 (published)
  • Nay: 44 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 4 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 14 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 12, 2025

Yea
86
Nay
49
Present, not voting
2
Absent
8
Excused
5
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2204

HB 1581 was passed to engrossment by (Record 2204): 86 Yeas, 49 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 86 (published)
  • Nay: 49 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 8 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 5 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses12
For
11
Against
0
On
1
Names

For

  • Children at Risk1 registration
  • Every Texan1 registration
  • IDRA (Intercultural Development Research Association)1 registration
  • Self1 registration
  • Self; La Colaborativa Cuahutli1 registration
  • Self; La Colaborativa Cuauhtli Project1 registration
  • Texans Care for Children1 registration
  • Texas AFT1 registration
  • Texas Association for Bilingual Education1 registration
  • Texas state teachers association1 registration
  • United Ways of Texas1 registration

On

  • TEA1 registration
Sources

12 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal
Net to General Revenue · FY 2026($464,911)

LBB estimate, flow · fiscal note version I · ( ) = negative · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version I · April 2, 2025

Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1581, As Introduced: a negative impact of ($934,661) through the biennium ending August 31, 2027. The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.

First year · FY 2026 · ($464,911)

Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R HB 2164

by Rep. Guerra, same lead author · Died in committee · reworked

Introduced text

Last action, May 11, 2023: Referred to Education

Relating to public school bilingual education programs, dual language immersion programs, and special language programs.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas House · Filed Dec 11, 2024

05/14/2025 S Received from the House

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Coauthors
Salman BhojaniDHouse 92 Suleman LalaniDHouse 76 Eddie MoralesDHouse 74 Ana-María Rodríguez RamosDHouse 102

House committee · Public Education · Committee vote 15 aye, 0 nay · Out of committee

Companion

SB 152 by Menéndez (identical)

Subjects

Education--Bilingual

Education--Primary & Secondary--Curriculum

STAFF DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING

EDUCATION AGENCY, TEXAS

EDUCATION, COMMISSIONER OF

Text

The text as introduced · 391 words

89R956 TSS-D

By: Guerra
H.B. No. 1581

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to public school bilingual education programs, dual

language immersion programs, and special language programs.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter J, Chapter 21, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 21.4572 to read as follows:

Sec. 21.4572. TRAINING FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS:

BILINGUAL EDUCATION AND DUAL LANGUAGE IMMERSION. The commissioner,

in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, shall develop and make

available training materials and other training resources to

increase school administrators' understanding of and improve

student outcomes for:

(1) bilingual education programs offered under

Section 29.053; and

(2) dual language immersion programs described by

Section 28.0051.

SECTION 2. Section 29.066(a), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) A school district that is required to offer bilingual

education or special language programs shall include the following

information in the district's Public Education Information

Management System (PEIMS) report:

(1) demographic information, as determined by the

commissioner, on students enrolled in district bilingual education

or special language programs;

(2) the number and percentage of students enrolled in

each instructional model of a bilingual education or special

language program offered by the district; [ and ]

(3) the number and percentage of students identified

as emergent bilingual students who do not receive specialized

instruction ; and

(4) any other information required by the agency under

Section 29.068(b) .

SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 29, Education Code, is

amended by adding Section 29.068 to read as follows:

Sec. 29.068. AGENCY MONITORING. (a) The agency shall adopt

rules providing for robust monitoring of bilingual education and

special language programs. The rules must require the agency to:

(1) review bilingual education and special language

program requirements to ensure those requirements prioritize

meeting student needs and closing learning gaps for emergent

bilingual students; and

(2) engage directly with school districts offering

bilingual education or special language programs to improve

outcomes for emergent bilingual students, including by identifying

districts offering programs with deficiencies and providing

technical assistance to those districts.

(b) Rules adopted under Subsection (a) may include

requiring school districts that offer bilingual education or

special language programs to provide additional information

relevant to the programs through the Public Education Information

Management System (PEIMS) under Section 29.066.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.