Since the Texas legislature only meets every other year for 140 days, it is difficult for them to study and consider solutions for all of the issues that face the state. Therefore, they use the period between the sessions to study and make recommendations for problems that the state faces. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker Joe Straus recently released their list of interim charges. They both include a study on the availability of affordable broadband access to school districts across Texas.
TCEA has been active in this issue for more than two years, so we are very pleased that both the Lt. Governor and the Speaker have asked their respective education committees to study this very important issue and make recommendations for a statewide plan that would build the necessary infrastructure to provide affordable, scalable broadband for all Texas schools.
You can read the entire Senate list of education related interim charges on the Lt. Governor’s website and the Speaker’s interim charges on his website. TCEA looks forward to working with both the House and Senate education committees as they move ahead on this critical issue.
