In the final days of the 89th 2nd Called Special Session, the Texas House gave final passage to House Bill 8 (HB 8) with a key Senate amendment to restore the critical 8th-grade social studies test and US History end-of-course exam. HB 8, authored by House Public Education Chair Rep. Brad Buckley (R–Salado) and sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R– Houston) is a priority bill of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Speaker Dustin Burrows, and now heads to Governor Abbott’s desk. The bill eliminates the STAAR test and replaces it with three shorter supportive assessments while restoring annual A–F public school accountability ratings and protecting taxpayers from lawfare against the state’s accountability system.
“Chair Brad Buckley’s leadership was so important to the bill’s passage,” remarked Sen. Bettencourt. “What gets measured gets fixed, and HB 8 measures what matters, student success,” Bettencourt adds. “HB 8 will restore classroom time, end wasteful lawsuits, and prepare Texas students for real-world achievement. And tests on History are important too!” The bill follows a 2nd major legal victory for the state’sA–F system when the 15th Court of Appeals unanimously ruled to release the 2023–2024 ratings, defeating ongoing “lawfare” from plaintiff ISDs who challenged it. HB 8 ensures that “lawfare” cannot undermine academic accountability again.
Key Reforms in HB 8:
