Advocacy and the 2021 Legislative Session

As the 87th Legislative Session kicked off last January, there was one word that could be used to describe how many were feeling — uncertain. Uncertain about school funding due to COVID budget woes. Uncertain about the logistics of navigating a legislative session in the midst of a pandemic. Nonetheless, thanks to the efforts of public education supporters around the state, billions of federal COVID relief dollars are going to our schools. 

In the 15th podcast episode of Intersect Ed, Director of Advocacy and Outreach, Libby Cohen, and Director of Policy, Bob Popinski, break down all of the school finance uncertainty from one of Texas’ most unusual legislative sessions. 

We will spend more time in the coming months diving into how things are playing out with these federal dollars. But first, we’re going to remind ourselves how we got here because these dollars weren’t a given. Listen as we reflect on this past session — the bruising moments and the bright ones — to uncover how, in the end, it was a win for Texas students.