Senate Higher Ed Committee to Become a Sub-committee

Lt. Governor Patrick plans to make the Senate Committee on Higher Education a sub-committee of the Senate Education Committee

Lt. Governor Patrick announced on Tuesday that for the next Legislative Session, the Senate Higher Education Committee will be a sub-committee of the Senate Education Committee. Current Chair of the Higher Ed Committee, Senator Brandon Creighton, will be the Chairman for both committees during the interim, with Senator Angela Paxton serving as Vice Chair of the Education Committee. Final committee assignments will be made at the beginning of the next Legislative Session, January 2023.

Lt. Governor Patrick reports that the structure change is to better examine schooling of Texas children from early grades to post-secondary and ensure a seamless path.

TACT Legislative Director Chuck Hempstead reports that this structure shift is not new. "Higher Ed as a Senate Subcommittee of Education? It’s been done before. Some will say it’s a demotion in Senate priorities or consistent with recent attacks on tenure. Some will say it’s an attempt to better integrate levels of education oversight. It does create an additional hurdle for relevant legislation, but higher ed doesn’t need a lot of new legislation. In any case, TACT will participate in the process to improve the institution for students and employees of our universities."