These recommendations are important for responding to COVID-19 — but there are certainly other reasons the Legislature needs to move these policy recommendations during the session.
These recommendations are also critical for addressing the urgent, time-sensitive needs of kids. Legislators are facing many competing interests, but preventing child deaths from suicide or abuse — either at home or in foster care — can’t wait. The healthy brain development of infants and toddlers — the foundation of their future success in school — can’t wait. The Texas children who continue to face racial inequities — like disproportionately missing out on ECI or health care, or a higher risk of infant mortality or removal by CPS — can’t wait.
In many cases, our recommendations also aim to ensure the Legislature succeeds in meeting the goals lawmakers set last legislative session — like supporting pre-k students, including the many English Learners in pre-k, and supporting student mental health.
And other recommendations aim to finish the job on good steps the Legislature started last session — like restoring funding to ECI for toddlers with disabilities, getting health coverage legislation for new moms and kids over the finish line, and preparing for the 2018 Family First Act to revamp federal foster care funding in Texas in 2021.
To meet the goals outlined in this agenda, two principles must guide the Legislature’s approach to this session, across these and other policy issues. First, despite the state’s revenue shortfall, the Legislature should fully fund services for children and families. Second, this legislative session should be conducted in a way that is safe, transparent, participatory, and robust, addressing the many urgent needs of Texas kids and families that have built up since the 2019 session.
We look forward to working with you to achieve these goals and ensure that the 2021 legislative session is a success for Texas kids and families. Raising our voices together for Texas kids may be a bit trickier during this social distancing legislative session compared to past sessions, but it has never been more important.
