Signed the "hold harmless" letter sent to TEA to encourage them to extend the hold harmless for the entire 2020-2021 school year due to COVID. Sponsored: SB797 (Relating to the display of the national motto in public schools and institutes of higher education.) Co-sponsored: SB1776 (Relating to the inclusion of an elective course on the founding principles of the United States in the curriculum for public high school
students and the posting of the founding documents of the United States in public school buildings). Co-Authored: HB2554 (related to the operation by a school district of a vocational education program to provide eligible high school students with vocational and educational training under a graduation plan and the application of certain student-based allotments under the public school finance system). Co-Authored: HB2681
(Elective courses on the study of the Bible offered to public school students). Co-Authored: HB3979 ("Banning critical race theory" bill). Authored: HB4042 (Relating to requiring public school students to participate in interscholastic athletic activities based on biological sex). Co-authored: HB764 (Reducing STAAR testing for public school students). Voted yes - HB1080 (participation in UIL for students who receive mental
health services). Voted yes - HB1133 (Relating to an election to revoke a county equalization tax imposed in certain counties). Voted yes - HB1147 (Relating to military readiness for purposes of the indicators of achievement under the public school accountability system and the college, career, or military readiness outcomes bonus under the Foundation School Program). Voted no - HB1252 (Related to the limitation
period for filing a complaint and requesting a special education impartial due process hearing). Voted yes - HB1468 (Public school remote learning programs). Voted yes - HB1525 (HB3 cleanup bill). Voted no - HB159 (Training for all educators on how to better serve disabled students). Voted yes - HB1603 (Ends sunset dates for IGCs). Voted yes - HB189 (Relates to severance payments to a superintendent or
administrator in an open-enrollment charter school). Voted no - HB2256 (Creates a bilingual sped program for students with disabilities). Voted no - HB2287 (Relating to data collection and receipt of certain reports by and consultation with the Collaborative Task Force on Public School Mental Health Services). Voted yes - HB2519 (Composition of SBEC, issuance of sanctions by the board, requiring a school district to
notify a teacher regarding the submission of complaints to SBEC). Voted yes - HB2681 (Elective courses on the study of the Bible offered to public school students). Voted yes - HB2721 (Prohibiting a student from participating in future extracurricular activities for certain conduct involving the assault of an extracurricular activity official). Voted yes - HB2802 (Administration of certain public school assessments and the
temporary suspension of accountability during a school year in which public school operations are disrupted as a result of a declared disaster and the requirement to use those instruments for promotion or graduation). Voted yes - HB3456 (Inclusion of funds received by certain educational institutions or programs in foundation school program funds for purposes of certain budget reductions). Voted yes - HB3489
(Development of guidelines for the use of digital devices in public schools and a school district or open enrollment charter school policy for the effective integration of those devices). Voted yes - HB3597 (Relating to policies, procedures, and measures for school safety in public schools). Voted no - HB3643 (Creates a Texas Commission on Virtual Education). Voted yes - HB3731 (Relating to public school accountability
ratings, including interventions and sanctions administered to a school district, open-enrollment charter school, or district or school campus assigned an unacceptable performance rating. (HISD takeover bill)). Voted yes - HB 3932 (Relating to the establishment of the State Advisory Council on Educational Opportunity for Military Children). Voted yes - HB3979 (critical race theory bill #1). Voted no - HB41 (Relating to class
size limits for prekindergarten classes provided by or on behalf of public schools). Voted yes - HB41 (Relating to class size limits for prekindergarten classes provided by or on behalf of public schools). Voted yes - HB4124 (Relating to student enrollment in certain special-purpose districts and the allotment under the public school finance system for those districts). Voted yes - HB4509 (Relating to instruction on informed
American patriotism in public schools and study of the Founding documents of Texas and the United States). Voted yes - HB4545 (Relating to the assessment of public school students, the establishment of a strong Foundations grant program, and providing accelerated instruction for students who fail to achieve satisfactory performance on certain assessment instruments. (Bill used to include increasing commissioner
powers, now just is about tutoring). Voted yes - HB547 (Would allow homeschooled students to participate in UIL activities on public school campuses). Voted yes - HB572 (Relating to the inclusion of students enrolled in a dropout recovery school as students at risk of dropping out of school for purposes of compensatory, intensive, and accelerated instruction and to a study by the Texas Education Agency on competencybased
educational programs). Voted yes - HB690 (Relating to training requirements for a member of the board of trustees of an independent school district). Voted yes - HB699 (Relating to public school attendance requirements for students diagnosed with or undergoing related treatment for severe or life-threatening illnesses). Voted yes - HB725 (Relating to the eligibility of certain children who are or were in foster care
for free prekindergarten programs in public schools). Voted yes - HB750 (Relating to requiring a school district to post the district's employment policy on the district's Internet website). Voted yes - HB764 (Reducing STAAR testing for public school students). Voted yes - HB773 (Includes CTE students as a student achievement subpop for accountability). Voted yes - HB785 (Relating to behavior improvement plans and
behavioral intervention plans for certain public school students and notification and documentation requirements regarding certain behavior management techniques). Voted yes - HB999 (Exempts kids from testing requirements for 2021, allows IGCs for all 5 tests rather than 3). Voted yes - SB1063 (Relating to courses in personal financial literacy & economics for high school students in public schools). Voted yes -
SB1095 (Relating to notice regarding the availability to public school students of college credit and work-based education programs and subsidies for fees paid to take certain advanced placement tests. (Let students know these programs exist)). Voted yes - SB1109 (Relating to requiring public schools to provide instruction and materials and adopt policies relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, and
dating violence). Voted yes - SB123 (Relating to instruction in positive character traits and personal skills in public schools). Voted no - SB1267 (Relating to continuing education and training requirements for educators and other school district personnel). Voted yes - SB1351 (Relating to the donation of food by public school campuses). Voted yes - SB1356 (Relating to the participation by members of nonprofit teacher
organizations in a tutoring program for public school students and related retirement benefits for certain tutors participating in the program). Voted yes - SB1365 (Relating to public school organization, accountability, and fiscal management. (HISD takeover bill)). Voted yes - SB1590 (Relating to rules by the State Board for Educator Certification regarding virtual observation options for field-based experiences and
internships required for educator certification). Voted yes - SB168 (Relating to emergency school drills and exercises conducted by public schools). Voted yes - SB1696 (Relating to establishing a system for the sharing of information regarding cyber attacks or other cybersecurity incidents occurring in schools in this state). Voted yes - SB1697 (Relating to allowing parents and guardians to elect for a student to repeat or
retake a course or grade). Voted yes - SB1716 (Relating to a supplemental special education services and instructional materials program for certain public school students receiving special education services). Voted no - SB179 (Relating to the use of public school counselors' work time). Voted yes - SB1831 (Relating to the punishment for trafficking of persons, online solicitation of a minor, and prostitution and to the
dissemination of certain information, including the required printing of certain signs, regarding human trafficking; increasing criminal penalties; providing a civil penalty). Voted yes - SB1955 (Relating to exempting learning pods from certain local government regulations). Voted no - SB2050 (Relating to bullying and cyberbullying in public schools). Voted yes - SB2066 (Relating to emergent bilingual students in public
schools). Voted no - SB2081 (Relating to class size limits for prekindergarten classes provided by or on behalf of public schools). Voted yes - SB226 (Relating to instruction in educator training programs regarding digital learning, virtual learning, and virtual instruction). Voted yes - SB279 (Relating to the inclusion of suicide prevention information on certain student ID cards issued by a public school or public institution of
higher education). Voted yes - SB289 (Relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to obtain a driver's license or learner license). Voted no - SB338 (Relating to the adoption of uniform general conditions for building construction projects entered into by school districts and the composition of the committee that reviews uniform general conditions). Voted yes - SB348 (Related to parent access to
public school virtual instruction and instructional materials for virtual and remote learning). Voted yes - SB369 (Requiring students to submit a FAFSA application as a condition for graduation). Voted yes - SB462 (Relating to funding under the transportation allotment for transporting meals and instructional materials to students during a declared disaster). Voted yes - SB481 (Relating to the transfer of certain public school
students to a school district offering in person instruction). Voted yes - SB560 (Relating to developing a strategic plan for the improvement and expansion of high-quality bilingual education.). Voted yes - SB746 (Relating to requiring the parent of a student enrolled in a school district to provide and update a parent's contact information). Voted yes - SB776 (Relating to the creation of an inclusive sports program by the
University Interscholastic League to provide students with intellectual disabilities access to team sports). Voted yes - SB797 (Relating to the display of the national motto in public schools and institutes of higher education). Voted yes - SB801 (Relating to the development of an agriculture education program for public elementary schools). Voted yes - SB1776 (Relating to the inclusion of an elective course on the
founding principles of the United States in the curriculum for public high school students and the posting of the founding documents of the United States in public school buildings). SPECIAL SESSION 2: Voted yes - SB3 (Relating to civics training programs for certain public school social studies teachers and principals, parental access to certain learning management systems, and certain curriculum in public schools,
including certain instructional requirements and prohibitions). Voted yes - SJR2 (Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the reduction of the amount of a limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for general elementary and secondary public school purposes on the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled to reflect any statutory
reduction from the preceding tax year in the maximum compressed rate of the maintenance and operations taxes imposed for those purposes on the homestead). SPECIAL SESSION 3: Voted yes - SB1 (Relating to an increase in the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district and the protection of school districts against the resulting loss in local revenue). Voted yes -
SJR2 (Proposing a constitutional amendment increasing the amount of the residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes). Voted yes - HB160 (Relating to making supplemental appropriations for education initiatives, institutions, and related agencies and giving direction regarding appropriations). Voted yes - HB25 (Relating to requiring public school students to compete in
interscholastic athletic competitions based on biological sex).
Information: Elected May 2016 Voting Record: 2017 Update: voted for HB 1776 (remove US history and promotion requirements from STAAR); voted for HB 21 (Huberty School Finance)Sponsored HB 191 (creates a commission to
recommend improvements to the public school finance system, end-arounds public education committee) 2019 session: Authored legislation: HB1143 - relating to the transportation or storage of a handgun or other firearm or ammunition by a
handgun license holder in a school parking area. Co-authored legislation: HB3 - Relating to public school finance and public education. Co-sponsored legislation: SB12 (State contribution to TRS). Voted yes - HB3. Voted no - HB18 (student
mental health services). Voted no - HB102 (mentor teachers). Voted no - HB953 (TRS contributions). Voted yes - SB12 (TRS contributions). Voted yes - SB29 (taxpayer funded lobbying). Has nothing on his website concerning public
education. Grade from Project Educo: F.
https://www.colehefner.com/
2025
Voted FOR Vouchers (SB 2)
Voted against the amendment to remove vouchers from HB 1 (pro-voucher vote, special session 4 - 2023)
Sponsored HB 1541 - up to $10,000 fine per violation for not telling a parent about mental, emotional or physical health issues and no discussions allowed about gender identity or orientation
Voted For SB 763 - Allows schools to employ Chaplains without any degree or certifications
Voted AGAINST the Herrero amendment to prohibit money from HB1 to be used to fund vouchers/ESAs (Pro Voucher Vote regular session 2023)
Voted FOR HB 3708 - $1500 Allotment per UIL Activity for each non enrolled student to allow them to participate in UIL activities
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