TEXAS 2036 ORGANIZATION
AUSTIN — The Texas Legislature passed House Bill 8, sending the landmark legislation to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.
The bill, authored by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, and sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, received statewide support, with more than 60 coauthors and cosponsors across both chambers.
HB 8 represents the most significant reform to student testing and school accountability in a generation. The bill replaces STAAR with shorter assessments spread throughout the year, reduces overall testing time in classrooms, and ensures parents and teachers get results they can use within days.
What HB 8 delivers for Texans:
• No more STAAR (2027–28): STAAR is repealed and replaced with a smarter system that reduces overall testing.
• Shorter, smarter assessments: Adaptive, through-year tests reduce stress while giving a clearer picture of student progress.
• Significant teacher engagement: New tests would be developed in partnership with Texas teachers, who will be able to vet each question on the end-of-year exam.
• Real-time feedback:
Parents and teachers will receive results within 48 hours to better support student learning.
• More time for instruction: Limits excessive benchmark testing, returning up to 15–30 classroom hours per student.
• Predictable school ratings: A–F accountability
needs.
• Legislative oversight: Directs the Texas Education Agency to provide updates to lawmakers before implementing the new tests in the 2027-2028 school year.
The bill is drawing praise from business, education and community leaders across the state.
“With HB 8, Texas families will finally have an assessment system that puts students first,” said Mary Lynn Pruneda, Director of Education and Workforce Policy, Texas 2036.
“Parents will receive faster, clearer results they can trust, and teachers will gain timely tools to support learning in the classroom. This bill ends the cycle of overtesting, and replaces it with transparency, fairness, and real accountability that helps every child succeed,” Pruneda said.
Accountability is fundamentally about fairness, said Garry Jones, Texas Executive Director/ Co-Founder, Center for Strong Public Schools.
“It is about ensuring that every child — regardless of race, income, language or ZIP code — has access to the same high expectations, rigorous instruction, and meaningful opportunities to succeed,” Jones said.
When schools are not held accountable, students from historically marginalized groups are disproportionately affected.
“HB 8 takes crucial, meaningful steps in improving and innovating our state’s accountability system, demanding that it do more for our educators, students, families, and communities,” Jones added.
Dr. Hjamil A. Martínez-Vázquez, Texas Policy Program Manager, Teach Plus Texas, said, “By focusing on growth, reducing test stress, and restoring instructional time, HB 8 moves Texas closer to an accountability system that truly supports high-quality teaching and learning.”
According to Richard Tagle, president and executive director of E3 Alliance, “HB 8 represents more than a set of technical reforms. Our legislators have voted and passed a law to set in place statewide assessment to support instruction in our public schools and improve transparency and accountability within our public education system.
“Let us give our educators the clarity they need, our students the tools they deserve, and our communities the confidence that our school system is working for every child. Now is the time to act with purpose and unity, ensuring that our public education system reflects the values we hold in high regard,” Tagle said.
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