We’re in another key moment for influencing the policies that will be on lawmakers’ agendas during the 2027 Texas legislative session.

Leaders of the Texas House and Senate are currently collecting input from legislators and other Texans to help them decide what issues they want legislative committees to dig into during their hearings and research this year. The topics they assign to each committee — known as “interim charges” — will help set priorities for the 2027 session and start the process of vetting potential policy solutions.

We’re urging lawmakers to study the subjects outlined below during the interim. In many cases, our recommendations focus on studying the implementation, impact, and next steps for legislation or funding that the Legislature or Congress already passed. Other recommendations urge lawmakers to study potential solutions to gaps that have come to light in current services, such as the shortage of maternal health services in rural communities, gaps in support for preschoolers with disabilities, lack of legal representation for families in early stages of CPS cases, or the shortage of services that serve children with the most complex mental health challenges.

We look forward to working with legislators and our partners on these priorities for kids and families!

Early learning

Pre-K Policies Passed in 2025 in House Bill 2

Lawmakers should review the impact of provisions in HB 2 that addressed pre-k funding, changed the ways school districts collaborate with child care providers through pre-k partnerships, established new barriers to creating pre-k classrooms, placed new restrictions on tuition-based pre-k, and more. 

Access to Effective Early Intervention and Instruction for Children with Disabilities

The Legislature should evaluate policies and practices related to early childhood special education (ECSE), including the inclusion of children with disabilities in pre-k; gaps in the transition from Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) to ECSE; the capacity of school districts to complete timely special education evaluations for children ages three to five; and more.

Access to High-Quality Child Care for Working Parents of Children with Disabilities 

The Legislature should make recommendations to decrease the number of eligible families with children with disabilities who are on TWC’s waitlist for child care subsidy scholarships; increase the number of high-quality child care programs that can effectively serve children with disabilities across the state, specifically in rural communities; and take additional steps to address this challenge.

The State’s New Investment in Child Care Scholarships

Lawmakers should examine the impact of the $100 million they appropriated in 2025 for child care scholarships to help working families afford high-quality child care and consider ways to build on that investment. 

Implementation of Legislation Passed in 2025 to Address Working Parents’ Access to High-Quality Child Care 

The Legislature should review the implementation and next steps for bills they passed on access to child care for child care educators; local barriers to child care; child care reimbursement rates; and establishing a Quad-Agency Child Care Initiative to review state regulations of child care.

Implementation of HB 619 (passed in 2021) on the Child Care Workforce

Lawmakers should examine the implementation and next steps for the legislation that directed TWC to create a strategic plan to strengthen the state’s child care workforce, including ways to increase compensation and reduce turnover.

Healthy kids and families

Ensuring Texas Children Continue to Have Access to Nutritious Food

The Legislature should examine the fiscal and operational implications of the SNAP changes included in HR 1, the mega-budget bill passed by Congress in 2025.

Implementation of Medicaid and SNAP System Investments from the 2025 Legislative Session

The Legislature should examine the impact of their investment of $139 million GR ($386 million in All Funds) in modernizing the state’s Medicaid and SNAP eligibility systems and additional ways to ensure the system functions properly for eligible families.

Access to Health Care for Texas Families

The Legislature should examine how Texas families are accessing health care in the current coverage landscape, given recent declines in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, the rising costs of health care, and the expiration of enhanced federal marketplace subsidies.

Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) for Toddlers with Autism, Down Syndrome, Speech Delays, and Other Disabilities and Delays 

The Legislature should evaluate the impact of stagnant reimbursement rates and declining per-child funding on program access, provider stability, and child outcomes.

Maternal health

Access to Midwives and Birth Centers in Rural Texas and Other Underserved Communities

The Legislature should examine ways to improve access to midwives and birth centers to Texas families with lower-intervention, evidence-based care that improves maternal and infant outcomes.

Doula Services to Support Healthy Pregnancies and Postpartum Recovery

Lawmakers should review existing evidence on the effectiveness of doula support in improving maternal outcomes — including reductions in cesarean deliveries, complications, and negative birth experiences — and consider the potential costs and savings if the state covered doula services through Medicaid.

Child welfare

Legal Representation for Families at Earlier Stages of Child Protective Services (CPS) Cases

In most Texas counties, parents do not get an attorney until after a child is removed from their home. Lawmakers should evaluate the impact of the lack of early legal representation and consider ways to address it.

Implementation of HB 116 and Its Impact on Family Preservation and Permanency

Last session, the Legislature changed the law so parents can’t lose their parental rights just for missing steps in the plan that CPS creates to ensure a child is safe. Lawmakers should assess the impact on family preservation, child safety, and permanency outcomes and address potential unintended consequences, including children remaining in long-term foster care and impacts on court and agency resources.

The Legislature’s New Investment in Texas Family First Programs to Keep Children Safely with their Families and Out of Foster Care

Now that these programs are state-funded and may soon receive additional federal support, the Legislature should monitor their progress and look for ways to strengthen family support.

Opportunities and Risks of Applying Elements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to All Children in the State’s Child Welfare System

In 2025, lawmakers considered applying parts of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to all children in Texas — a step that would overhaul how the state handles thousands of CPS cases each year. Legislators should examine the potential benefits and unintended consequences of requiring caseworkers to make “active efforts” as opposed to “reasonable efforts” in CPS cases and extending other aspects of ICWA to all children.

Children’s mental health

Mental Health Services for Children with the Most Complex Challenges

The Legislature should evaluate access to services, including those provided through the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Waiver. Unfortunately, the demand for many of those services exceeds the supply, leaving parents in a desperate search for support for their children.