State lawmakers are back in Austin this week as the 88th session of the Texas Legislature began Tuesday. Every two years, legislators begin the 140-day session with dozens of bills already proposed and more sure to come.

One of the biggest issues to be addressed is the state budget. With a more than $32 billion surplus, there are many different ideas on how to spend the money. 

Republican Governor Greg Abbott promised to deliver property tax cuts during his reelection campaign, but there’s no guarantee that will happen during the session.

“More than any other candidate, I campaigned prolifically and daily on saying we would use at least half of the surplus to give back to the people whose money it is in the first place,” Abbott said in the Texas Tribune. “We’ll need to get into session to figure out which strategy is the best strategy to use, but the people who deserve that money are the taxpayers of the state of Texas.”

Another item on the agenda is “parental rights,” which could give parents more say in their children’s education. 

“I think parental rights and parents knowing what is going on in the student’s schools is incredibly important,” AP Government teacher Amanda Peters said. “However, I do think that parents should allow for some expertise, especially professional expertise, to kind of come into play and allow educators to educate.”

For Frisco ISD Superintendent, Dr. Mike Waldrip, the start of a new legislative session is something he’s paying attention to.

“The legislative year is always an exciting year, and we’re spending a lot of time right now with our community members and staff members,” Waldrip said. “We’ll also be talking to my student advisory council about things that are important to them. Then, we’ll start to visit with the legislators about those things.”

Although it may not be one of the biggest issues statewide, Waldrip is hopeful the district will be allowed to continue offering an online learning platform. 

“One of the things the legislature did in the last session was allow us to implement an online learning platform to serve the students in first class,” he said. “We’re hoping that they will allow that to continue. Some students really do need that kind of learning as an option. We’re hoping, among other things, that that will be something that the legislature will see as important and allow us to continue to do that.”