Texas lawmaker floats starting school year later to reduce 'wasteful stress' on power grid

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Texas lawmaker said he may introduce legislation next year aimed at pushing back the start of the school year as a way to reduce "awfully wasteful stress on our power grid," according to a social media post this weekend.

State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, wrote on his X account, "With 1,100 new residents daily and an ever-expanding economy, opening schools before Labor Day is an awfully wasteful stress on our power grid. Cooling thousands of buildings - often the largest buildings in a community - during the hottest months of the year makes no sense. Schools should be completely closed during July & August, saving taxpayer dollars on cooling expenses and our grid at the same time."

He concluded his post with the hashtag #billideas, suggesting this may be a policy proposal he intends to pursue when the legislature reconvenes for another regular session in January. It's perhaps too early to determine whether this is something other Texas lawmakers would sign onto and support.

KXAN reached out Monday morning to Patterson's office for an interview about what prompted his post and how this proposal might work.

Education issues are likely to dominate next year's session, as lawmakers in the Texas House of Representatives already held a hearing earlier this month to discuss how to craft legislation providing subsidies to families for their children's private and home schooling expenses. The public education committee heard how other states are implementing education savings account programs, which is what Gov. Greg Abbott would like lawmakers to finally approve after meeting continuous pushback during last year's session.

The 89th regular legislative session begins on Jan. 14 and will last for 140 days.