Lecture / seminar
Explain the origin and development of the Texas constitution.
Keep this in lecture. The simulation assumes Texas institutions; it does not replace a constitution-history unit.
For Texas Government courses
Texas Government Simulation
Students take the House, the Senate, and statewide offices through a shortened 140-day session. They work a Speaker coalition, a Lieutenant Governor’s calendar, and a plural executive. Bills that stall die when time runs out.
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How it fits a Texas Government course
Built around Texas institutions
Students work a Speaker-led House, a Lieutenant Governor who sets the Senate calendar, and statewide offices elected on their own. The session clock is real: bills that stall die.
Mapped to the course outcomes
The eight THECB outcomes are listed below. Origin and development of the Texas constitution stays in lecture; the simulation does not replace that unit.
Fits a normal semester
Orientation plus four periods. A week or two each is typical. Keep your readings, exams, and papers.
The setup
Texas institutions
House Speaker and governing coalition
The House is run through a Speaker-led coalition. That coalition is put together early and gets tested when school and local-control fights show up late in the session.
Lieutenant Governor and the Senate
The Lieutenant Governor sets the Senate calendar, so the Senate can often move faster than a divided House. Students have to cut deals across the two chambers.
Plural executive
The Attorney General, Comptroller, and other statewide offices are elected separately from the governor. Revenue estimates and the line-item veto limit what can pass.
Agencies, courts, and local government
PUC, ERCOT, school-finance cases, and fights between the AG and cities all affect whether a bill survives. The press is in the mix too.
- The 140-day biennial session, and bills that die when time runs out
- Speaker coalition politics vs. the Lieutenant Governor’s calendar
- Plural executive: AG, Comptroller, and other independently elected statewide offices
- House and Senate often split on crime, schools, and the budget
- Interest groups, parties, and the press
The session
What students do over the term
The class moves from a public-safety crisis on I-35 to the grid, schools, the General Appropriations Act, a disaster, and elections. You debrief. The instructor guide is in the portal. Source: Texas Government instructor guide, Periods 0–4.
Orientation
Orientation and Texas political setup
- Students get a short briefing on Texas institutions before the group work starts.
- They look at the Speaker and House coalition, the Lieutenant Governor’s calendar power, and the plural executive.
- After Period 0 they should be ready to work in roles for Periods 1–4.
Period 1
I-35 chase: security, surveillance, and state power
- How DPS, the Guard, AG–city fights, and privacy claims meet in a security emergency.
- Why the House and Senate often split on public-safety and civil-liberties bills.
- How incomplete information and press coverage change coalition strategy.
Period 2
Heat dome: grid, data centers, water, and property rights
- How grid emergencies force tradeoffs among reliability, landowner rights, and large-load growth.
- How chamber incentives differ across grid, transmission, and dispatchable-power legislation.
- How agencies, courts, interest groups, and media shape energy and water outcomes.
Period 3
Schools, school safety, local governance, and House factions
- How ESA expansion, school safety, and local-control bills scramble House coalitions.
- How Speaker politics and the Lieutenant Governor’s agenda force bargains across chambers.
- How school-finance cases at the Texas Supreme Court and last-minute press claims land at the end of the session.
Period 4
State budget, disaster response, and elections
- How education, public safety, resilience capital, and HHS compete inside one General Appropriations Act.
- How disaster declaration, Guard readiness (including Period 1 overdeployment), and emergency procurement create tradeoffs.
- How appropriations outcomes and crisis management feed statewide election consequences.
THECB ACGM
Learning outcomes
These are the eight official outcomes for the course. Most get practiced in the session. Origin and development of the Texas constitution stays in lecture.
THECB’s Academic Course Guide Manual for GOVT 2306 covers the origin and development of the Texas constitution; the structure and powers of state and local government; federalism and intergovernmental relations; political participation; the election process; public policy; and the political culture of Texas.
The THECB core objectives (critical thinking, communication, personal responsibility, social responsibility) come up in play. They do not replace the constitution lecture.
Supported
Describe state and local political systems and their relationship with the federal government.
Students see state–local fights (the AG and cities, school governance, transmission lines and landowners). There is no separate federal storyline.
Practiced in the simulation
Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice in Texas.
Speaker coalition, Lieutenant Governor calendar power, Comptroller revenue limits, line-item veto, and courts operate as live constraints.
Practiced in the simulation
Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of Texas government.
House and Senate bill politics, plural executive offices, PUC and ERCOT, and Texas Supreme Court school-finance claims.
Practiced in the simulation
Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties in Texas.
House factions, interest groups on energy and water, and press coverage that may or may not be reliable.
Practiced in the simulation
Analyze the state and local election process.
Period 4 elections turn on cumulative approval, campaign conduct, scandals, appropriations performance, and crisis management.
Supported
Identify the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
Privacy, lawful presence, school safety, and the need to check claims before acting on them.
Practiced in the simulation
Analyze issues, policies, and political culture of Texas.
I-35 public safety, ERCOT heat-dome politics, ESA and school safety, the General Appropriations Act, and a closing disaster on a constitutional deadline.
Classroom implementation
How it fits the semester
Period 0 is individual orientation. Periods 1–4 are group work in one regular session. Most instructors give each period a week or two so there is time to talk through what happened. Keep your constitution lecture and your exams. The instructor guide is in the Texas portal.
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Send the campus, the term, and about how many students. If you teach at Texas State, UT, or another Texas public university, a sentence on how the course is set up is enough.