Mark your calendar for several September and October 2026 opportunities to listen, learn, meet policymakers, follow public proceedings, and take part in constructive conversations about family-court reform, judicial administration, and attorney accountability in Texas.
This calendar is designed as a public-service guide for activists, families, lawyers, reform advocates, and members of the public who want to participate lawfully and thoughtfully. Show up, bring your concerns, review the official notices, and be part of the conversation. Some events are confirmed by official government or organizational sources, while others are included as details to verify before traveling. Hearing schedules, agendas, participation rules, speakers, and venues can change.
Quick calendar: Save these dates
- September 9–10 — Dallas Republican midterm convention: Partisan civic event in Dallas; verify event and location details before attending.
- September 14 at 9:00 a.m. — Texas Senate State Affairs, Protecting Texas Families: Austin, Capitol Extension E1.012; two-minute public testimony; written testimony requires 20 copies with the author’s name on each copy.
- September 15 at 9:00 a.m. — Texas Senate State Affairs, Protecting the Integrity of the Judiciary: Austin, Capitol Extension E1.012; two-minute public testimony; written testimony requires 20 copies with the author’s name on each copy.
- September 25 — State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, Austin: Agenda, start time, and public-comment instructions should be verified when posted; review Board materials for updates.
- October 9–10 — Texas Youth Summit, The Woodlands: Verify-before-you-go event details, including registration, schedule, and admission information.
For testimony preparation and accountability resources, see our family-court reform and judicial-accountability resources.
Monday, September 14: Protecting Texas Families hearing
The Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, September 14, 2026, in Capitol Extension Hearing Room E1.012 in Austin.
The official September 14 hearing notice identifies “Protecting Texas Families” as one of the interim charges before the committee. The charge focuses on the burdens placed on children and families by inefficient or inconsistent divorce and child-custody proceedings.
The committee is directed to examine problems including:
- Unpredictable timelines
- Unnecessary delays
- Repetitive child evaluations
- Other needless complications in divorce and custody proceedings
- Whether family-court procedures are fair and consistent
- Whether proceedings truly prioritize children’s best interests
The notice also includes other subjects, including online protections for minors and legislative implementation matters. Family-court reform is therefore one part of a broader hearing agenda, not the only issue scheduled for consideration.
Public testimony is limited to two minutes per witness. Anyone submitting written testimony should provide 20 copies to the committee clerk, with the witness’s name on each copy.
The Senate Committee on State Affairs page identifies Senator Bryan Hughes as chair and Senator Angela Paxton as vice chair. The committee page also provides official information about schedules, witness lists, archived video, and related materials.
People planning to attend should confirm the hearing status and any updated witness-registration instructions before leaving home.
Tuesday, September 15: Protecting the Integrity of the Judiciary hearing
The same committee will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, in Hearing Room E1.012 at the Capitol Extension.
According to the official September 15 hearing notice, one of the interim charges is “Protecting the Integrity of the Judiciary.”
The charge directs the committee to study attempts by public advocacy groups to improperly influence judges through biased informational seminars. It asks the committee to identify entities that may be attempting to influence judicial decision-making through training based on skewed information and to make recommendations intended to protect judicial fairness and impartiality.
The hearing notice also lists other subjects, including gambling, banking, and alcohol regulation. As with the September 14 hearing, public testimony is limited to two minutes per witness, and written testimony requires 20 copies bearing the witness’s name.
This hearing offers the public a chance to listen closely to how lawmakers are thinking about judicial fairness, impartiality, education, outside influence, transparency, recusal standards, and public confidence in the courts.
A public hearing is not a trial, and testimony is not a finding of misconduct. It is an opportunity for legislators to hear concerns, gather information, and consider whether statutory or administrative changes are needed.
How to prepare a two-minute statement
A short statement is most effective when it is focused, documented, and connected to a specific reform request. Consider this four-part structure:
- Identify one issue.
Examples might include prolonged custody litigation, repeated evaluations, unexplained delays, inconsistent procedures, or concerns about judicial education and outside influence. - State one documented example.
Use dates, docket entries, orders, notices, invoices, or other records when available. Do not identify minors. Avoid unsupported accusations, speculation, or statements about a person’s motives. - Explain the public impact.
Describe how the issue affected a family’s ability to obtain a timely hearing, understand the process, protect a child’s interests, or afford continued participation. - Request one reform.
A request could involve clearer timelines, better public reporting, limits on repetitive evaluations, written explanations for delays, transparent judicial education standards, or improved complaint tracking.
A useful closing sentence might be: “I respectfully ask the committee to consider a reform that creates a clear, transparent process for documenting this problem and reporting whether it has been corrected.”
Written testimony should be concise and organized. Bring the required copies, arrive early, and verify whether the committee has added registration or identification requirements. For these committee hearings, written testimony requires 20 copies with the author’s name on every copy.
Public testimony is not legal advice. It does not replace an appeal, a mandamus proceeding, a State Bar grievance, or a judicial-conduct complaint. People who are handling cases without counsel can review Texas Courts self-represented litigant resources and Texas Law Help for general legal information and referral resources.
Friday, September 25: State Bar of Texas Board of Directors meeting in Austin
The official State Bar future-meeting calendar confirms a State Bar of Texas Board of Directors meeting in Austin on Friday, September 25, 2026.
As of the research date, the calendar confirmed the date and city but did not provide the meeting’s start time, complete agenda, public-comment deadline, or full meeting packet. Readers should check the State Bar’s future board meeting dates again before making travel plans, because the September 25 agenda and start time should be confirmed when posted.
Board meetings are open to the public. The State Bar’s agendas, minutes, and materials hub provides access to meeting documents and links to the 2026 materials page. Readers interested in attending or commenting should review that page for instructions once the September packet is posted.
State Bar leadership listed on the current roster
The official State Bar Board roster identifies the current leadership as:
- Steve Alfonso Chiscano : Chair of the Board
- G. David Smith : President
- Sarah Clower Keathley : President-elect
- Santos Vargas : Immediate Past President
- Britney E. Harrison : Immediate Past Chair
The State Bar’s official roster identifies Steve Alfonso Chiscano as Board Chair. However, the meeting-specific presiding officer should not be treated as confirmed until the official agenda or meeting materials are posted.
The September 25 meeting may be useful for people following attorney discipline, grievance procedures, ethics rules, public accountability, and State Bar governance. The Board of Directors is not a courtroom, and a Board meeting cannot reverse a judgment or award compensation in an individual case. Its importance is institutional: the policies and oversight structures discussed by the Board affect how the legal profession responds to complaints and public concerns.
People seeking information about filing a lawyer grievance should consult the State Bar’s official grievance and ethics information. A complaint is not proof of misconduct, and an investigation is not a disciplinary finding. Disciplinary systems also do not automatically provide financial recovery.
Concerns involving judicial conduct belong to a different oversight process. The Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct explains its complaint process and distinguishes judicial conduct complaints from appeals of judicial decisions.
For additional background, readers can follow Texas court reform calendar and judicial-accountability coverage and review the organization’s court-reform and legal accountability resources.
Additional civic events to verify before attending
The following events remain worth noting for readers who want to stay engaged, but they should be treated as details to verify before traveling. Venue access, registration requirements, speakers, livestreams, and public-participation rules can change.
September 9–10: Republican midterm convention in Dallas
The 2026 Republican midterm convention is scheduled for September 9–10 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Republican Party of Texas venue listing identifies the American Airlines Center as the event location.
This is a partisan political gathering, not a government hearing on family courts or judicial discipline. Readers of every political viewpoint may independently decide whether observing political events is useful to their civic interests. Before attending, confirm ticket availability, admission rules, security procedures, programming, and any livestream information with the organizers.
October 9–10: Texas Youth Summit in The Woodlands
The Texas Youth Summit is listed for October 9–10 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. The organizer’s 2026 event page should be treated as the primary source for registration, ticketing, speakers, schedule changes, and age-related information.
The event is separate from the legislative and State Bar proceedings described above. Its policy discussions and speakers may change, and readers should verify admission requirements, venue details, and public-access rules before traveling.
Why these dates matter
These dates matter because public participation helps lawmakers, regulators, and professional boards hear directly from the people affected by court procedure, family-law delays, judicial administration, and attorney-discipline systems.
For family-court reform, that can mean sharing constructive ideas about predictable timelines, reduced repetition, and procedures that better serve children and parents. For judicial integrity, it can mean listening carefully, learning how policy is framed, and offering respectful testimony about fairness, transparency, and public confidence. For attorney accountability, it can mean following how complaint systems work, understanding their limits, and encouraging reforms that improve procedural fairness for both complainants and respondent lawyers.
A transparent system should protect due process for judges and lawyers while also giving complainants meaningful procedural rights. That includes publishing complaint information with appropriate disclaimers, tracking outcomes publicly, identifying repeat patterns of alleged misconduct, and addressing conflicts of interest.
If you attend, bring your concerns, stay accurate, remain respectful, and focus on documented facts and practical reforms. Civic participation works best when people show up prepared, listen closely, and help create a public record that decision-makers can evaluate.
Disclaimer: This is an informational public-service calendar, not legal advice. Hearing schedules, agendas, participation rules, speakers, and venues can change. Allegations are not findings. Do not identify minors or publish unsupported accusations. Verify official notices and organizer information before relying on any detail or traveling to an event.