Issue Position: Make Education a Top Priority

Issue Position

Providing the best quality education must remain a top priority in Texas. Our schoolchildren are our future and remain our most important resource. We must ensure that they receive an education that will allow them to compete in a world economy. It also means more local control and empowering administrators, locally elected school boards, and parents and letting them make decisions that are best for their school districts. Finally, it means bringing a fair and equitable funding system to Texas schools and putting an end to unfunded mandates that tie the hands of local school officials and put an unfair burden on local taxpayers.

During the 83rd Session, I voted for reducing our state's high stakes testing system by supporting HB 5. The bill also creates a more flexible path to graduation, to ensure that students have the opportunity to prepare for post-secondary careers while in high school.

I am extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish with HB 5. We untied our teachers' hands by giving them some actual instructional time back, and put forth measures that enable our students to have access to multiple career paths. My hope is that this bill will allow students to develop their talents and pursue their interests, and reduce overreliance on standardized testing to evaluate student performance.

I coauthored the legislation, which seeks to curtail testing, eliminate the 15 percent rule that would force a student's score on End of Course testing to count for 15 percent of the student's average, and free school districts to focus on more flexible graduation plans.

During my time as a school board member, I saw firsthand the problems that our school districts are facing. Our teachers are overburdened by the excessive amount of testing, and our students are losing their opportunity to have a balanced education. We have a diverse economy, so our students need a diverse education.

I also supported the state budget, which restores $3.2 billion to public education, along with $2 billion to fund student population growth , and also provides additional funding for the Teacher Retirement System, allowing for a cost-of-living adjustment for a majority of retired teachers.

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