Member, PubEd committee. Authored: HB1496 (Requires school districts to report management fees under certain cooperative purchasingcontracts). Authored: HB1525 (HB3 cleanup bill). Authored: HB1942 (Relates to adult high school charter programs). Authored: HB2120 (relating to school district hearings regarding complaints). Authored: HB2344 (Use of a writing portfolio to assess writing performance). Authored:
HB2688 (Related to the term of office for ISD trustees). Authored: HB353 (Restricting the use of personally identifiable student information by an operator of a website, online service, online application, or mobile application used for a school purpose and providing an exemption from certain restrictions for a national assessment provider). Authored: HB3862 (Relating to a recommendation for the removal of a member of the
board of trustees of a school district by other members of the board). Authored: HB3668 (Would eliminate the use of STAAR as a requirement for graduation or promotion, and temporarily suspend accountability for a campus or district during a declared disaster). Authored: HB586 (Relating to the creation of a state financing program administered by the Texas Public Finance Authority to assist school districts with certain
expenses; granting authority to issue bonds or other obligations). Co-authored: HB764 (Reducing STAAR testing for public school students). Authored: HB773 (Includes CTE students as a student achievement subpop for accountability). Authored: HB81 (Relating to a public school campus's election under a campus turnaround plan to operate as a community school). Voted yes - HB1080 (participation in UIL for students
who receive mental health services). Voted no - HB1133 (Relating to an election to revoke a county equalization tax imposed in certain counties). Voted yes - HB1147 (Relating to military readiness for purposes of the indicators of achievement under the public school accountability system and the college, career, or military readiness outcomes bonus under the Foundation School Program). Voted yes - HB1252 (Related to
the limitation period for filing a complaint and requesting a special education impartial due process hearing). Voted yes - HB1468 (Public school remote learning programs). Voted yes - HB1525 (HB3 cleanup bill). Voted yes - HB159 (Training for all educators on how to better serve disabled students). Voted yes - HB1603 (Ends sunset dates for IGCs). Voted yes - HB189 (Relates to severance payments to a
superintendent or administrator in an open-enrollment charter school). Voted yes - HB2256 (Creates a bilingual sped program for students with disabilities). Voted yes - HB2287 (Relating to data collection and receipt of certain reports by and consultation with the Collaborative Task Force on Public School Mental Health Services). Voted yes - HB2519 (Composition of SBEC, issuance of sanctions by the board, requiring a
school district to notify a teacher regarding the submission of complaints to SBEC). Voted yes - HB2681 (Elective courses on the study of the Bible offered to public school students). Voted yes - HB2721 (Prohibiting a student from participating in future extracurricular activities for certain conduct involving the assault of an extracurricular activity official). Voted yes - HB2802 (Administration of certain public school
assessments and the temporary suspension of accountability during a school year in which public school operations are disrupted as a result of a declared disaster and the requirement to use those instruments for promotion or graduation). Voted yes - HB3261 (Electronic administration of tests, measures to support internet connectivity for purposes of the test, the adoption and administration of optional interim tests, the
review and use of the instructional materials and technology allotment, and requests for production of instructional materials). Voted yes - HB3456 (Inclusion of funds received by certain educational institutions or programs in foundation school program funds for purposes of certain budget reductions). Voted yes - HB3489 (Development of guidelines for the use of digital devices in public schools and a school district or
open enrollment charter school policy for the effective integration of those devices). Voted yes - HB3597 (Relating to policies, procedures, and measures for school safety in public schools). Voted yes - HB3643 (Creates a Texas Commission on Virtual Education). Voted yes - HB3731 (Relating to public school accountability ratings, including interventions and sanctions administered to a school district, open-enrollment
charter school, or district or school campus assigned an unacceptable performance rating. (HISD takeover bill)). Voted yes - HB 3932 (Relating to the establishment of the State Advisory Council on Educational Opportunity for Military Children). Voted yes - HB3979 (critical race theory bill #1). Voted yes - HB41 (Relating to class size limits for prekindergarten classes provided by or on behalf of public schools). Voted yes -
HB4124 (Relating to student enrollment in certain special-purpose districts and the allotment under the public school finance system for those districts). Voted yes - HB4509 (Relating to instruction on informed American patriotism in public schools and study of the Founding documents of Texas and the United States). Voted yes - HB4545 (Relating to the assessment of public school students, the establishment of a strong
Foundations grant program, and providing accelerated instruction for students who fail to achieve satisfactory performance on certain assessment instruments. (Bill used to include increasing commissioner powers, now just is about tutoring). Voted no - HB547 (Would allow homeschooled students to participate in UIL activities on public school campuses). Voted yes - HB572 (Relating to the inclusion of students enrolled
in a dropout recovery school as students at risk of dropping out of school for purposes of compensatory, intensive, and accelerated instruction and to a study by the Texas Education Agency on competency-based educational programs). Voted yes - HB690 (Relating to training requirements for a member of the board of trustees of an independent school district). Voted yes - HB699 (Relating to public school attendance
requirements for students diagnosed with or undergoing related treatment for severe or life-threatening illnesses). Voted yes - HB725 (Relating to the eligibility of certain children who are or were in foster care for free prekindergarten programs in public schools). Voted yes - HB750 (Relating to requiring a school district to post the district's employment policy on the district's Internet website). Voted yes - HB764 (Reducing
STAAR testing for public school students). Voted yes - HB773 (Includes CTE students as a student achievement subpop for accountability). Voted yes - HB785 (Relating to behavior improvement plans and behavioral intervention plans for certain public school students and notification and documentation requirements regarding certain behavior management techniques). Voted yes - HB999 (Exempts kids from testing
requirements for 2021, allows IGCs for all 5 tests rather than 3). Voted yes - SB1063 (Relating to courses in personal financial literacy & economics for high school students in public schools). Voted yes - SB1095 (Relating to notice regarding the availability to public school students of college credit and work-based education programs and subsidies for fees paid to take certain advanced placement tests. (Let students know
these programs exist)). Voted yes - SB1109 (Relating to requiring public schools to provide instruction and materials and adopt policies relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, and dating violence). Voted yes - SB123 (Relating to instruction in positive character traits and personal skills in public schools). Voted yes - SB1267 (Relating to continuing education and training requirements for educators and
other school district personnel). Voted yes - SB1351 (Relating to the donation of food by public school campuses). Voted yes - SB1356 (Relating to the participation by members of nonprofit teacher organizations in a tutoring program for public school students and related retirement benefits for certain tutors participating in the program). Voted yes - SB1365 (Relating to public school organization, accountability, and fiscal
management. (HISD takeover bill)). Voted yes - SB1590 (Relating to rules by the State Board for Educator Certification regarding virtual observation options for field-based experiences and internships required for educator certification). Voted yes - SB168 (Relating to emergency school drills and exercises conducted by public schools). Voted yes - SB1696 (Relating to establishing a system for the sharing of information
regarding cyber attacks or other cybersecurity incidents occurring in schools in this state). Voted yes - SB1697 (Relating to allowing parents and guardians to elect for a student to repeat or retake a course or grade). Absent for vote - SB1716 (Relating to a supplemental special education services and instructional materials program for certain public school students receiving special education services). Voted yes - SB179
(Relating to the use of public school counselors' work time). Voted yes - SB1831 (Relating to the punishment for trafficking of persons, online solicitation of a minor, and prostitution and to the dissemination of certain information, including the required printing of certain signs, regarding human trafficking; increasing criminal penalties; providing a civil penalty). Voted yes - SB1955 (Relating to exempting learning pods from
certain local government regulations). Voted yes - SB2050 (Relating to bullying and cyberbullying in public schools). Voted yes - SB2066 (Relating to emergent bilingual students in public schools). Voted no - SB2081 (Relating to class size limits for prekindergarten classes provided by or on behalf of public schools). Voted yes - SB226 (Relating to instruction in educator training programs regarding digital learning, virtual
learning, and virtual instruction). Voted yes - SB279 (Relating to the inclusion of suicide prevention information on certain student ID cards issued by a public school or public institution of higher education). Voted yes - SB289 (Relating to excused absences from public school for certain students to obtain a driver's license or learner license). Voted yes - SB338 (Relating to the adoption of uniform general conditions for
building construction projects entered into by school districts and the composition of the committee that reviews uniform general conditions). Voted yes - SB348 (Related to parent access to public school virtual instruction and instructional materials for virtual and remote learning). Voted yes - SB369 (Requiring students to submit a FAFSA application as a condition for graduation). Voted yes - SB462 (Relating to funding
under the transportation allotment for transporting meals and instructional materials to students during a declared disaster). Voted yes - SB481 (Relating to the transfer of certain public school students to a school district offering in person instruction). Voted yes - SB560 (Relating to developing a strategic plan for the improvement and expansion of high-quality bilingual education.). Voted yes - SB746 (Relating to requiring
the parent of a student enrolled in a school district to provide and update a parent's contact information). Voted yes - SB776 (Relating to the creation of an inclusive sports program by the University Interscholastic League to provide students with intellectual disabilities access to team sports). Voted yes - SB797 (Relating to the display of the national motto in public schools and institutes of higher education). Voted yes -
SB801 (Relating to the development of an agriculture education program for public elementary schools). Voted yes - SB1776 (Relating to the inclusion of an elective course on the founding principles of the United States in the curriculum for public high school students and the posting of the founding documents of the United States in public school buildings). SPECIAL SESSION 2: Voted yes - SB3 (Relating to civics
training programs for certain public school social studies teachers and principals, parental access to certain learning management systems, and certain curriculum in public schools, including certain instructional requirements and prohibitions). Voted yes - SJR2 (Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the reduction of the amount of a limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes
that may be imposed for general elementary and secondary public school purposes on the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled to reflect any statutory reduction from the preceding tax year in the maximum compressed rate of the maintenance and operations taxes imposed for those purposes on the homestead). SPECIAL SESSION 3: Voted yes - SB1 (Relating to an increase in the amount of the
exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district and the protection of school districts against the resulting loss in local revenue). Voted yes - SJR2 (Proposing a constitutional amendment increasing the amount of the residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes). Voted yes - HB160 (Relating to making supplemental appropriations for education
initiatives, institutions, and related agencies and giving direction regarding appropriations). Voted yes - HB25 (Relating to requiring public school students to compete in interscholastic athletic competitions based on biological sex). From website: "As a lifelong educator, Gary VanDeaver is proud to bring his expertise to the House Committee on Public Education, where he has served for several terms. He has passed laws
every session that assist public schools in areas such as reducing high stakes testing, decreasing bureaucracy, improving protections of student data, establishing fair accountability practices, and increasing focus on CTE pathways. He was proud to be a part of the historic school finance reforms in the 2019 and 2021 sessions. His main goal is to protect and improve the lives of the roughly 5.4 million children in Texas."
Member of education committee, 85th lege. Information: Served as Superintendent of New Boston ISD. 33 year educator. Publicly stated school continue to be underfunded. Opposed to using high stakes standardized testing as a measure of the student performance
to be used for teacher evaluation. Supports increasing basic allotment for schools.Supports more local school district control of their state funds. Believe the state should increase its investment in the lives of educators by providing affordable healthcare options. Believe
the resources are available, it is simply a matter of making affordable healthcare for educators a priority. Is absolutely committed to maintaining the TRS system as a defined benefit pension. Convinced that the defined benefit retirement system offered through TRS is one
of the best recruiting tools for attracting talented young people into the profession. Former superintendent. Wife is a teacher. Voting record: Voted to reduce testing. Voted to increase funding for PK. Voted against limiting PK classe size. Voted for SB 149. Voted for
suicide prevention training. Voted against home rule. 2017 Update: voted for HB 1776 (remove US history and promotion requirements from STAAR) Attended the RALLY in AUSTIN on July17. ; voted for HB 21 (Huberty Finance Bill); Sponsored HB320, additional
funding for program enhancement for students with dyslexia, autisim, speech, or LD. Sponsor HB 20 (rainy-day fund for retiree insurance) 2019 session: Member, PubEd committee. Authored legislation: HB330 - relating to excluding certain districts from the computation
of dropout and completion rates for purposes of public school accountability. HB397 - relating to acceptable uses by a school district of the instructional materials and technology allotment. HB396 - relating to acceptable uses of the instructional materials and technology
fund and the instructional materials and technology allotment. HB735 - relating to the calculation of the rollback tax rate of a school district and a related study. HB1054 - relating to proportionality between state accountablility performance indicators and the State's share
of the foundation school program for school districts. HB1051 - relating to an adult education program provided under an adult high school diploma and industry certification charter school program, eligibility of certain students for Foundation School Program benefits, and
reporting requirements regarding the dropout status of certain students. Co-authored legislation: HB92 - Relating to a public school campus's election under a campus turnaround plan to operate as a community school. Co-sponsored legislation: HB1244 - relating to
including a civics test in the graduation requirements for public high school students and to eliminating the United Stated history end-of-course assessment instrument. HB3 - Relating to public school finance and public education. SB12 (State contribution to TRS). Voting
record: Voted yes - HB3. Voted yes - HB18 (student mental health services). Voted yes - HB102 (mentor teachers). Voted yes - HB953 (TRS contributions). Voted yes - SB12 (TRS contributions). Voted no - SB29 (Taxpayer funded lobbying). Grade from Project Educo: A
PRO-PUBLIC EDUCATION: As a lifelong educator, Gary VanDeaver is proud to bring his expertise to the House Committee on Public Education, where he has served for several terms. He has passed laws every session that assist public schools in areas such as reducing high stakes testing, decreasing bureaucracy, improving protections of student data, establishing fair accountability practices, and increasing focus on CTE pathways. He was proud to be a part of the historic school finance reforms in the 2019 and 2021 sessions. His main goal is to protect and improve the lives of the roughly 5.4 million children in Texas. Endorsements: Gary has been endorsed by the prestigious Charles Butt Public Education PAC for the 2022 Republican Primary. Awards: Gary has been awarded the 2021 Champion for Children award by the Texas Parent Teacher Association (PTA) for his outstanding record on public education issues. In January 2022, Gary was also awarded ?The Golden Apple? for Outstanding Service to Small and Mid-Sized Schools by the Texas Association of Rural Schools and the Texas Association of Mid-Size Schools.
2025
Voted AGAINST Vouchers (SB 2)
Voted for the amendment to remove vouchers from HB 1 making it purely a school finance bill (special session 4 - 2023)
Voted For SB 763 - Allows schools to employ Chaplains without any degree or certifications
Voted for the Herrero amendment to prohibit money from HB1 to be used to fund vouchers/ESAs (regular session 2023)
Voted FOR HB 3708 - $1500 Allotment per UIL Activity for each non enrolled student to allow them to participate in UIL activities
Which of the following statements comes closest to your position on vouchers?
I am against vouchers in any form no matter what they name it. I will not vote for vouchers.
Please feel free to elaborate on your position in regards to vouchers as you see fit.
I am opposed to vouchers until we fully fund public education in Texas
Which of the following statements comes closest to your position on charter schools?
Charters are not public schools, as they do not offer parents elected representation. I see no reason to fund a redundant system instead of fixing public schools.
Please feel free to elaborate on your position in regards to charters as you see fit.
Public schools have continually outperformed public charter schools. I support giving the public schools the freedoms that are enjoyed by charter schools. We are now funding facilities for charter schools which takes even more dollars away from public education.
Which of the following statements comes closest to your position on funding public schools?
Public schools are underfunded. The state should increase its contribution.
Please feel free to elaborate on your position in regards to public school funding as you see fit.
The governor insisted on tying any real increase in funding for public schools to universal vouchers. This resulted in no funding increases for teacher salaries or to offset the effects of inflation. This has resulted in public schools experiencing decreased buying power, which means they are underfunded and this should be remedied without being held hostage to accept vouchers.
Which of the following statements comes closest to your position on funding TRS?
TRS is underfunded. The state needs to increase contribution so that Cost of Living Allowances and other needed functions can be implemented.
Please feel free to elaborate on your position in regards to TRS funding as you see fit.
The legislature was finally able to implement a small cost of living raise for retired teachers last session. While this is welcomed and the right thing to do, we should put TRS on a path of solvency which will allow for additional COLAs in the future. As the state dismantles public schools in favor of private schools, this will further endanger TRS because we will have fewer active employees paying into the system which supports current retirees.
Please add any further information you believe to be pertinent. Thank you for participating!
I believe we stand at pivotal moment for public education in Texas. Without support of pro-public education legislators at the polls in 2024, this election will be the tipping point for public education. This could likely be the most consequential election for public education in Texas since the days of Mark White.
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