"Signed the ""hold harmless"" letter sent to TEA to encourage them to extend the hold harmless for the entire 2020-2021 school year due to COVID. Wrote letter to Governor/TEA asking for STAAR to be postponed for the 2020-2021 school year. Co-Authored: HB2344 (Use of a writing portfolio to assess writing performance). Authored: HB3258 (Training requirements for a member of the board of trustees and the superintendent regarding cultural competence and implicit bias). Authored: HB3485 (Relating to information reported through PEIMS and to parents regarding disciplinary measures used by a school district). Co-authored: HB764 (Reducing STAAR testing for public school students). Voted yes - HB1080 (participation in UIL for students who receive mental health services). Voted yes - 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 no - 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 no - 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 - 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 no - HB4509 (Relating to instruction on informed American patriotism in public schools and study of the Founding documents of Texas and the United States). Voted no - 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). Voted yes - 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 yes - 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 - 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 no - 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 no - 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 no - HB25 (Relating to requiring public school students to compete in interscholastic athletic competitions based on biological sex). Survey responses: WHAT IS BROKEN? The funding system is broken, despite the fact we made improvements to funding formulas in the 86th Legislative Session. Recently I learned TEA had a ?surplus? of $5 billion sent to Texas during the pandemic to help schools recover, but instead the money was used for other purposes. Upon digging further, my staff found this wasn?t something that happened only during the pandemic. At the end of the 2016-2017 biennium, the Texas Education Agency returned nearly $500 million in surplus. In the next cycle, the agency returned over $900 million. Next session I will file a bill to ensure ?surplus? dollars are distributed to schools and not swept into the general fund. I am also in favor of the state sharing equally in the cost of education, meaning the state would pay 50% along with the ISDs paying 50%. Finally, I believe there should be an automatic increase in per pupil funding to keep up with the cost of inflation. Besides addressing funding, we need to allow schools to follow the TEKS and not try to micromanage lessons, such as was done with the so-called CRT bills this year. Legislators should not be asking for an inventory of library books or asking for books to be removed, since there is already an established process for our school libraries. Finally, we need to put less emphasis in teaching students how to master the STAAR test, and more emphasis on critical thinking, problem solving and life skills. PRIORITIES: 1) Ensure we are providing an environment that encourages people to enter the teaching profession: good pay and benefits, respect for the work teachers do, and less paperwork and administrative tasks that don?t add value to students? education. 2) Ensure both teachers and students are getting the support they need to lead healthy lives, including access to mental health counseling when needed. 3) Reduce the amount of high stakes test taking and test preparation. FUNDING: In order to provide a competitive salary for our teachers, and to have better student-to-teacher ratios, we need to increase funding. One issue we are facing as a state is the immense increase in the number of charter schools locating close to traditional public schools causing a decrease in enrollment in districts like Austin. With the reduction in enrollment comes a reduction in funding, which can be problematic if the district doesn?t have the necessary time to address the shortfall. There is also a disparity in how the two types of schools are funded that should be addressed. FINDING THE MONEY: Finding the money is really a matter of prioritizing. We are spending $3 billion on the southern border this biennium, and we are getting very little benefit from that money. Operation Lone Star has been mired in controversy, and yet we are spending precious resources on the operation. Most of that money would be better spent investing in our children?s education, including early childhood development. VOUCHERS/CHARTERS: I am not in favor of using public funds/tax dollars on private schools in any form. We currently have a vast system of charter schools ballooning out of control. I filed a bill last session to put some controls in place, but the Chairman of the Public Education Committee would not allow the bills to be heard. EVALUATING SCHOOLS: This is a complex issue since there are many variables that can be weighed to determine what is going well or what is not working in a school. For a high school, the number of students graduating, going on to college, completing college-equivalent courses, scoring well on SAT/ACTs, going on to trade school, etc. can all be indicators of success. I don?t believe a standardized test like the STAAR test gives us the full picture when students are never going to be standardized ? students have different strengths and weaknesses. I?d much rather see a matrix approach to evaluating schools, and allowing the schools themselves to help set up the matrix of what they believe shows they and their students are ?successful.? IGCs: I am not familiar enough with the IGC committees to share an opinion. A-F CAMPUS EVALUATION: The A-F rating system often has more to do with the wealth of the community than the efforts of the teachers and students. Families that can spend more time and money helping their children with tutors or just by supplementing their education at home will produce better students generally, and overall will have a positive impact on the test scores on high stakes tests, which then results in a higher grade for the school. ATTRACTING/RETAINING TEACHERS: Teacher salaries and benefits need to be commensurate with other professional jobs in the area to attract and retain excellent teachers. This gets back to prioritizing and ensuring we are adequately funding and investing in our schools. COLAs: I think that depends in part on how much the cost of living is going up. I hear the health insurance plan costs have gone up significantly, which impacts retired teachers? ability to maintain their standard of living. It makes sense to set a ?trigger? that automatically causes retired teachers to get a cost of living increase rather than leaving it up to legislators. TRS CARE: The cost of health insurance is an issue that certainly needs to be addressed, and not just for retired teachers. It is a very complex issue. One solution which has been used is to appropriate some of our Rainy Day Funds to bolster TRS-Care. I am in favor of doing that as needed. TRS RETIREMENT: I am in favor of keeping TRS as a defined benefit plan. Teachers don?t have the time or expertise to ?manage? a retirement fund, and by having it managed as a group, there are cost savings and benefits. REPRESENTING ALL CONSTITUENTS: I host regular events to ensure I am accessible to my constituents so they can provide feedback on issues important to them. I meet with constituents and organizations whether we share the same party affiliation or not. RESOURCES FOR INFO ON PUBLIC EDUCATION: There are many organizations my staff and I turn to for information about public schools: Raise Your Hand Texas, TEA, School Boards and SBOE, and many others. We also turn to parents and community members, Superintendents, teachers and other stakeholders. OTHER COMMENTS: I am against the idea of the state taking over a ?failing? school district. I believe in local control, and the community working to find a solution, not the state coming along and taking over.
" "Information: real estate agent, first elected to the Texas House in 2018. Stated the TX Constitution Article 7 on website. ""Ensure the investment we make into public education serves all our children and provides a reasonable salary for our teachers. Keep public dollars in public schools, and not send those dollars into private or parochial schools through vouchers or education savings accounts. Fix the school finance formula to include both a cost-of-living and an inflation index. Ensure the state provides a minimum of 50% of the school funding so local school districts are not forced to increase local property taxes to make up the difference. Respect the value and expertise of our teachers by funding reasonable class sizes, paying competitive salaries, and providing professional development opportunities. End high-pressure, high-stakes tests for students, as well as the school grading system criticized by professional educators.
Include enrichment activities in the curriculum to develop a child?s full potential. Support adequate funding to our public institutions of higher education. 2019 session: Co-authored legislation: HB3 - Relating to public school finance and public education.Co-sponsored legislation: SB12 (state contribution to TRS). 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. From website: ""The 86th Legislature passed monumental school finance reform, in great part as a result of the 2018 elections and the voices of many teachers, parents, and school officials expressing the need to better fund our public schools. Here are highlights from HB 3, the school finance bill:
Increases the basic allotment, per student funding, from $5,140 to $6,160.
Guarantees pay raises for teachers and other school employees. Schools must spend at least 30% of the increase in basic allotment on raises.
Provides for full-day Pre-K for all 4-year-old students who qualify. This is no longer a grant program for part-day Pre-K, but is incorporated into the funding formula.
Decreases property tax rates - $.08 the first year and $.13 the second year. In other words, if a district?s tax rate was the maximum $1.17/$1000 valuation previously, it will go to $1.09/$1000 valuation in 2019 and $1.04/$1000 valuation in 2020.
No voucher program was debated or passed.
While this was a great achievement, it was merely a step forward, with more work to be done in the next Legislative Session. Here are suggestions going forward: A more sustainable source of revenue, or a variety of sources, would allow for continued investment in our children even during an economic downturn. Even with the raises, Texas teacher compensation will still be below the national average. Continuing to raise teacher pay will ensure we have the best and brightest teaching our next generation. Full-day Pre-K could be extended to 3-year-olds. More resources for special education are needed. I was a part of the House Democratic Caucus Special Committee on Public Education in the 86th Session, and I plan to continue to work on public education issues in the 87th Legislative Session."""
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Too many teachers are leaving the profession, and too few college students are choosing to go into teaching. Low pay, excessive paperwork, constant testing and safety concerns are some of the factors causing teachers to leave. School districts are struggling to give necessary raises since the Legislature has not taken inflation into account in the funding formulas.
Vikki?s Priorities:
Ensure the basic allotment reflects the rising costs of providing education by accounting for inflation. To retain teachers and substitutes, additional funding is needed to provide raises to compete with private sector jobs.
Require TEA to stop labeling education dollars as ?surplus? which allows the state to absorb money intended for our schools into other budget items.
This session the Legislature voted to provide a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for our retired teachers, once approved by voters in November. Legislators were not able to pass a bill to increase the basic allotment as it was tied to a voucher scheme that would send public tax dollars to private 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 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.
Tax dollars are meant to support our public education system, so taking any tax dollars away and sending them to private schools goes against our constitution. We underfund our public schools as it is, so sending dollars to private schools makes a bad situation worse. With additional dollars our schools could reduce class sizes, hire educators with higher education and provide additional training with compensation, provide mental health services as needed, and much more.
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.
Charters were intended to be small schools of innovation that shared ideas that worked with traditional public schools. That didn't happen, and instead charters have grown to become competition for traditional public schools, creating tension and competition for funding.
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.
Just to keep up with inflation, we need to increase the basic allotment by about $1000 per student. To ensure we meet requirements for special education, we need to increase the formulas appropriately.
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.
Our retired teachers deserve to be able to count on an income that will sustain them through their retirement years.
Please add any further information you believe to be pertinent. Thank you for participating!
Thank you to all the teachers who remain in the classroom as paperwork requirements increase, stress levels increase, and pay doesn't keep up with inflation and housing costs.
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