Incumbent District 52, running for HD 50 due to redistricting. Member, PubEd Committee. Named Texas PTA Champion for Children in 2021. Wrote letter to Governor/TEA asking for STAAR to be postponed for the 2020-2021 school year. Sponsored: SB2081 (Relating to class size limits for prekindergarten classes provided by or on behalf of public schools).Authored: HB1080 (Eligibility for UIL participation for students receiving mental health services.) Co-Authored: HB2120 (relating to school district hearings regarding complaints). Authored: HB2230 (Incorporating fine arts into the foundation curriculum). Authored: 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). Co-Authored: HB2554 (related to the operation by a school district of a vocational education program to provide eligible high school students with vocational and educational training under a graduation plan and the application of certain student-based allotments under the public school finance system). Authored: HB332 (Use of the compensatory education allotment for programs that build certain social/emotional skills). Authored: HB3889 (Relating to the cost for certain public school students of a broadband Internet access program offered by the Texas Education Agency). Authored: HB41 (Relating to class size limits for prekindergarten classes provided by or on behalf of public schools). Authored: HB517 (Relating to a school district policy regarding custodian workloads). Co-authored: HB764 (Reducing STAAR testing for public school students). 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 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 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 yes - 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 no - 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 - 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). 2022 Survey Responses: WHAT IS BROKEN? Texas has failed year after year to adequately fund its school districts, leaving local property taxpayers to pick up the tab, and forcing districts to slash funding for everything from arts programs to teacher benefits to a bare minimum. This is why crafting HB 3, and fixing our broken school finance system was my top priority of the 86th Legislative Session. HB 3 was a historic first step but it is just that: a first step. Every session should be a school finance session, and we must continue working to provide a sustainable revenue stream for our public education system. I support more robust benefit plans and pay increases for teachers, supporting our retired teachers, better instructional offerings, and expanded extracurricular programs. Lastly, my work at the Legislature has been primarily focused on creating a more humane education system. A system that treats children as human beings first and students second. I?ve passed major legislation to fund social-emotional learning programs, improve early childhood education, and disrupt the school to prison pipeline. If our system is broken, it?s broken because it fails to serve the whole child. PRIORITIES: I want to build on the work I?ve done in my first two terms which includes focusing on universal full-day early childhood education, promoting restorative justice practices in schools, and expanding (historically-accurate) civics education in our state. FUNDING: While HB 3 was historic school finance legislation, there is much work still left to do including finding sustainable revenue streams to ensure we keep the long-term promises we made in HB 3 to properly fund public education. Simply relying on a high-performing economy to properly educate our students and support our educators is irresponsible ? especially so in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. School funding should continue to increase, and the state?s contribution to education should increase accordingly as well. FINDING THE MONEY: I believe we must close tax loopholes that allow commercial property owners to unfairly reduce their taxes, passing the responsibility of funding our schools to residential property owners. I was proud to have authored legislation in the 86th session that would have required the sales price disclosure for commercial properties. This would have been a crucial step forward to securing necessary long-term revenue streams for education. VOUCHERS/CHARTERS: I have never and will never support using public money for private education. Public funds should only be used for public schools. EVALUATING PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Any efforts to evaluate public schools must be holistic, rather than based on high-stakes exams, and avoid punishing schools with fewer resources. Instead of being shamed, schools that are evaluated as lower performing should be flooded with additional resources, and provided the additional help they need to support their students and teachers. IGCs: I supported HB 999 to use individual graduation committees for certain high school students both in committee and on the House Floor. I would support ending the sunset date for these committees. A-F CAMPUS EVALUATION: I believe the A-F accountability system punishes schools with fewer resources, and particularly lower-income and majority-minority schools. Instead of shaming schools, we should flood struggling schools with additional resources. ATTRACTING/RETAINING TEACHERS: During the 87th legislative session, I filed a bill to increase all teacher salaries to $70,000. Nationally, teachers make 20% less than other college-educated workers with similar experience. In Texas, teacher salaries are $5,700 behind the national average. When I was a public school teacher, I saw many of my colleagues taking second or third jobs just to be able to afford to live ? that is no way to attract and retain the best talent in our schools. Additionally, skyrocketing healthcare costs have made it a lot more expensive to be a teacher. Regarding health insurance, we need to ensure the recent changes to TRS-Care will not result in denied care. Given the Legislature?s inability to address the entire $1 billion shortfall facing TRS-Care, our retirees will face higher premiums and benefit reductions if the state does nothing. COLAs: I believe that teachers? benefits need to keep pace with inflation and rising premiums. The 13th check was a step in the right direction but didn?t solve the very real problems our educators face. Texas has long neglected its duty in funding its benefits programs, failing year after year to meet its obligations to state employees. I believe we should continuously re-evaluate retired teachers? benefits each session to determine when cost of living adjustments should be made. TRS CARE: Rather than continuing to rely on funding stopgaps each biennium, I would support a permanent solution to the funding formula for TRS-Care ? including increasing the percentage amount applied to the state payroll to align insurance costs to actual health care costs. TRS RETIREMENT: I support traditional defined benefit pension plans. While contribution plans may be cheaper, they shift the burden of retirement savings to teachers, rather than the state, and put our educators? futures at risk. After a teacher dedicates their entire life to empowering the next generation, they deserve to have a secure retirement, and that?s achievable only through defined benefits plans. As a state legislator, I will continue to fight to protect retirees? pensions and health care. REPRESENTING ALL CONSTITUENTS: My team tracks all input from constituents, logging their policy positions in our database, and responding to their messages. We sincerely appreciate each time a constituent reaches out to us, and do our best to provide them the information they need on issues important to them. This is an essential feedback loop that allows me to gauge the priorities of my constituents. That being said, there are some issues that I will not compromise on. Foundational issues like protecting our democracy, ensuring Texans all have access to their own healthcare decisions, and recognizing the identities of all Texans are principles that I am committed to, no matter what. RESOURCES FOR INFORMATION ABOUT PUBLIC EDUCATION: I grew up in the district I?m running in, attending our public elementary, middle, and high schools. While in office, I have committed to touring each school in my district, meeting with teachers, administrators, and students, and sitting in on classes. I have already begun touring schools under the new district lines, including my alma mater ? Wells Branch Elementary. Should I be re-elected, I plan to continue visiting each school in HD 50. I?m also honored to work alongside education advocates and teacher unions to ensure I am gaining complete and accurate information about Texas?s public schools. OTHER COMMENTS: As a former teacher, I?m deeply committed to ensuring educational equity for our kids and educators. Particularly now, as we confront the economic and public health crisis of COVID-19, we will need to protect the commitment we made to our schools and educators for additional funding and support through HB 3, the first major overhaul in our state?s school finance system since I was born. While HB 3 was a big step towards quality school finance reform, the work is not done. How our state will keep students and educators safe and healthy in the upcoming school years and meet every child?s educational needs are challenges we will need to face in the upcoming session and I?m committed to doing all I can to continue improving our education system for ALL students. Information: first elected to the Texas House in 2018. Former public middle school teacher. Master's in Ed Policy from Harvard. FUNDING: would substantially increase and fix formulas. We need to simplify the finance system. Would support an amendment proposed by Donna Howard to the state constitution that would ensure the state never falls below 50% of funding for public ed. PRIORITIES: immediately fixing school finance, stop kicking the can down the road, and also getting out of the way of our expert teachers, treating them like professionals, and allowing them to do their jobs. This is the only profession where this happens and it's not right. CHOICE/VOUCHERS: vigorously opposed to vouchers, feel it is insidious, dangerous policy and undermines civil rights. The only reason privates/charters can be shown to have "better" outcomes is because they are able to self select their student population, and remove students who do not perform. This leaves those students with no choice but public schools and with funding stripped away. CLASS SIZE: hard caps, no waivers, ratio is what is important. Classes with 40 kids can't get the instruction they deserve - this is at ALL levels. TESTING/ACCOUNTABILITY: Does not support the current system. Assessment of some sort is fine, but the current test is ineffective, a disaster, and doesn't help drive instruction. The point of testing should be to get data to drive instruction,and it makes no sense to take a test the teachers have not seen, and get results after kids are gone. This does not inform instruction. Testing should not determine graduation - should inform decisions, but not be the final factor. Students should be judged holisticly. Teachers should not be evaluated based on test scores. The current system is punitive and unfair. There should be a local system designed with educator input to evaluate teachers holisticly based on overall performance. Testing should be integrated seamlessly into our instruction to drive data. It should not be punitive. SALARIES: raise salaries and quit playing political stunts with teachers' livelihood. We need to look to other systems around the world. They pay their teachers as professionals, 60-70000 a year and the chance to make 6 figures with experience. If you're good you should be rewarded and given opportunity to advance. The current system locks teachers in and that is unfair. We would finance this by stopping funding of federal issues such as immigration/border security, and closing the commerical tax loophole. It's estimated that would be up to $5 billion in additional revenue. HEALTH CARE: promises made are sacred and should be kept. We need to find sustainable sources of income to fund better health care. TRS: keep defined benefit and do more to fully fund it. Against privatization of any kind. PAYROLL DEDUCTION: allow people to make their own choices, this is a blatant power grab. 2019 session: Member, PubEd committee. Co-authored legislation: HB239 - Relating to social work services in public schools. Co-sponsor HB455 - relating to policies on the recess period in public schools.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. 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.
See Tik Tok for tons of videos supporting Education
Strengthen Public Schools
I?m a former public school teacher. I taught 45 kids in one classroom, in a school so underfunded we didn?t have enough chairs for all the kids. Changing the education system to help students like mine is what inspired me to run for office in 2018.
I?ve passed sweeping legislation to reform the school finance system, place the first-ever cap on pre-K class sizes in Texas, improve early childhood education across the state, fund mental health care in schools, and require all incarcerated minors in Texas be given the opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma.
Most of my legislation at the Capitol is designed to create a more humane education system?one that treats children as human beings first and students second. That?s why I?ve championed mental health services in schools, scientifically-acurate sex education, restorative justice practices, arts education, wrap-around services, civics education, social-emotional learning, and universal full-day early childhood education.
Healthy students need healthy teachers. That?s why I introduced legislation $15,000 across-the-board teacher pay raise with a 25% raise for school support staff. I also support robust benefit plans and pay raises for other school staff, as well as honoring our commitments to retired teachers.
We must continue working to provide a sustainable revenue stream for our public education system. I believe we must close tax loopholes that allow commercial property owners to unfairly reduce their taxes, passing the responsibility of funding our schools to residential property owners.
From silencing teachers to banning books, our schools are the latest target in the Republican culture wars. But the lesson I took from the classroom to the Capitol remains the same: progress happens when we put kids over politics.
School
Finance
Reform
As a member of the House Public Education Committee, I helped pass the most significant school finance bill our state has seen in decades, dedicating billions of additional dollars for our schools and providing much-needed property tax relief. In the face of a historic student mental health crisis, we also opened up millions of dollars for student mental health and character education programs.
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)
Sponsored HB 1548 increase wages with $1,500 + ups salary scale + increase funding for the district by 15k per every teacher, librarian, counselor and nurse to be used for wage increases (died in committee)
Voted FOR the Herrero amendment to prohibit money from HB1 to be used to fund vouchers/ESAs (regular session 2023)
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.
As a former public middle school teacher, I know the danger of private school voucher scams firsthand. In the states that have tried them, voucher scams usually only benefit wealthy kids already in private schools. I was proud to help lead the fight against voucher scams over the past year ? rallying the pro-public education majority in the Texas House to stop the Governor's top legislative priority. I'm committed to keeping this coalition united in any future efforts to pass a voucher scam.
Which of the following statements comes closest to your position on charter schools?
Charters are necessary in some areas, but strict oversight needs to be taken to monitor them.
Please feel free to elaborate on your position in regards to charters as you see fit.
I believe there is a role for high-quality nonprofit public charter schools in our education system. Initially, the charter school system was created to support traditional public schools as laboratories of innovation to test different pedagogies and identify best practices that could be implemented at scale in traditional public schools. Unfortunately, that?s not the system we have now, but the system I believe we should return to. Therefore, my primary concern is not with the number of public charter schools, but with the quality of public charter schools and their utility to our traditional public education system. I strongly support efforts to level the playing field between public charter schools and traditional public schools as well as legislation to encourage productive collaboration between these two systems.
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.
I have made raising teacher pay one of my priorities. I was proud to file House Bill 1548 to give every teacher in Texas a $15,000 pay raise and all school support staff a 25% pay raise by funding a separate allotment ? ensuring the funds go directly to employees. Governor Abbott's cynical ploy to withhold school funding in an attempt to pass his voucher scam is immoral and unconscionable. Texas should go big on teacher pay and increase the basic allotment immediately.
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.
It is simply unfair and unjust to continue providing retirees the same level of benefits when the cost of living is skyrocketing. That is no way to thank public employees for their many years of service to the state. Texas teachers are already underpaid ? the least we can do is support them through adequate pensions and health care.
Please add any further information you believe to be pertinent. Thank you for participating!
I?m a former public school teacher. I taught 45 kids in one classroom, in a school so underfunded we didn?t have enough chairs for all the kids. Changing the education system to help students like mine is what inspired me to run for office in 2018.
I?ve passed sweeping legislation to reform the school finance system, place the first-ever cap on pre-K class sizes in Texas, improve early childhood education across the state, fund mental health care in schools, and require all incarcerated minors in Texas be given the opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma.
Most of my legislation at the Capitol is designed to create a more humane education system?one that treats children as human beings first and students second. That?s why I?ve championed mental health services in schools, scientifically-accurate sex education, restorative justice practices, arts education, wrap-around services, civics education, social-emotional learning, and universal full-day early childhood education.
Powered by: DaDaBIK, the Low-code Development Platform
