Public Education

My education policy focuses on strengthening the public schools that serve our communities, supporting educators, giving students more paths to succeed, and making sure state mandates are fully funded.

Fully Fund Our Public Schools

Texas should provide adequate, predictable funding for the public schools that educate the overwhelming majority of our children. That includes fully funding special education, school safety, transportation, classroom instruction, student support, and the operating costs schools must meet every day, especially in rural districts with smaller tax bases.

Special-education funding should reflect the actual cost of providing legally required services rather than leaving districts to absorb the difference.

Keep Public Education Dollars in Public Schools

I oppose expanding vouchers and education savings accounts and would wind down the current program responsibly. Families remain free to choose private schools or homeschool. My disagreement is with using taxpayer dollars to subsidize private education while public-school obligations remain underfunded.

I would not pull funding away from a child in the middle of an academic year after the state approved an award and a family relied on it. Existing awards should continue through the current academic year, but I would oppose expansion or automatic renewal and redirect future appropriations to public education.

There is an important distinction for students with disabilities. If a child's IEP team determines that the public system cannot provide the services the child is legally entitled to receive, I support an appropriate private placement at public expense. That is an individualized special-education obligation, not a universal voucher.

Recruit, Keep, and Support Good Educators

Texas needs competitive, sustainable compensation for teachers and school employees, along with policies that help districts recruit and keep experienced educators. I support protecting the Teacher Retirement System as a defined-benefit pension and strengthening inflation protection for retirees.

Reduce the Outsized Role of STAAR

Statewide assessment can provide useful information, but a single test should not dominate how students, teachers, or schools are judged. I support using multiple measures of progress and performance, with testing as one tool rather than the entire definition of success.

Invest Early and Intervene When Students Need Help

Supporting public education does not mean defending failure. When a campus is struggling, the answer should be to identify what is going wrong and intervene early.

• Independent review of leadership, instruction, staffing, attendance, discipline, and spending.

• Evidence-based curriculum and targeted tutoring.

• Early literacy and math intervention.

• Stronger special-education and behavioral supports.

• Clear, measurable academic goals and public progress reports.

• Leadership changes or stronger intervention when a school repeatedly fails to improve.

Expand Career, Technical, Agricultural, and Workforce Pathways

Not every successful student follows the same path. Texas should expand career and technical education, agricultural programs, workforce credentials, apprenticeships, and other pathways that connect students to skilled careers and further education. Rural students should have meaningful access to those opportunities too.

Protect Rural Schools

Rural districts face long transportation routes, smaller enrollment, fewer nearby providers and programs, and limited tax bases. State formulas and programs should recognize those realities so rural students are not penalized simply because of where they live.

Bottom line: Fully fund public schools. Support teachers and retirees. Reduce overreliance on STAAR. Expand student pathways. Protect rural schools. Keep public education dollars focused on public education.