One interesting part of my job is keeping up with the Texas Legislature. As a former social studies teacher, i approach this with a love of the process and a constant desire to truly understand it! It is important for me to keep up with the legislature since they are discussing
During the last legislative session in 2013, one of the biggest legislative pieces was HB 5, which lowered the number of required end of course exams from 12 to 5. In addition, it created alternate graduation paths to high school that allowed students to truly discover a field they love.
During the 2011 Legislative session, billions of dollars were cut from education funding, which forced many districts (including jarrell) to cut positions and reduce expenditures at the cost of the students education. eventually, this lead to the current School Finance lawsuit which is currently before the texas Supreme Court.
See, what our state legislature does impacts you and your children, but most of us do not pay attention. I admit I did not pay as much attention as i should have when I was a teacher, a coach, and even an assistant principal. I did not really start paying attention until I was a high school principal now it is imperative that I keep up with bills, committees, and such. I try to keep our senator and representative informed as to how possible legislation will affect JISD.
There is a variety of education legislation coming out of the Capital this session. We are seeing an emphasis on Pre-K funding, we see a push to reduce or modify testing at the 3-8 level, reducing or modifying the number of standards being taught at each grade level, and the possibility of a change to the funding system due to the school finance lawsuit.
Please feel free to contact our Senator and Representative. The Senator representing Jarrell ISD residents is Senator Charles Schwertner from District 5. His einformation can be found on his webpage at http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist5/dist5.htm. His email is [email protected]. Our Representative represents District 20 and is Rep. Marsha Farney. Her website can be found at http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/member-page/?district=20 and her email is [email protected].
Feel free to contact them if you have questions or concerns regarding bills or legislation.
Other groups with a educational political presence that you might be interested in are Raise Your Hand Texas, which is a non profit group whose purpose is to strengthen public education in Texas. Their web site can be found at http://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/. Another strong group is TAMSA or Texans Advocating Meaningful Student Assessment. They are often referred to as Mothers Against Drunk Testing. They are the biggest reason that HB 5 was passed in 2013. They are focused on other testing changes this session. Their website is http://www.tamsatx.org/. Please feel free to visit their sites and educate yourself more on the current legislative push.
I tell you all of this because although I am in contact with our representatives, and I go testify at the hearings, our elected officials want to hear from you: our parents, our students, our taxpayer, our constituents. Educate yourself and help your child and JISD.
If you want more information on how to get more information, or how/what you can do or say, please feel free to contact me. Email is best at [email protected], but you can always call me at the JISD Admin Office at 512-746-2124.
things right now that will impact JISD, our students, and our communities for the next 20 years. You see, most of the rules and regulations that guide JISD are made by the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. During the last legislative session in 2013, one of the biggest legislative pieces was HB 5, which lowered the number of required end of course exams from 12 to 5. In addition, it created alternate graduation paths to high school that allowed students to truly discover a field they love.
During the 2011 Legislative session, billions of dollars were cut from education funding, which forced many districts (including jarrell) to cut positions and reduce expenditures at the cost of the students education. eventually, this lead to the current School Finance lawsuit which is currently before the texas Supreme Court.
See, what our state legislature does impacts you and your children, but most of us do not pay attention. I admit I did not pay as much attention as i should have when I was a teacher, a coach, and even an assistant principal. I did not really start paying attention until I was a high school principal now it is imperative that I keep up with bills, committees, and such. I try to keep our senator and representative informed as to how possible legislation will affect JISD.
There is a variety of education legislation coming out of the Capital this session. We are seeing an emphasis on Pre-K funding, we see a push to reduce or modify testing at the 3-8 level, reducing or modifying the number of standards being taught at each grade level, and the possibility of a change to the funding system due to the school finance lawsuit.
Please feel free to contact our Senator and Representative. The Senator representing Jarrell ISD residents is Senator Charles Schwertner from District 5. His einformation can be found on his webpage at http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist5/dist5.htm. His email is [email protected]. Our Representative represents District 20 and is Rep. Marsha Farney. Her website can be found at http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/member-page/?district=20 and her email is [email protected].
Feel free to contact them if you have questions or concerns regarding bills or legislation.
Other groups with a educational political presence that you might be interested in are Raise Your Hand Texas, which is a non profit group whose purpose is to strengthen public education in Texas. Their web site can be found at http://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/. Another strong group is TAMSA or Texans Advocating Meaningful Student Assessment. They are often referred to as Mothers Against Drunk Testing. They are the biggest reason that HB 5 was passed in 2013. They are focused on other testing changes this session. Their website is http://www.tamsatx.org/. Please feel free to visit their sites and educate yourself more on the current legislative push.
I tell you all of this because although I am in contact with our representatives, and I go testify at the hearings, our elected officials want to hear from you: our parents, our students, our taxpayer, our constituents. Educate yourself and help your child and JISD.
If you want more information on how to get more information, or how/what you can do or say, please feel free to contact me. Email is best at [email protected], but you can always call me at the JISD Admin Office at 512-746-2124.