Education
“You can’t grow your economy if you don’t have an educated workforce.” – Those words from Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick could not be more true. Texas is leading the way with bold, conservative education reform that ditches the idea of “college for all” and instead gives students and their parents multiple pathways to a career. Teachers, administrators and students must be held accountable for competent performance. The system should be free from undue bias, which can distort students' perspectives on the world they must interact with to be competitive in a global market.
March 7th, 2019
The Senate is proposing $5,000 raises for each teacher and librarian. The House is calling for raising minimum salaries and increasing benefits.
February 28th, 2019
I proudly joined my colleagues this week to support the Recognizing Achievement in Classified School Employees Act (H.R. 276), which creates an award program for the contributions of school support staff, such as...
February 12th, 2019
Educational opportunities are not limited just to what kids learn in the classroom. Services such as counseling, mentorship, tutoring and financial assistance are equally vital to ensuring students’ success.
January 30th, 2019
Good old Twitter. Whenever I’m unsure what to write about, a fellow like this comes along:
January 15th, 2019
Under its new Speaker Dennis Bonnen, the Texas House of Representatives is looking to increase the state’s public education funding by $10.1 billion, according to the legislative budget estimates it released t
November 20th, 2018
The Service Academy Nominations Board I established in 2013 held its annual meeting to review applications and recommend the most qualified Texas candidates for nomination to our nation’s distinguished service academies....
September 21st, 2018
Since 1990, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has discovered approximately 200 sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnels crossing from Mexico directly into the United States.
September 18th, 2018
I issued the following statement regarding the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) Social Studies TEKS Streamlining Work Group’s proposal to no longer include Alamo Commander, Lt. Col. William B.
September 7th, 2018
On Wednesday, as Chairman of the House Rules Committee, I voted in support of H.R. 1635, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act. After the passage of the bill, I released the following statement...
August 28th, 2018
Yep, you read that right. It's back to school time, people! To help you get prepared, I thought I'd help you to bone up on your rights as a parent.
March 6th, 2019
Eighteen-year-old Ethan Lindenberger appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Tuesday to talk about how he decided to get vaccinated against the wishes of his mother, who is anti-...
February 20th, 2019
I joined Reps. Jim Langevin (RI-02) and Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) to introduce a bipartisan bill to improve the education of English learners (ELs) enrolled in pre-kindergarten, elementary and secondary school programs.
February 1st, 2019
Today, U.S. Representative Susan Davis (CA-49) and I introduced a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the grant program Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), continuing my efforts to...
January 23rd, 2019
In conjunction with National School Choice Week, Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and I introduced the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Individuals and Communities Through Education Act (CHOICE Act).
December 11th, 2018
In October, the esteemed 2018 Nobel Prize winners were announced from Stockholm, Sweden. In accordance with Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel’s will, the Nobel Prize celebrates those who “have conferred the greatest benefit to...
October 31st, 2018
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and I penned an op-ed for the Dallas Morning News highlighting their bipartisan Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act.
September 19th, 2018
I have been recognized as a “Hero of Main Street” by the National Retail Federation for consistently supporting public policy priorities important to the retail industry and its millions of small businesses.
September 12th, 2018
Nationwide, Americans owe more than $1.45 trillion in student loan debt, outpacing credit cards and auto loans as the leading source of non-housing debt. It is a disservice to our students to not provide clear guidance on...
September 4th, 2018
It would seem that a good deal of people still don’t know what’s going on in this country. And it would seem that the three primary reasons for this situation are: ignorance, apathy, and propaganda. You either don...
August 23rd, 2018
Millennials are almost too easy to make fun of: with the safe spaces, the microaggressions, the socialism, the overall cluelessness, the inability to understand people with a different point of view (who are dismissed with...