Hurd Joins Colleagues to Recognize School Employees

by Will Hurd on February 28, 2019 at 1:50 PM

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 bus drivers, secretaries and school nurses who keep our schools running.

Our school support staff are invaluable to the daily operations of our schools and to the success of our students and educators. These staff are not recognized enough for their important work, which is why I was glad to support this bipartisan bill in the House today. I have no doubt employees at our TX-23 schools are among the best in the nation and look forward to them receiving this RISE award one day.

“Recognition for the thousands of classified employees who work in schools across our nation is long overdue. Whether it's the bus driver who helps every child have a positive start to the day to the secretary who notices the parent struggling with family issues to the paraprofessional who bonds with students needing a little extra; communities should celebrate these individuals contributions to our students and schools,” said Mark Terry, Deputy Executive Director, Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA).

“Paraprofessionals play very important roles in our children’s education. They include, among many others, the bus drivers who get them to and from school safely, the cafeteria workers who feed them nutritious meals, and the custodians who make sure their classrooms and campuses are clean and safe. All paraprofessionals provide every day the services and resources students need to be successful. We applaud Congressman Will Hurd for voting for the Recognizing Achievement in Classified School Employees Act (H.R. 276). His vote validates all the hard work that Education Support Professionals do,” said Linda Estrada, Texas Director, National Education Association.

H.R. 276 creates the Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) award program similar to the National Teacher of the Year Award within the U.S. Department of Education to celebrate the dedicated work of classified school employees who support the education of students in pre-k through high school. Each year, one classified employee would be chosen from the following categories: