Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

The current COVID-19 health crisis is a complex challenge for Texas education--School closures have forced students, teachers, and parents to find new ways to learn. The virus also has exposed inequities in learning by magnifying the "digital divide" in virtual classrooms.

As a former educator and member of the Senate Education and Higher Education Committees, Senator Zaffirini is prioritizing addressing these challenges during this crisis. Specifically, she strongly supports expanded internet broadband, free meals for low-income students, increased childcare options for parents, and universal pre-kindergarten programs for a firm educational foundation.

An advocate for parents and teachers in the challenging "new normal" educational environment, the senator applauds the many emerging innovations from virtual classrooms and chatrooms to parental supervision of home study. She also knows that technology is no substitute for excellent teaching. That is why she supports full funding of teachers' salaries, retirement benefits, and ongoing training programs. She has long opposed voucher and for-profit charter school schemes that drain taxpayer dollars from public education.

Senator Zaffirini is a longtime champion for Texas colleges and universities because she understands that rebuilding the Texas economy will require a highly trained workforce with more than a high school education. Her strategies for reducing the costly burdens of higher education include accelerating the expansion of tuition-free universities and discounting burdensome student loans.

Senator Zaffirini has long enjoyed a working partnership with Texas parents, school superintendents, and teachers in furtherance of public education. A supporter of groups such as Raise Your Hand Texas and Pastors for Texas Kids, she looks forward to working with these and other groups from Senate District 21 in the next legislative session.

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