Texas Legislative session: Leander ISD lays out list of priorities
LEANDER, Texas - Like many school districts across the state, Leander Independent School District has a list of priorities it hopes is addressed during the 89th Texas Legislative session which just got underway.
The backstory:
Like many school districts across the state, Leander ISD superintendent Bruce Gearing says, funding is a major priority this session to help fund special education and educator pay raises.
The district's list of priorities this legislative session includes empowered student learning, educator salaries and retention, impactful family engagement, voucher opposition, funding from the state, and school safety and mental health support.
Gearing says when talking about mental health, it ties in with safety and security.
The Leander ISD Police Department is making sure that its has special units and special training to make sure all officers and personnel are trained in responding to mental health crises across the district.
What they're saying:
"We accomplish that goal through taking care of the children that are sitting in our public schools right now. And more than 5.5 million of them across the state. And the easiest way to do that is to adequately fund the mechanism that we have in place to take care of those students and prepare them for anything for the future. And that is our public schools. So let's just go get that done," says Gearing.
By the numbers:
Last school year the district spent nearly $40 million beyond what it received from the state for special education services.
Gearing hopes by getting more funding from the state it will free up some dollars to spend in the district's general fund, like teacher salaries.
Dig deeper:
The 89th Texas Legislative Session is now underway. With new leadership roles in place, lawmakers are focusing on which bills to start moving forward.
On the first day of the legislative session, the Texas House elected a new speaker, Rep. Dustin Burrows.
Key issues up for debate include:
Some issues carry over from the last legislative session, like school choice which was left in limbo after lawmakers were unable to pass a priority for Gov. Greg Abbott.
Other issues include the continued fight over abortions, sports betting and cannabis.
The Source: Information in this article comes from reporting by Jessica Rivera, bills filed in the Texas legislature and previous FOX reporting.