Education is the ticket to our children’s future. With more education comes more opportunities to compete for higher paying jobs. But as our school populations are exploding, and college tuition keeps rising, we cannot balance the budget on the backs of Texas school children. As Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Hinojosa works across party lines to protect teacher jobs and keep a college education within reach of working families.
- Successfully fought to restore $4 million in funding for our public schools and secured$3 million in additional funding for Teach for America and $3 million for Texas AIM.
- Helped restore $724.6 million in funding for college financial aid through Texas Grants, an increase of $145 million from two years ago. This will provide financial aid for 84% of newly eligible students.
- Voted for HB 5, legislation that reforms public school education by reducing the number of high-stakes tests from 15 to 5 that students must take to graduate and changes the courses needed to earn a diploma. Students should focus on learning in the classroom and teachers should not have to just teach to the test.
- Supported Career Technical Education (CTE) because the workforce has great demand for “middle jobs” that require no bachelor’s degree but necessitate training beyond high school. CTEprovides those skills needed for those jobs through employer-based training and industry-based certifications.
- Passed legislation tocreate a joint interim committee to study education policy as it relates to developing a skilled workforce and to explore topics like curriculum requirements, opportunities for new education-workforce partnerships and the impact of emerging industrial sectors.