• Legislative Priorities

    Every two years, the Plano ISD Board of Trustees compiles a list of Legislative Priorities that functions as guidelines for what types of policies the district will advocate for or against during the Legislative Session. 

  • Priority #1
    Safety & Security
    Expand Funding for Safety & Security, Including Student Mental Health & Wellness
  • Priority #2
    Recapture
    Address the Inequities of Recapture
  • Priority #3
    Funding
    Adequately Fund Schools
  • Priority #4
    Accountability
    Create Meaningful and Fair Assessments and Accountability Standards
  • Priority #5
    Local Control
    Preserve Local Control to Face Unique Needs of the Community
  • Priority #1 – Expand Funding for Safety & Security, Including Student Mental Health & Wellness

    • Substantially increase school safety allotment with greater local control
    • Provide a new allotment for mental health and wellness for students for prevention and early intervention
    • Provide grant or state funding for infrastructure and capital projects based on local needs and local control to further harden school facilities 

    Priority #2 – Address the Inequities of Recapture

    • All Revenue in Excess of Entitlement Funds should flow directly into the basic allotment
    • Provide a discount for school districts that make their recapture payment early in the spring
    • Property tax bills should transparently reflect the amount of local property taxes being paid to the State in the form of recapture 
    • All funds collected through recapture must be used to fund traditional public education 

    Priority #3 – Adequately Fund Schools

    • Modify formulas to ensure greater equity in funding across districts, including:
      • Increase the basic allotment, adjusted annually for inflation
      • Base funding on student enrollment instead of percentage of attendance 
      • Reincorporate the Cost of Education Index to account for the cost-of-living differences between regions in the state 
      • Fully fund the Instructional Materials and Technology Allotment (IMA) that was recently reduced by approximately 60%
    • Provide sufficient resources to attract and retain teachers including affordable healthcare and benefits 
    • Provide funding to promote growth in Texas’ teaching workforce, including alternative teacher certification programs to address the growing teacher shortage in Texas.
    • Provide full funding and expanded opportunities for virtual education in traditional public schools that choose to offer it
    • Adjust the weights from the State to better align with actual expenses 
    • Oppose any and all efforts to divert public funds into private uses
    • Limit the expansion process of for-profit entities in public education and require transparency and standardization in charter school operations
    • Fully fund all unfunded mandates
    • Convert two copper (Tier II Level II) pennies to two golden (Tier II Level I) pennies 
    • Allow local discretion rather than state-mandated program percentages 
    • Fully fund the Teacher Retirement System with adjustments for inflation 
    • Ensure alignment between Advanced Placement (AP)  and two-year college courses and four-year universities to ensure students can transfer credits 

    Priority #4 – Create Meaningful and Fair Assessments and Accountability Standards

    • Advocate for an accountability system that does not lower a district’s overall rating  for a single underperforming campus
    • Support an accountability system that offers a fair assessment of school district performance and an accurate accounting of holistic school quality where periodic system changes do not have an immediate impact on a district’s accountability rating without a phase-in or hold harmless period and do not use accountability metrics for students no longer in the district.
    • Expand indicators of achievement in the school accountability system to include recognition for advanced coursework, credit by examination, single and full-grade acceleration, and project-based learning opportunities
    • Make modifications to HB 4545 to preserve intent but better apply necessary flexibility by:
      • Districts should have the ability to monitor student progress and adjust instructional plans accordingly
      • Students opting out of STAAR testing should have the opportunity to be reassessed at the beginning of the year to determine HB 4545 needs
    • Advocate that the state student assessment program be limited to only those assessments required to meet ESSA (federal) requirements
    • Oppose A – F campus and district ratings that oversimplify the complex work of schools and incentivize teaching to the test

    Priority #5 – Preserve Local Control to Face Unique Needs of the Community 

    • Continue to encourage parental involvement in their children’s education 
    • Preserve the accountability and governance structure of locally elected school boards and administrations 
    • Continue to allow local control over local elections 
    • Preserve and expand District of Innovation flexibilities

View 2023 Legislative Remedies

  • Plano ISD Priorities
  • Plano ISD Remedies
  • Legislative Tracker
  • Resources and Information
  • Legislative Reports
  • Who Represents Me?
  • Contact Your Legislators
  • Election Information
  • Legislative Affairs Newsletters
  • Legislative Timeline