Legislative Priorities 
Overview 
Leander ISD seeks a partnership with our Texas legislators to focus on supporting all 
students, to advocate against unfunded mandates, and to empower communities and 
taxpayers through local control.  

Safety 
Student Data Privacy 
●

We support requiring the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and technology vendors 
doing work with schools in Texas to de-identify students by masking all student 
data. 

Facilities and Improvements 
●

We support allocated, additional funding to support school districts who 
implemented safety enhancements to school facilities. 

Education 
Accountability 
●

We support flexibility of the accountability system to allow masters level and college 
entrance exams to replace certain High School End-of-Course exams.  

●

We support student choice for replacing end-of-course exams with the implemented 
substitute exams by recognizing high performance on qualifying exams as the 
“Masters” level for accountability. 

 

Mental Health 
●

We support increasing funding for staff and professional development necessary to 
provide mental health-related services. 

Special Education 
●

We support the refinement and clarification of SB 507 to ensure the purpose of 
cameras in special education classrooms for suspected abuse only. 

●

We support protecting students and parents by ensuring special education 
advocates and hearing officers adhere to ethical standards and possess 
qualifications in Texas law and special education prescribed by the Texas Education 
Agency (TEA).  

 

November 2, 2018 

  
 

Legislative Priorities 
 

Dual Credit and Career Technical Education (CTE) 
●

We support additional flexibility and funding to ensure a plethora of opportunities 
for all students to earn college credit.  

●

We support increasing funding and weights for CTE programs with high demand 
and high paying industries as defined by the Texas Workforce Commission.  

 

Finance 
TRS and Teacher Health Care 
●

We support adjustments to increase state funding for teacher healthcare and 
retirement fund. 

●

We support maintaining the defined teacher benefit retirement system by not 
shifting additional costs to teachers, school employees or school districts. 

 

Funding 
●

We support keeping all public education dollars, including recaptured funds, 
allocated for public school students. 

●

We support modernizing the school funding weights, allotments and adjustments, 
such as the Cost of Education Index, to support the true cost of educating Texas 
students. 

●

We support requiring the state to share the costs of funding public schools by 
providing at least 50 percent of Foundational School Program formula to reduce 
over-reliance on local property taxes.   

●

We support maintaining the one-year lag in the use of state property values under 
any new school finance plan. 

 

 

 

Local Control for Election 
●

We support the current system of flexible uniform election dates for bond and tax 
ratification elections to not put an undue financial burden on taxpayers and to align 
with district budget cycles. 

 

November 2, 2018