Latest news with #StanLambert
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lambert backs $7.7B school bill, explains why he voted for vouchers
BIG COUNTRY, Texas () – As the Texas legislative session barrels toward key deadlines, District 71 State Representative Stan Lambert says lawmakers are making critical progress on major public education bills — some of which stirred strong reactions across the state. Texas governor signs $1 billion voucher bill in milestone for school choice supporters nationally Two major bills — House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2 — have now passed in both chambers. HB 2 focuses on public school funding, while SB 2 includes a controversial education savings account (ESA) program, often referred to as a school voucher system. Despite concerns from rural lawmakers about the potential impact of vouchers, Lambert says the most important takeaway is the $7.7 billion investment in public education. 'We wanted to make sure that before we took up and discussed the voucher bill, the ESA and SB2, we had made strong commitments and a strong investment in public education,' Lambert explained. That basic allotment, increased by nearly $400 per student based on Weighted Average Daily Attendance, now has built-in inflation protection. Lambert noted that about 40% of the increase is now statutorily dedicated to teacher pay and raises. 'There were some additional measures to make sure that even if enrollment drops in some of our schools, which is what we have seen in the last few years, those school districts will continue to be funded. We've ensured, and we have put into statute now, once the governor signs the bill, that those monies will continue to be invested in public education, in addition to the ESA voucher program,' Lambert shared. Lambert flips to support HB2 after changes to voucher program Though Lambert previously opposed ESAs, he voted in favor after key amendments were added to protect rural schools. 'It was very hard for me, because I have been a very staunch opponent of the conceptual idea of using public dollars to fund private education. But again, once the amendments were accepted by the governor's staff and the Senate and our House public education committee chairman, then I felt obligated, once those amendments were accepted and put on the bill, I was obligated to support the legislation,' Lambert shared. He explained that the $1 billion voucher program is divided into tiers—or 'buckets'—starting with the neediest students. 'The lowest bucket is those families with the greatest need, in other words, the lowest income levels, as well as those students with disabilities and special educational needs. Then the buckets increase a little bit up to the final bucket, which is the 20% that basically is the universal one, where any family can apply,' Lambert explained. He emphasized strict guidelines for how voucher funds can be spent. 'There's still a lot of a lot of things that are restricted, as far as how the money can be spent, how if you're a homeschool kid and your parents want to take you on a ski trip and use the $2,000 voucher, you can't do that. It's got to be used for tuition, for educational supplies. There is just a list of things there that will make sure that the money is being used effectively and efficiently, and will be accountable as far as the taxpayers' funding of that program.' Rep. Stan Lambert discusses election integrity, school vouchers & future goals for West Texas Senator Ted Cruz recently stated that competition from voucher programs will improve public schools. Lambert agreed that the competition can improve education, though he believes this is more of an urban issue. 'I think competition can improve and make us better. It gives us a kind of insight as to what others are doing, how they're doing it, and how effective they are,' said Lambert. 'I really think that that though, in West Texas and certainly in our rural areas of the state, we're not going to see as much impact necessarily, because I do think that this is more really of an urban issue, a metropolitan major, major city type issue, versus what's happening in our rural schools. That's why I've been such a strong opponent of a voucher program, because I think that it doesn't really impact what's happening in our schools like Abilene and like Wiley and so forth. While I'm a big supporter of private education, I think we have some private schools in West Texas that are doing a very good job. So I'm not trying to say one is better than the other.' Lambert also weighed in on testing reform, saying the STAAR test may soon be on its way out. 'The fact that we put so much emphasis and so much weight on one day, one test, that's not fair to our students, it's not fair to our teachers. So, anything we can do to try to move away from that kind of system where we put so much weight on one day of testing,' Lambert said. 'I think that's what we'll see come forward as a result of House Bill 4, which has not been on the floor yet… that will be the way that we address the elimination of the STAAR test and introduce some type of norm referenced testing so that all of our public education, and to some degree, our private schools as well, will be held accountable to. That way, we have at least some metrics, some way of evaluation that makes good sense, and makes us be able to at least have data moving forward as we add an additional program that's going to use taxpayer dollars to fund private schools.' Just weeks ago, Lambert joined a bill with ACU alum Representative Caroline Fairly — House Bill 1481 — which limits digital device use during school hours. 'There's way too much opportunity for students to pull out their cell phone, to be playing games or to be engaging with social media. I know that's a very controversial issue, because I know parents are concerned about safety and how they could communicate with their child if they needed to, on an as-needed basis,' explained Lambert. 'I went back and watched the layout of representative Fairley's bill in state affairs, it was a pretty lengthy layout where the idea that these devices would not be allowed in classrooms there, there will be some funding that could allow for some type of apparatus in the classroom for those phones to be placed in so they're going to be within reach if there's some type of situation where parents do need to reach their children.' WATCH: KRBC'S Exploring School Choice in Texas Special He's also proud of legislation moving forward to strengthen Texas's workforce, especially a bill supporting Texas State Technical College (TSTC). 'We were very instrumental and very involved in making sure that Texas State Technical College is going to receive a large endowment that will allow them to expand their campuses across the state. We know how good and effective TSTC is in workforce education, and so we've carried that bill through the House. It was just approved the other day with 129 votes in the House. So it'll move to the Senate now,' Lambert added. 'We're excited about what's happening in terms of not just that bill, but many other bills that are addressing the workforce shortages that we have throughout the state… We talked a lot about this over the last interim, about the workforce shortage and how that would be a very significant thing that we would need to address in this legislative session. So excited to see those bills moving forward, and we're looking forward to the next 32 days here in Austin.' With the session's final weeks approaching, Lambert said lawmakers are bracing for long nights and tight deadlines. 'This is a really critical time in the legislature. We're getting into some deadlines as far as when bills can be heard, how many more calendars we're going to actually see, and we're going to start seeing a backup in terms of the number of bills that are going to be coming out of calendars. There's going to be some long, long nights here in the Capitol, which is fine, that's part of what we signed up to do. I'm very proud of the fact that most of the legislation that we've focused on this session is moving forward.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lambert flips to support HB2 after changes to voucher program
BIG COUNTRY, Texas () – HB2 and SB2 — two bills that sparked concern among many lawmakers, particularly from rural areas, over the potential harm of vouchers to Texas public education. But on April 16, Representative Stan Lambert voted in favor of both bills. Now he's explaining why. WATCH: Gov. Abbott says Big Country will benefit from school vouchers, other legislative priorities House Bill 2 would mark the largest increase in public education funding in Texas history, delivering a $7.7 billion investment. Lambert said the bill includes $1 billion specifically for rural and mid-size school districts, raises teacher salaries, and helps ease the burden on local taxpayers. 'Altogether, this is a major victory for public education, and one I'm proud to have supported,' Lambert shared in a statement. Big Country Politics: Rep. Stan Lambert discusses hot topics in Texas, including school vouchers & healthcare monopolies Though he still has concerns about the Education Savings Account portion of the bill, Lambert said he and a group of rural Republicans worked to negotiate key changes. 'Instead of allowing the bill to pass as presented, the same group of rural republicans who stood firm against vouchers in 2023 chose to negotiate substantive changes to improve the bill. This decision was made solely based on what I could do, as one member of a 150-person body, to best improve outcomes for Texas children,' Lambert explained. Rep. Stan Lambert discusses election integrity, school vouchers & future goals for West Texas Lambert highlighted four specific provisions that Education Committee Chairman Brad Buckley agreed to include: Annual audits of the voucher program and all third-party contractors by the State Auditor Clear residency requirements to prevent misuse by non-Texas residents A rule that private schools receiving funds must have operated for at least two years A cap that limits non-low-income and non-special-needs recipients to 20% of the program WATCH: KRBC'S Exploring School Choice in Texas Special Lambert, who had been a strong opponent of the voucher-style program, emphasized that his decision wasn't made lightly. 'Education has always been a top priority of mine, and I remain committed to fighting for our education system. If I were to stand by and simply vote no on a bill that was sure to pass, while an opportunity to improve the bill lies before me, I would be doing a disservice to those I represent,' Lambert shared. 'I understand if you're disappointed by this vote; it was not an easy one to make. But be assured that the bill that was passed is greatly improved from the bill that was coming, and that our public schools are better protected because we stayed at the table. I will never stop working to ensure that public school students and teachers have the resources they need to succeed.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WATCH: Gov. Abbott says Big Country will benefit from school vouchers, other legislative priorities
BIG COUNTRY, Texas () – We're now just past the halfway mark of the Texas 89th legislative session, and Governor Greg Abbott is laying out his priorities, focusing on water infrastructure, rising property taxes, and school vouchers. Abbott appeared on our newscast to discuss these issues and how they impact the Big Country. Big Country Politics: Rep. Stan Lambert discusses hot topics in Texas, including school vouchers & healthcare monopolies Texans across the state are feeling the burden of rising property taxes, and Abbott says he's looking at the budget surplus as a way to bring rates down. 'What we (the state) can do is tap into the budget surplus that we have and buy down those property tax rates so that your property taxes will go down,' Abbott explained. 'However, we did that two years ago, only to see local jurisdictions increase those property tax rates again. This time, we will continue to reduce your property tax rates by using the budget surplus to do so. However, we must limit the ability of local taxing jurisdictions to go back and raise their property taxes.' Abbott also emphasized the importance of water infrastructure, noting that the issue is especially critical for the Big Country. 'Water may be more essential in your viewing area (the Big Country) than almost any other area in the entire state of Texas. I am calling for an all-time record investment to build out water infrastructure so that the farmers, ranchers and homeowners are going to be able to have the water they need. That includes fixing pipes across our entire state, many of which are aged and broken,' Abbott said. Rep. Stan Lambert discusses election integrity, school vouchers & future goals for West Texas A major priority for Abbott this session is school choice, arguing that parents should have the ability to decide where their children receive their education. 'The last two Republican primaries. There was a ballot initiative on that primary where voters, who're in the Big Country, got to cast a vote, do they support school choice or not. Overwhelmingly, they said, Yes, they support school choice,' Abbott shared. 'But the fact of the matter is, we can have both. It's not one or the other. We can fully fund our public schools, which is what we're going to do, while at the same time providing a school choice option for parents across the region. We find it to be very effective in rural areas as well as suburban and urban areas.' However, some locals, including Representative Stan Lambert, have voiced concerns that school vouchers could negatively impact rural school districts. Abbott countered that the program is much smaller in scale than charter schools. 'But know this, the scope of this school choice program is smaller than one quarter of charter schools. You haven't seen charter schools disrupt public schools in Abilene. Neither will you see school choice disrupt public schools in Abilene, San Angelo, or any other place like that,' Abbott said. Jodey Arrington discusses national budget cuts & its local impact Teacher pay has been labeled an emergency item multiple times. As the state moves through the 89th session, Abbott says raises are coming. 'I did make it an emergency item, because there are several criteria that lead to the best education. One of the foremost is having good-quality educators. To make sure we have those educators, we want to pay them and pay them more. We will be providing an all-time record amount of pay for teachers this session. That money will pass in the final bill that will reach my desk, the budget at the end of May, and should be effective come September,' explained Abbott. He added that teachers in districts with 5,000 or more students could see a raise of at least $5,500, while those in districts with fewer than 5,000 students could receive up to $10,000. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
