My plan for Texas schools

Points of emphasis

• Take back our schools. Get partisan activism out of the classroom and teach kids the truth about America: its founding, its history, and why it's worth loving.
• An education DOGE. Follow every dollar from Washington to the classroom, and cut whatever doesn't reach a student.
• Cut administration. Bring it from 11% of spending to 6% or less, and put about $3.25 billion a year into teachers and classrooms.
• Fully funded schools with no property tax. Build a permanent endowment, reward corporate donations with a tax credit, and end annual school property taxes for Texas families.
• End the misconduct scandals. Inappropriate-relationship investigations in Texas jumped from 579 in fiscal 2025 to 1,465 in the first part of fiscal 2026 (KPRC). Protect kids with zero tolerance and fast, fair investigations.
• Get Texas out from under Washington. Take federal dollars as a no-strings block grant or walk away from them, end ESSA mandates, and challenge Plyler v. Doe.
• A real path to work. A shorter school day lets students work, and students who are done with school at 16 move into a job, a technical or community college, or the military, and still earn their diploma.
• Fair grades for teachers. Evaluations based on each student's growth and objective measures, not an administrator's opinion, and no punishment because a group failed one test.
• Healthy kids. Daily PE, recess twice a day in elementary, fresh food from Texas farmers and ranchers, and vaccines as a parent's choice, not a mandate.
• Books, pencil, and paper. Screens out of the classroom.
• Strengthen public schools!

Task list

First 100 days and Year 1

• Launch an education DOGE: a joint state–federal audit of every education dollar from Washington to the classroom (an easy partnership with Trump-endorsed Comptroller Don Huffines)
• Ask the U.S. Department of Education to make Texas the first state to receive federal dollars as one no-strings block grant (a trial run for states leaving the Department of Education for good, which also limits how much federal financial help is needed)
• Replace TEA with the practitioner-led Texas School Performance & Support Authority (TSPSA)
• Freeze administrative hiring
• Give every teacher a $10,000 raise
• Create the Texas Public School Endowment and seed it with $5 billion
• Create a franchise tax credit for corporate donations to the endowment and to classroom funds
• Pass legislation to bring a Plyler v. Doe challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court
• Adopt a patriotic, back-to-basics curriculum: phonics, math mastery, U.S. and Texas history, and civics
• Build a statewide hiring system to cut spending and close the gaps that let abusive educators move from school to school
• End charter schools, close standalone magnet campuses, and launch the Facilities Capital Pool
• Pass the career pathway at 16: work programs plus partnerships with technical colleges, community colleges, and the military
• Shorten the school day so students can work, especially in rural communities that need their kids on the farm or ranch and inner-city communities that need the extra income
• Replace administrator-opinion evaluations with an objective teacher grading system that measures student growth and traces ineffective teachers as students move up
• Require daily PE at every grade and recess twice a day in elementary
• Partner directly with Texas farmers and ranchers for fresh school food
• End vaccine mandates as a condition of school enrollment
• Pull screens out of K–8 classrooms and go back to books, pencil, and paper

Years 2–5

• Exit ESSA mandates through the block grant, or turn the money down if compliance costs more than it brings in
• Cut administration from 11% to 6% or less of spending
• End annual school property taxes for Texas families, with at least a reduction in Year 1
• Eliminate STAAR and replace it with teacher-scored unit checks, the Iowa test to see where Texas students stand nationally, and the ASVAB, SAT, or ACT for juniors. Ending STAAR ends the waste, fraud, and abuse in state testing contracts, which already run about $90–100 million a year and could triple under the new three-test format.
• Re-launch magnet programs as Academies-Within at every neighborhood campus
• Roll out the career pathway statewide, with every pathway ending in a diploma plus a credential, college credit, or military contract
• Tie the teacher grading system to raises and leadership roles
• Grow the endowment to $10.6 billion
• Put spending, results, and misconduct data on public dashboards

Year 6 and beyond

• Grow the endowment to $25 billion by Year 20, paying out about $1 billion a year
• Fund Texas schools fully through non-tax revenue

Higher education

• Break up the university system monopoly and make schools compete
• One free, blind application, and replace the Top 10% rule with a merit point system
• End DEI and political advocacy in the classroom
• Protect free speech on campus
• Put Texas students first in hiring and admissions: pause visa growth and end H-1B hiring
• Open faster, cheaper paths to a career

Full implementation: K–12

Where Texas stands

The plan is built on about $13,000 per student, roughly $65 billion a year. Only 47% of students passed Algebra I on the 2024 STAAR, about 12% of teachers are uncertified, and Texas ranks 41st nationally in high school graduates who go on to finish college. Texas already passed HB 8 (2025), which replaces STAAR with three shorter tests starting in 2027–28. This plan goes further and puts assessment back in teachers' hands.

Sources: Texas 2036 · TSTA / NEA · NBC DFW on STAAR costs

1. Take back our schools and teach kids to love America

• Classroom instruction stays on the subject. No partisan political advocacy in any Texas classroom.
• Every grade teaches American and Texas history with the founding documents at the center: the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
• A required high school civics course covering how our government works, the duties of a citizen, and why America is worth defending.
• Every lesson plan and set of instructional materials is posted where parents can see them.
• Teacher preparation and certification under TSPSA reflects these standards.

2. Get Texas out from under Washington

• Education DOGE. Texas and the U.S. Department of Education jointly audit every federal, state, and local education dollar and publish the results.
• No-strings block grant. Texas asks to be the first state to receive all of its federal education dollars as one block grant under a Returning Education to the States waiver.
• Walk away if it doesn't pay. If the audit shows ESSA compliance costs Texas more than the federal money brings in, Texas turns down the money and the mandates with it. Texas schools receive roughly $6–7 billion a year from Washington in normal years (Houston Landing).
• What stays. Federal civil rights laws still apply as long as schools take any federal money, including school lunch funds, and the ADA applies either way. IDEA special education rules stay unless Texas also declines IDEA funds.

3. Challenge Plyler v. Doe

Since 1982, Plyler v. Doe has forced Texas taxpayers to fund a free K–12 education for children in the country illegally. Texas was the defendant in that case, and Texas should be the state that brings it back to the Supreme Court.

• Pass legislation requiring districts to verify immigration status at enrollment and report the cost of educating students who are here illegally.
• Authorize tuition for students who are not lawfully present, built to serve as a test case.
• Defend the law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Plyler is a constitutional ruling, so it stays binding until the Supreme Court revisits it. Leaving the Department of Education or turning down federal money does not change that. The challenge has to go through the courts.

4. Replace TEA with a practitioner-led authority

• Replace the Texas Education Agency with the Texas School Performance & Support Authority (TSPSA). It has an 11-member board with a majority of practicing educators, regional representation, and strict conflict-of-interest rules.
• Its four divisions are Accountability, Educator Certification & Growth, Innovation, and Regional Support.
• The 20 Education Service Centers become regional hubs that give districts direct help. The authority coordinates. It doesn't dictate from Austin.
• Local boards add 1–2 Educator-Trustee seats, single-member districts, contribution caps, and real-time disclosure.
• Trustee elections are held in November of even years, and districts pilot participatory budgeting.
• Educator-Community Councils at every district, and boards must answer their input in writing. Contracts, budgets, and audits are published online in plain language.
• TEA's powers, staff, contracts, and data move to TSPSA over 36–60 months under a Transition Director. TSPSA faces sunset review after 12 years.
• TSPSA runs one statewide educator platform for certification, applications, fingerprints, and discipline, and one statewide student information system with parent and employer portals.

5. Back to basics in the classroom

No more will parents be frustrated helping their kids with math and phonics homework that makes no sense. TSPSA adopts one standardized state curriculum with rural and urban adaptations. Allow kids to be kids and stop treating schools as glorified daycare.

• No state standardized testing in K–8. Teachers give unit checks every 1–3 weeks, uploaded to the state dashboard, and any student who falls behind gets tutoring right away. Unit checks are protected from administrative pressure.
• The Iowa test shows where Texas students stand nationally.
• All juniors take the SAT or ACT, with the ASVAB or ACCUPLACER as options.
• A shorter school year and school day: Labor day to Memorial day school calendar. 5 hours in elementary, 6 in secondary, with common planning time every day for core teacher teams. The shorter day leaves time for students to work, especially in rural communities that need their kids on the farm or ranch and inner-city communities that need the extra income.
• Secondary school runs six 50 minute periods
• Personal finance is offered in junior high and high school alongside home economics and shop, and CTE grants upgrade shop, home economics, and career-technical labs.
• The Presidential Fitness Test becomes the state fitness standard, I was thinking renaming it “The Trump Golden Age Fitness standards test” with a slogan of “Never tired of winning?”
• Special education eligibility is rebuilt on clear state standards, with due process for families.

6. Restore discipline

• A tiered code with progressive consequences and felony referrals for serious threats starting at age 13, with potential for permanent expulsion as a measure. Each region sets its own stricter guidelines.
• Clear rules for removing a disruptive student from class, with due process. Restorative practices and alternative placements handle students who disrupt class repeatedly.
• Re-entry plans for removed students with social contracts they must abide by. Repeat serious offenses escalate under state law.
• When a court finds a student guilty of abusive conduct, it may hold the parents accountable too, with due process.
• Student criminal history goes to statewide systems through DPS.
• Counseling is contracted to community providers, with parent consent.
• Districts publish discipline dashboards with anonymized counts by infraction level.
• No more BLM, LGBT, or social agendas in classrooms. This includes decorations like flags and pictures, as well as discourse with students. 
• Cameras in classrooms to ensure boundaries are being followed, a liberal and socialist agenda isn’t being taught. This will also help ensure no false accusations against teachers are made. Cameras also allow for students who missed work to catch up. 

7. End educator misconduct

• Zero tolerance. Anyone who abuses or grooms a student loses their certificate for life and goes on the Do Not Hire Registry. This information stays private until a verdict is reached. A student who makes a false accusation will be prosecuted for making a false report.
• Stop "passing the trash." Push for a mandatory interstate do-not-hire check so no one flagged in one state can be hired in another.
• Fast, fair investigations under the state's Inspector General for Educator Misconduct. Quick action protects kids, and due process protects teachers who are falsely accused.
• End the SRO program. This is where a lot of misconduct gets hidden. Campuses still meet HB 3's armed-security requirement through the Guardian Program, Texas school marshals, and partnerships with city police.

8. Pay teachers and cut the bureaucracy

• A $10,000 average raise in Year 1, plus shortage-area and leadership stipends, paid residencies, and a career ladder with Multi-Classroom Leader roles that keeps great teachers in the classroom.
• Target spending: 65% classroom instruction, 10% administration, and 25% operations, with administration at 6% or less by Year 5. Attrition reaches the target without layoffs wherever possible.
• Freeze administrative hiring, share services through regional hubs, and consolidate small districts until administration is 6% or less of spending.
• One statewide HR system and one statewide student information system replace hundreds of duplicate district systems.
• Statewide purchasing, with price preferences for Texas beef, produce, milk, and eggs.
• TRS reform caps pensionable pay at $185,000 and ends end-of-career pay spiking. Benefits already earned are protected.
• TRS details: the pension is based on the best 5 of the last 10 years, annual benefits are capped at $140,000 (adjusted for inflation), and raises above inflation plus 10% in the final five years don't count unless they come from a real promotion. Pay above the cap can go into a 403(b) or 457(b) with no TRS match, and the Education Replacement Fund takes over the employer share of contributions.

9. Strengthen neighborhood schools

• Charter schools close in Year 1. Willing campuses can convert to district programs by contract.
• Standalone magnets close as separate campuses, and their programs re-launch as Academies-Within every secondary campus, so every student has AP, dual credit, arts, and CTE at their zoned school. Every student is guaranteed equal or better programs at their zoned campus, with transportation where needed.
• Staff at closing campuses get priority hiring and keep their service credit. Publicly funded buildings and equipment transfer to the receiving district, with no private lease premiums.
• A state-backed Facilities Capital Pool provides low-interest loans for property-poor and fast-growing districts and refinances old local bond debt. Projects run in phases with independent audits and citizen oversight, and bond ballots must show the full cost in plain English.
• Energy, HVAC, and bus contracts must prove their savings through third-party verification.

10. A career pathway at 16

Not every kid needs four more years in a classroom. Students who are ready to work should be able to go to work, and still graduate.

• At 16, with a parent's sign-off, a student who has mastered the core (reading, Algebra I, U.S. history, and civics) can choose a career pathway.
• Work program: paid, supervised apprenticeships and jobs with Texas employers, earning credit toward a diploma.
• Technical and community colleges: full-time enrollment in a credential or associate program, with credit toward a diploma.
• Military: JROTC, the ASVAB in 10th grade, and partnerships with recruiters. Students can enter the Delayed Entry Program at 17 with parental consent and ship after graduation.
• Change state law so an approved pathway counts toward compulsory attendance. Today, Texas requires attendance until 19 unless a student graduates.
• Every pathway ends in a diploma plus an industry certification, a college credential, or a military contract. Employers are vetted, and hours, safety, and progress are tracked in the statewide student information system.

11. Fair grades for teachers

Teacher evaluations shouldn't depend on one administrator's opinion, which is open to favoritism and fraud. Teachers also shouldn't be punished because a group of students failed one test.

• Student growth, not pass rates. Each student is measured against their own starting point from the beginning of the year to the end. A teacher who moves a class from 43% to 68% is a success even if the class didn't "pass."
• Trace ineffective teachers. Because every student's growth is tracked year to year, the system shows which teachers consistently fail to move students forward.
• Fair comparisons. Results are adjusted for special education, English learners, attendance, and students who arrive mid-year.
• Several measures, not one test. Growth on unit checks over the full year, plus objective professional duties: unit checks submitted, parent contact logged, and attendance.
• Blind observations. Classroom observations are recorded and scored by trained, certified teachers from outside the district who don't know the teacher. Campus administrators can't change a score.
• Fraud protection. Every score has an audit trail, and teachers can appeal to TSPSA.
• Evaluation results drive pay raises and leadership roles.

12. Healthy, active kids

• Daily PE at every grade. K–5 gets recess twice a day plus 30 minutes of PE every day. Grades 6–12 get daily PE or athletics.
• Outdoor time. Schools use outdoor space for recess, PE, science, and agriculture lessons whenever the weather allows.
• Fresh food from Texas farmers and ranchers. Districts buy beef, produce, milk, and eggs directly from Texas producers through statewide contracts and price preferences, and serve more scratch-cooked meals. Schools partner with local ranches, farms, and FFA programs.
• End vaccine mandates. Vaccines become a parent's choice, not a condition of enrolling in school. Florida has started down this road, and Texas should be the state that finishes it.

13. Books, pencil, and paper

• No screens for instruction in K–8. Students use textbooks, real books, pencil, and paper.
• High school limits screens to typing and CTE labs where the job requires them.
• Phones are put away for the entire school day.
• Districts drop paid learning-management systems for low- or no-cost options, an annual value audit cuts software that doesn't show results, and that money goes to books and classroom supplies.

Full implementation: Higher education

1. Break up the system monopoly

• Give each public university control over its own budget, curriculum, and governance instead of running decisions through the three university systems.
• Make schools compete for students, faculty, and funding.

2. Fair, merit-based admissions

• One free, universal application for every Texas public university.
• Blind admissions that don't consider race, gender, or income.
• Replace the Top 10% rule with a point system for academics, extracurriculars, leadership, and community involvement.
• Three statewide essay prompts, published in advance.
• A public database of the admissions criteria at every university.
• University admissions follow the same transparency and accountability rules Texas uses for K–12.

3. End DEI and protect free speech

• Close DEI offices, programs, and practices, and move the money to instruction and student services.
• Keep classroom instruction on the subject and out of political advocacy.
• Strengthen free speech protections for students and faculty.
• Award one full scholarship each year (any major, no cap) to a graduating Texas senior with a record of advancing free speech.
• End campus organizations formed around race, gender, or sexual orientation. Organizations built on shared interests, topics, or religion remain.
• End the distribution of halal meat in public university dining.

4. Texas students first

• Pause growth in international student and faculty visas at public universities.
• End H-1B hiring at public universities.
• Hold statewide academic competitions for Texas students, with direct job placement through Texas employers for the top performers.
• Fund Enterprise Applications and other high-demand technical training, built with Texas employers so it leads to real jobs.

5. Faster, cheaper paths to a career

• Let technical and community colleges admit students after their sophomore year of high school, under K–12 accountability rules.
• Require a one-page cost disclosure for every degree program showing total cost, expected borrowing, and the monthly loan payment.

Funding and how we measure it

Fully funded schools with no property tax

Every dollar flows into one Education Replacement Fund that pays for K–12. Annual school property taxes on Texas families end.

Where the money comes from

• Cutting administration from 11% to 6%: about $3.25 billion a year
• Efficiencies (construction financing, software, counseling, purchasing): about $1.9 billion a year
• Enforcing the Constitution's requirement that 25% of occupation-tax revenue goes to schools, and closing the abatements and loopholes that divert it. If that falls short, the General Fund or a dedicated consumption tax serves as the backstop, as the Constitution already provides.
• The $60.6 billion Permanent School Fund, protected under Article 7, Section 5: separate principal and payout accounts, no spending on other purposes, per-student distribution, a prudent-investor standard, and a 6% payout cap
• Corporate donations, encouraged through a franchise tax credit
• Corporate and foreign-owned property, which continues to contribute while homeowners and small businesses pay $0 in school operating taxes
• Curriculum licensing to other states
• TRS reform: about $65 million a year
• General revenue as the backstop

The Comptroller publishes an annual Education Replacement Fund report showing per-student spending, results, and savings achieved.

Where the money goes

• $3.23 billion a year for the $10,000 teacher raise
• $1.0 billion a year for classroom upgrades
• $0.5 billion a year for building maintenance
• $1.0 billion a year into the endowment in Years 2–5, then $0.5 billion a year

The endowment

Seed it with $5 billion in Year 1, then add $1 billion a year in Years 2–5 and $0.5 billion a year after that. Payouts start at 3.5% in Year 3 and rise to 4.25% in Year 6, based on a 3-year average. Projections assume a 7% annual return.

Safeguards: an independent board, conflict-of-interest rules, investment fees capped below 0.35%, and an annual audit and stress test. If markets drop, the 3-year average smooths payouts, and Texas keeps depositing at least $0.5 billion a year even in lean years.

Other risks and how the plan handles them:

• Administration creeps back above 6%: quarterly scorecards, corrective action plans, and penalties set in law.
• New statewide systems run late: parallel pilots, a staged cutover, and penalties for vendors who miss deadlines.
• Charter and magnet transitions get rough: a dedicated transition office, asset audits, priority hiring, and guaranteed placement for families.
• Curriculum is taught unevenly: coaching cycles, unit-check data, and targeted help for struggling campuses.

Cost-benefit at Year 10: about $5.70 billion in savings and new revenue against $5.23 billion in new costs, a net gain of $0.47 billion a year. Counting gains from stronger literacy and Algebra, lower teacher turnover, and better student health, the plan returns about 1.26 for every dollar spent, and that ratio grows as the endowment grows.

How we measure it

Every result goes on a public dashboard each quarter, at the state, district, and campus level, as open data anyone can check.

The dashboards also track teacher vacancies and 3-year retention, construction projects on time and on budget, debt service, audit findings, proficiency gaps, counselor ratios, building condition, and student access to AP and dual credit.

These are proposed solutions. Details will be worked out with Texas teachers, administrators, parents, and university leaders through Education and Higher Education Task Forces.