Greg Abbott on Education

Teach students what it means to be American & to be a Texan

Increase teacher pay, with best earning six figures

Focus on mental health for safer schools

Programs like the telemedicine wellness project at Texas Tech. It partners with school districts in West Texas to identify and remove students who pose a potential threat. And it provides students the help they need.

Fully fund GURI: Governor's University Research Initiative

As one example, Dr. Richard Miles--a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering--is leaving Princeton to join the Aerospace Engineering Department at Texas A&M. His work places Texas A&M and the State of Texas at the forefront of laser and optical technology that can enhance national security. Research like this spurs economic development and helps create jobs.

We must continue our mission to do more than just prepare Texas for the next two years. We also need to put our state on the path for national and international prominence for the next 20 years. GURI does just that. And must be fully funded again.

Require evaluation of schools with A-F grades

When the measure originally passed the House, both Democrats and Republicans rose to oppose the change. State Rep. Sylvester Turner, said moving to the letter grades would be a "horrendous mistake. That places more of a stigma on kids who are trying to rise above their circumstances," he said.

In a particularly fiery speech, state Rep. Larry Phillips (R) urged his colleagues to "stand up for sanity in schools" & vote for his amendment to strip the A-through-F ratings from the bill. "You think just because you rate someone A through F they are going to do a better job? No," Phillips said.

Legislative outcome: Passed Senate 30-1-0 on May/29/15; passed House 119-17-2 on May/31/15; signed by Governor Greg Abbott Jun/19/15.

Additional funding for schools to adopt high-quality Pre-K

To begin that process, my budget provides additional funding for schools that adopt high-quality Pre-K programs. My plan also provides Pre-K through 3rd grade teachers with world-class literacy and math teacher training.

To begin the process of building a better education system in Texas, we must improve early education. This is why I'm declaring early education as my first emergency item as governor. Our children and their future have no time for delay.

Ensure having the best teachers by saying NO to Common Core

We must also return genuine local control to our schools. This book contains all the education-related laws in Texas. It's absurd to micromanage educators with all of these laws. Let's cut it down to size by allowing school districts to opt out of parts of the education code so they can design an education plan that best fits their community needs.

Local control, however, doesn't end at the school district level. Real local control rests with parents. The ultimate parental involvement is giving parents more choices in their child's education.