February 27, 2015 4:48 PM

Competing bill sponsors refused to back down in pre-k fight

It appears the first education skirmish of the session is getting underway

Two sides are gearing up for what could very well be the first education battle of the session, and it’s being waged over the education of the state’s most vulnerable 4-year-old children.

The rollout of Gov. Greg Abbott’s pre-kindergarten bill was almost perfect. He spoke of his preferred version in his State of the State speech. Former school board member-turned-Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, hinted at this week’s PTA Rally it would be unveiled and indeed it was and has already been referred to House Public Education.

Abbott also planned a picture-perfect Rick Perry-inspired tour of the School at St. George Place after addressing a luncheon of the highly influential Greater Houston Partnership.

“To improve our schools, we must build a strong foundation. Our goal should be to ensure all Texas students are performing at grade level in reading and math by the time they finish the third grade,” Abbott said in his prepared remarks. “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 third grade teachers with world-class literacy and math teacher training. Our children and their future have no time for delay. That’s why I declared early education as my first emergency legislative item as governor.”

He followed it up with a strong statement of support for last session’s House Bill 5, which diversified high school diploma plans. It was a crowd pleaser. The Greater Houston Partnership, that area’s largest business group, was a key player in the approval of last session’s major education legislation, although Texas still lags behind a number of states that have devoted significantly more resources to career-and-technology education.

By Kimberly Reeves