State Rep. Andy Hopper, District 64, announced Tuesday that he has filed a bill that would abolish the Texas Education Agency.
“Since the creation of the Texas Education Agency in 1949, it has been responsible for overseeing public primary and secondary education in the State of Texas,” Hopper’s office said in a statement. “Over 1,200 independent school districts and multitudes of charter schools are under the purview of the TEA, and yet for many years, Texas students have fallen behind their counterparts.”
If passed, HB 2657 would transfer the TEA’s powers, duties and privileges to the elected State Board of Education, which has been the policy arm and overseer of the TEA since 1949. Additionally, HB 2657 would give the SBOE the resources needed, in collaboration with the Texas Comptroller, to meet the educational needs of Texans while answering to the taxpayers.
“President Trump has called upon every level of government to eliminate inefficiencies and waste,” Hopper said. “In Texas, there is perhaps no other agency that exemplifies rampant, unaccountable bureaucracy and bloat more than the Texas Education Agency. Texans pour billions into this state agency with the expectation that it will somehow improve education, but have been consistently and profoundly disappointed in the results. With the filing of HB 2657, I would like to start the process of addressing the systemic issues with public education in Texas by abolishing a largely useless state bureaucracy.”
