Maxwell Frost: “Madam Speaker, Democrats are ready to address the problems facing our public schools: To reduce class size, repair…”

“Madam Speaker, Democrats are ready to address the problems facing our public schools: To reduce class size, repair crumbling buildings and put computers in the classroom. We are prepared to go to work to raise standards and prepare our children for the challenges ahead. Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues are not addressing the real issues facing our schools. Instead, they bring unnecessary legislation that blocks voluntary national tests, an important tool which can be used to ensure that every child can read, write and do basic math. Parents across the country share my belief that these are very minimum standards to which our students, our schools, our teachers must be held accountable. Parents want higher standards. They want their children to succeed. Parents deserve an objective, reliable measure of how their children are doing in school and how well their schools are preparing their children. Parents and indeed all of us taxpayers deserve to know that our local schools are meeting our national expectations.”