Additional Information

First elected to the Texas House in 2022. Current term expires January 2025.

Related Blog Posts

07/06/2023 Texas House Democrats announce tax relief proposal with increases for school funding and teacher pay

04/19/2023 Parental rights headline Public Education Committee hearing

• House Vote #1 - 2023: PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS

  Voted for a budget amendment to prohibit state funds from being spent on private school vouchers. ATPE supported the amendment.

  House Floor Amendment 45 by Rep. Abel Herrero (D–Robstown) to House Bill 1 by Rep. Greg Bonnen (R–Friendswood), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. During its April 6, 2023, debate on the budget bill, the House passed this ATPE-supported amendment banning use of state funds for a private school voucher. (Record vote #111. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The amendment passed but was later stripped out of the final budget bill.

• House Vote #2 - 2023: CURRICULUM

  Voted for a bill that incentivized school districts to require educators to teach from prepackaged statewide curriculum designed by the Texas Education Agency.

  House Bill 1605 by Rep. Brad Buckley (R–Salado), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. The bill incentivizes school districts to require certain educators to teach from prepackaged statewide curriculum designed by the Texas Education Agency. Read more about the bill here. On May 3, 2023, the House voted to pass the bill on third reading. (Record vote #914. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The Legislature ultimately passed a Senate version of the bill.

• House Vote #3 - 2023: PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS

  Voted against a motion to allow the House Public Education Committee to meet for the purpose of voting on a new version of a private school voucher bill that had not been publicly vetted. The House refused to grant permission for the meeting.

  This vote taken May 10, 2023, prevented the House Public Education Committee from holding a previously unscheduled meeting to rush through a last-minute vote on a controversial voucher bill that had not been publicly vetted. Committee Chairman Brad Buckley (R–Salado) requested permission for his committee to meet while the full House was still in a floor session. Rep. Ernest Bailes (R–Shepherd) objected to the motion and called for a record vote. The vote denying permission for the committee to meet was a pivotal point in stopping the push for vouchers during the regular session. Read more about the vote here. (House Record vote #1464. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

• House Vote #4 - 2023: SCHOOL FUNDING

  Voted for a bill to change funding formulas for school districts and the minimum salary schedule.

  House Bill 100 by Rep. Ken King (R–Canadian), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. The bill intended to make funding formulas enrollment-based rather than attendance-based. It also called for condensing the minimum salary schedule to a three-tiered schedule covering 10 years, which ATPE opposed. On April 27, 2023, the House voted to pass the bill on third reading. (Record vote #595. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The Senate later added a private school voucher provision to the bill, which resulted in HB 100’s failure to pass.

• House Vote #5 - 2023: SCHOOL FUNDING

  Voted for an amendment to raise the Basic Allotment to $6,500. ATPE supported the amendment.

  House Floor Amendment 7 by Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer (D–San Antonio) to House Bill 100 by Rep. Ken King (R–Canadian), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. The amendment would have increased the Basic Allotment from $6,250 to $6,500. On April 26, 2023, the House voted to reject the Martinez-Fischer amendment. (Record vote #564. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

• House Vote #6 - 2023: TEACHER PIPELINE

  Voted for an omnibus bill that proposed several regulatory changes and a one-time stipend of $2,000 for teachers. ATPE opposed the bill as insufficient in terms of providing a meaningful increase in educator compensation or enhancement of teachers' rights.

  Senate Bill 9 by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe), sponsored in the House by Rep. Harold Dutton (D–Houston), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. Marketed as a “Teacher Bill of Rights,” SB 9 proposed a one-time stipend of $2,000 for teachers and several regulatory changes affecting the education profession. Read more about the bill and ATPE’s opposition to it here. On May 23, 2023, the House voted to pass the bill on second reading. (Record vote #2021. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The bill ultimately died in the House when it was withdrawn from consideration on third reading.

• House Vote #7 - 2023: TEACHER RECRUITMENT/RETENTION

  Voted for a bill to address teacher recruitment and retention through increased funding for incentive pay and other initiatives.

  House Bill 11 by Rep. Harold Dutton (D–Houston), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. This bill aimed to improve teacher recruitment and retention through increased funding for incentive pay and other initiatives. Read more about the bill and ATPE’s position on it here. On April 26, 2023, the House voted to pass the bill on second reading. (Record vote #563. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The bill later died in the Senate.

• House Vote #8 - 2023: SCHOOL SAFETY

  Voted against an omnibus school safety bill that provides funding to help schools comply with safety requirements. ATPE supported the bill.

  House Bill 3 by Rep. Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. This omnibus school safety bill provides $1.3 billion in school safety funding, calls for mental health training for school district employees, requires an armed officer at every campus, and allows the state to appoint a conservator to help school districts achieve compliance. The bill includes ATPE-recommended language limiting the scope of the conservator’s authority. On May 28, 2023, the House adopted the Conference Committee Report on HB 3, approving final passage of the bill. (Record vote #2229. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

• House Vote #9 - 2023: SCHOOL COUNSELORS

  Voted against a bill that removed the requirement for school counselors to have prior experience as a classroom teacher. ATPE opposed the bill.

  Senate Bill 798 by Sen. Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston), sponsored in the House by Rep. Brad Buckley (R–Salado), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. The bill removed the requirement for school counselors to have prior experience as a classroom teacher. On May 16, 2023, the House voted to pass the bill on second reading. (Record vote #1750. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The bill was finally passed the next day and ultimately became law.

• House Vote #10 - 2023: SCHOOL CHAPLAINS

  Voted against a bill that allows school districts to employ paid or volunteer chaplains for student counseling and support and requires school boards to adopt a policy on whether to use chaplains. ATPE opposes allowing chaplains not certified as school counselors to provide counseling services to students.

  Senate Bill 763 by Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston), sponsored in the House by Rep. Cole Hefner (R–Mount Pleasant), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. The bill allows school districts to employ paid or volunteer chaplains to support students without requiring them to be certified or trained as school counselors. SB 763 also requires each school board to vote on whether to adopt a policy authorizing the district’s use of chaplains. On May 8, 2023, the House voted to pass its version of the bill on second reading. (Record vote #1280. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The Legislature ultimately passed a compromise version of the bill.

• House Vote #11 - 2023: RETIREMENT

  Voted for a bill that provided a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and 13th check for retired educators. ATPE supported the bill.

  Senate Bill 10 by Sen. Joan Huffman (R–Houston), sponsored in the House by Rep. Greg Bonnen (R–Friendswood), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. The bill provides a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and 13th check for retired educators. On May 28, 2023, the House voted to adopt the conference committee report on SB 10, approving final passage of the bill. (Record vote #2210. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

• House Vote #12 - 2023: ACCELERATED INSTRUCTION

  Voted for a bill that modified the requirements for accelerated instruction to make them less burdensome for teachers and schools. ATPE supported the bill.

  House Bill 1416 by Rep. Keith Bell (R–Forney), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. The bill was a clean-up for 2021’s House Bill 4545 (87-R), which required accelerated instruction for students who failed a STAAR exam. Based on feedback from teachers and school districts, HB 1416 reduced the hours of accelerated instruction required per subject and raised the teacher-student ratio to make it more manageable. On May 19, 2023, the House voted to concur in the Senate amendments to HB 1416, approving final passage of the bill. (Record vote #1873. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

• House Vote #13 - 2023: LIBRARY BOOKS

  Voted against a bill establishing a rating system for and restricting certain content in school library materials.

  House Bill 900 by Rep. Jared Patterson (R–Frisco), 88th Legislature, Regular Session. The bill requires book vendors to rate books based on sexual content and the development of additional state standards. The bill also prohibits certain materials from public school libraries and requires parental notification and consent for student access to certain other library materials. Read ATPE’s written testimony on the bill here. On April 19, 2023, the House voted to pass HB 900 on second reading. (Record Vote #334. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.) The bill was ultimately approved by both the House and Senate and became law.

• House Vote #14 - 2023: PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS

  Voted for the Raney amendment that stripped voucher language from an omnibus education bill, thereby stopping the last attempt to pass vouchers through the Texas Legislature in 2023. ATPE supported the amendment.

  House Floor Amendment 2 by Rep. John Raney (R–Bryan) to House Bill 1 by Rep. Brad Buckley (R–Salado), 88th Legislature, fourth called Special Session. The amendment removed voucher provisions from an omnibus education bill, effectively stopping the last attempt to pass vouchers during the 2023 legislative sessions. Read more about the amendment here. On Nov. 17, 2023, the House voted to adopt the Raney amendment. (Record vote #56. View an official record of the vote in the House journal.)

Candidate Survey Responses

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RESPONSES TO THE 2024 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY:

1. If elected, what are your top priorities for public education?

Rep. Plesa’s top priorities for public education are making sure that public education is fully-funded, reforming recapture, defending public education from voucher schemes, and expanding access to early childhood education and intervention programs.

2. Voucher programs take many forms (tax credits, scholarships, education savings accounts, etc.) and are either universal or aimed at specific subpopulations (special education students, low-income students, students attending schools with poor A-F accountability ratings, etc.). Would you vote to create a voucher program of any type to pay for students to attend non-public K-12 schools, such as private or home schools?

No. Public education money must only be spent on public schools. Taxpayer funded private school vouchers remove critical resources from public schools and give it to private institutions, harming students, schools, and communities. Rep. Plesa is firmly opposed to any and all voucher schemes no matter how they are packaged and sold to the Legislature. Every time a vote on vouchers has come before the House, Rep. Plesa has faithfully voted against them.

3. In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 3 requiring a number of new school safety measures. However, many believe the Legislature did not adequately increase funding to cover the cost of the mandates in HB 3 or other locally adopted school safety measures. How would you work to make schools safer and ensure such initiatives are properly funded?

Abbott had vowed to veto any new public education funding if it didn’t come in hand with a voucher proposal, his top legislative priority last year. This is why HB 3 remains an unfunded mandate. As a co-author the Fully Fund our Future Act during the multitude of special sessions, Rep. Plesa supports using part of our $20 Billion (projected) surplus next session to appropriate the monies needed to close the funding gap. School officials were already struggling to meet the safety requirements in HB 3, like the mandate to staff every campus with an armed officer--a policy that is projected to cost Plano ISD millions of dollars.

4. Despite a record-breaking surplus of $38 billion during the 2023 legislative session, school funding formulas were not increased to keep pace with inflation since they were last adjusted in 2019. Do you believe Texas public schools should receive additional funding? If so, how should the state pay for it?

Yes, Rep. Plesa supports increasing funding for Texas public schools. She co-sponsored the Fully Fund Our Future Act, which would fund schools based on enrollment and not attendance, increase the basic allotment, and index school funding to inflation to keep up with rising costs. In collaboration with local school districts, Rep. Plesa crafted Recapture & Transparency Reform legislation that would improve transparency for taxpayers, allow school districts to save money, and ensure that recapture payments are spent only on much needed school funding.

5. Texas has faced growing teacher shortages in recent years, with many schools hiring uncertified teachers to fill the gaps. How would you work to ensure Texas public schools have an adequate number of trained and certified teachers?

Rep. Plesa believes that students, educators, and communities-at-large are best served when educators are fully supported. Texas must improve teacher pay and working conditions if we are going to be able to recruit and retain the talented and passionate individuals that feel called to teach. It’s what our students and our teachers deserve. We should ensure that the teaching profession continues to be seen and respected with proper pay and benefits and one that harvests an environment for educators to want to stay in and be able to retire with dignity and security.

6. Inadequate compensation hampers the recruitment and retention of high-quality educators. Do you support a state-funded across-the-board pay raise for all Texas educators?

Yes, Rep. Plesa supports increasing teacher salaries by at least $15,000 across the board along with raises for all of the support staff, paraprofessionals and school district employees. She believes that investing in our schools and the people who make them successful incubators of talent and genius, is a worthy investment and one that will yield the highest returns for our society and nurtures the Texas Miracle.

7. The high cost of health insurance available to educators is a significant factor decreasing their take-home pay. How would you address the challenge of rising health care costs facing Texas educators and ensure access to affordable health care?

Teacher health care expenditures are skyrocketing, taking up more and more of teacher take-home pay. The Legislature should consider several ways to lower the teacher’s share of premiums, such as increasing the state contribution percentage and allowing school districts to choose from multiple health care plans to meet teacher needs. Rep. Plesa also wants to prioritize teacher wellbeing through mental health supports, expanded access to childcare and other benefits. By taking a more holistic look at the problem of high health spending, which is not unique to teachers, and tackling the root cause of rising health spending: higher health care prices. Because of the unique nature of how teacher health insurance funding is split between districts, the state, and teachers, the political debate has often focused on how to allocate the share of responsibility. While this debate is important, a more pressing objective should be to identify strategies to reduce total cost and empower plan administrators to implement those strategies with the full backing of the legislature.

8. What do you feel is the proper role of standardized testing in the Texas public education system? For instance, should student test scores be used as a metric in determining teacher pay, school accountability ratings, evaluating teachers, measuring student progress, etc.?

Texas public schools should be held to appropriate standards of quality through comprehensive assessment and accountability systems that accurately reflect academic performance and other measures of student progress. Rep. Plesa supports real-time assessments that inform instruction, measure individual progress, and serve as one of multiple measures reflecting a student’s entire educational experience. An overemphasis on standardized testing puts too much pressure on students and teachers, and does not account for all that goes into what makes a good school. Standardized testing should inform instruction in the classroom and not be a major, or the only factor, in determining how our students and schools are performing. Adding indicators that provide a more accurate depiction of life in our schools – from academic achievement, extracurricular activities, enrichment programs, social emotional learning, and more – will give parents a better understanding of what is taking place and working well in their child’s school.

9. In your opinion, what is the proper balance between accommodating an individual parent’s or student’s wishes and the taxpaying community’s interest in directing and maintaining an optimal educational environment for the student population as a whole?

Rep. Plesa trusts that educators are capable of guiding the academic growth of students in a way that is appropriate relative to their stage of development. Educators are trained and experienced professionals that are committed to nurturing students in an environment that is safe and that promotes their well-being. There may be some subjects that are sensitive that parents may wish to opt-out of their children receiving instruction on. However, requiring parents to opt-in regarding certain lessons, such as lessons about abuse and neglect, is unduly onerous and risks children not receiving vital information for keeping them safe.

10. Do you believe the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) should be maintained as a traditional defined-benefit pension plan for all future, current, and retired educators, or do you support converting TRS to a defined-contribution structure that is more like a 401(k) plan, in which future benefits are not guaranteed?

Rep. Plesa believes that TRS should be maintained as a traditional defined-benefit pension plan for all future, current, and retired educators.

11. State law allows educators and other public employees to voluntarily choose to join professional associations such as ATPE and have membership dues deducted from their paychecks at no cost to taxpayers. Do you support or oppose letting all public employees continue to exercise this right?

Rep. Plesa supports ATPE members, as well as members of other professional associations, in their right to pay dues directly from their paycheck. Workers have a right of association, and there is no legitimate reason to restrict this right. It does not benefit taxpayers or any particular public interest to treat professional associations differently than other organizations eligible for contributions to be deducted from worker paychecks.

Additional Comments from Candidate on Survey

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