Issues
-
Restore Academic Excellence
On July 26, 2022, the commissioner of the TEA presented to the Texas House Committee that less that 20% of Texas classes provide on-level learning to Texas children! Leander ISD STAAR and SAT scores corroborate the decline in academic rigor. Leander ISD children deserve better than this. Currently, 100% of the curriculum is district designed. Brandi is committed to steering the district back to academic excellence by examining the process of aligning the district designed curriculum with the current TEKS that our children are expected to learn.
-
Age-Appropriate Learning Material
No minor should be exposed to sexually graphic content in-order to access their right to public education. Sexually graphic reading material has also been discovered at middle schools, available for children as young as 11 years old. Policies and law already support a school board’s discretion to remove vulgar content. Every one of us should be asking ourselves why, two years later, minors are still exposed to material that they wouldn't be able to access through a magazine or theater. Removing sexually graphic content is far overdue! Providing age-appropriate material in our schools is not banning.
-
Support Educators
Teachers have found themselves in the middle when parents’ values are not aligned with the social justice curriculum driven at the district level. Teachers just want to teach our children and we should remove all the other political distractions. Since the adoption of SB 3, now codified as Education Code 28.0022, the district has continued to supply curriculum and supplemental material that would be in violation. Our educators should not be put in a situation where teaching with the district designed material, that still violates SB3, puts their certifications at risk. Teachers deserve access to on-level, academically focused core curriculum and supplemental material available to use in their classrooms. Teachers deserve an employer that provides an unbiased work environment.
-
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Surveys
Our children are supposed to be attending to school to learn, not to spend time taking psychological surveys. Leander ISD has partnered with K12 Insights to provide surveys, however, these surveys are in violation of Federal Education Code 20 USC 1232(h). Parental consent is required prior to surveying children, that could reveal mental or psychological problems. Children are our most valuable assets. Children are also considered one of the most vulnerable and protected populations. Brandi worked 4 years in clinical research administration and understands how critical the process of informed consent is and has testified before the Texas House Education Committee on this very issue. The surveys are psychological exams and Brandi's own children have received invitations to participate in this research. The psychological research without informed consent is a violation.
-
Fiscal Responsibility
Leander ISD administration has failed to balance the budget in years. This coupled with skyrocketing appraisal values has left the district in a critical state with recapture inevitable. It has taken years to get into this drastic situation but the time is now that something must be done. Brandi is committed to calling for a forensic audit into district finances to uncover areas that can be trimmed. It is far past time for the district to be good stewards to the tax payer dollar and operate in full transparency.
