Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is creating a new commission meant to guide public education in the state.
The Texas Classroom Commission will be made up of current and retired teachers and tasked with developing recommendations ahead of the 2027 legislative session for classroom instruction, teacher support and educational outcomes.
“Texas teachers know what their students need to succeed," Abbott said in a statement announcing the new commission Tuesday. “The Texas Classroom Commission will bring together exemplary public school educators to identify innovative solutions that help students succeed, improve the learning environment in classrooms, and strengthen our schools."
Abbott named former Dallas and Richardson ISD math educator Courtney Boswell MacDonald to run the “teacher-led initiative.” She currently chairs the State Board for Educator Certification.
Abbott said the goal of putting teachers at the center of shaping the future of public education will “ build on Texas’ success and ensure our state becomes the national leader in the education of our kids..”
In a statement, Mary Lynn Pruneda, director of education and workforce policy at the research policy group Texas 2036, called the commission a “critical opportunity to learn from and partner with educators” to get more students reading and doing math at grade level.
Recent results from the state’s standardized STAAR tests showed high schoolers made gains across subjects, but reading scores for students in middle and elementary schools have stalled.
“If this commission is to take real steps to create the No. 1 public education system in the country, there’s no group better equipped to advise than our state’s top teachers,” Pruneda said.
This isn’t the first time Texas has made an effort discuss teachers’ needs, said Patricia Doyle, a leader with Dallas’s Alliance AFT Teacher Organization.
“We're willing to see if another one will work,” she said.
The commission is expected to start work in the coming weeks.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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