Maldonado: It's kind of why she ran, really

Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, may have been suitably gracious when she got her House Committee appointments. That said, there were some scratched heads amongst lege watchers that a candidate that ran on an education and insurance reform platform got State Affairs and Defense & Veteran’s Affairs.

So today the freshman filed her first three House Bills as sole author (real bills: House Resolutions, numerous as they are, don’t count) and guess what? They’re all about education:

– HB 1330: Sets up the Legislators Back to School Program, requiring lawmakers to visit at least five public school campuses in their district every biennium.

– HB 1331: Cuts school bus evacuation training from twice to once a year (saving Round Rock ISD alone $100,000 and 5,7000 hours of instruction time, she says.)

– HB 1332: Makes students and their guardians responsible for looking after their school equipment like they already are for text books.

Maldonado said the bills are about “increasing
public school awareness for lawmakers and maximizing classroom time for teachers and students.” Beware, down that path photo-ops lie.

This article appears in February 13 • 2009.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.