AUSTIN -  The costs of public education to Texas Students and parents just got higher.  According to State Representative Dan Flynn, the requirement to pass three of the new tests before a child can go to college in the fall of 2015 is misguided and must be reexamined.  "If a child meets the requirements of their School District and High School, that child should be free to pursue any institution of higher learning without worrying about a mandated test score," stated Rep. Flynn.  "If they need additional education that is between the parents and the school, not the government. The right and proper role of government is not to set obstacles in front of its citizens but rather to help them achieve.  Tests do not educate children and neither do bureaucracies.  Parents and teachers educate children and we need to devote our time and effort to ensure great results in the classroom, not on a test." 

Representative Flynn has consistently advocated for the reassessment and perhaps the whole sale change of the state-imposed, public school testing regimen. He introduced House Bill 2491 that would have placed a moratorium on the "assessments of certain public school students under the public school accountability system," and less than a year ago the House Education Committee refused to take a vote on his cash-saving proposal. This would have put the test on hiatus for two years, redirecting those funds to support teachers in the classroom, and allowed members to look at what this test meant for students and come up with a resolution that prioritized the wellbeing of the student, teacher and their classroom.  Instead, he had to introduce this measure on the floor of the House of Representatives as an Amendment and when the vote was taken it passed 140-2 only to be held off in the Senate. The moratorium was needed to help protect schools from the unreasonably high costs and time commitment (estimated in testimony as 45 days) imposed by the new statewide tests.