Kimberly M. Richey is a senior education fellow with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Richey has held several positions at the U.S. Department of Education, including acting assistant secretary in both the Office for Civil Rights and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
TPPF has long noted that the state of Texas’s limitations on virtual education have led to unexpected and unintended consequences that have intensified with the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The limitations on a district’s ability to develop virtual education systems have significantly impacted the provision of virtual education, rendering districts unprepared to meet the needs of students in pandemic-like situations. As referenced in TPPF’s November 2020 report, Virtual Education in Texas, “allowing the development of flexible school models can allow more students to learn in the way they prefer and create a more resilient public education system.”
Testimony Before the Texas Senate Education Committee