[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 149 (Friday, September 7, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H7924-H7925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CONGRATULATING HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate one of my 
great school districts. I have many in my congressional district, but I 
particularly want to cite the Houston Independent School District 
suffering from Hurricane Harvey and under the threat of the Texas 
Education Agency to be closed.
  What a state of mind for parents and children, many of whom have been 
displaced.

[[Page H7925]]

  Now, let it be very clear, there are a number of school districts in 
my congressional district, and I salute them all and the teachers and 
students; but in this instance, over the past couple of months, there 
was a question of, on opening day, would six or seven schools of HISD 
be closed.
  I always went throughout the community to the meetings when I was in 
the district, and the refrain was: The schools will not be closed.
  I am an optimist. I believe in our children and our teachers. And on 
August 27, a few days before, the TEA had indicated that the test that 
the children take, the scores that came out in early August, that they 
had passed, and the schools that were in jeopardy of closing were not 
going to close, and others had been given an extension because of the 
devastation of Hurricane Harvey and the complete displacement of our 
children.
  So on that opening day of August 27, I went to four or five of my 
schools. I went with the mayor and the school board members, and I 
thanked them and our great school superintendent, because a lot of the 
work attributed to their success, TEA noted it was the great 
superintendent that we have in HISD. And I believe we should keep her. 
She is doing an excellent job.
  Congratulations to the children, the teachers, the school district, 
because our children are our most precious resource.

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