State Representative Charles Perry Says Education Will Be a Major Issue In Texas Legislative Session [AUDIO]

On the Thursday edition of the Chad Hasty Show, state representative Charles Perry joined Chad Hasty in studio to discuss some of the issues that will be brought up in this year's Texas legislative session.

According to Perry, one of the major issues to be brought up in this year's session is education, and that will come from many fronts. Perry said one of the more pressing issues in education is reformatting the STAR test. He added that it's not necessarily a problem with the test itself, but a problem with how the state uses the results from the test.

"I think all kids should take [the STAR test.] I think they should all be exposed to that...it should be a barometer to see where those kids, all kids for that matter, where they're at and what they're goals are. But it should not be a hammer. it shouldn't be an end-all, be-all, "if you don't do this this way and you don't perform at this level, we're going to punish you."

Other education issues Perry would like to see addressed include researching college alternatives, vouchers, and guns on campus.

Perry said he would also like to see Medicaid abuse and fraud addressed in this legislative session, as well as discussion on conserving water. He warned that, although the state of Texas has more money to work with this year, that state should not be in a rush to spend it all. Perry also gave his thoughts on the fiscal cliff deal, saying that he agreed with Congressman Neuegbauer's vote and that the deal did not solve the real problem of overspending.