Joshua Escalante

Choose not to answer

My opinion on this is deeply personal & irrelevant to my responsibilities as a Trustee on the School Board. More importantly, any answer that I give may cause unnecessary division within our community.

In the event a student experiences a crisis pregnancy, the district should follow relevant state law, which requires schools to offer prenatal and postpartum Pregnancy Related Services (PRS), either at home or on a Round Rock ISD campus, depending on the needs and circumstances of the individual student. In the event of a crisis pregnancy, the school district is legally obligated to provide services from the school counselor where the school counselor shares all information with the parent(s) or legal Guardian. The parent or guardian would then work with the student to determine next steps for the student and the student's pregnancy.

Agree

I support fully funding public education at all levels. In Texas, dollars for K-12 public education come from local property tax revenues, which are allocated by the state. As such, providing oversight and transparency through the locally elected Trustees of the school board is imperative in order to provide accountability and help maintain the community’s trust in the district.

Neutral

As legal conservators, parents/guardians have the right to make educational decisions on behalf of their minor children. In such scenarios, the teacher, school administration and the student’s parents/guardians should be involved in the discussion to ensure the correct pronoun usage for the student with the parent’s approval.

Disagree

These types of resources should be available to parents/guardians and the student outside of school. Additional counseling services should be available to the family since these are major decisions and deeply personal. The school system should have minimal involvement with regard to a student’s medical care.

Neutral

There are many factors that are essential for student learning. These include consistent discipline, parent engagement both inside and outside the school environment, establishing clear learning and behavioral expectations, and consistent consequences for improper/challenging behavior. If a student qualifies for SPED services and has a Behavior Plan (BIP) in place, this should be followed. The district should be proactive at recommending Behavior Assessments and updating these BIPs as needed.

Yes

Transparency is important; the availability of this information to the public could be utilized as a recruiting tool to attract more students to the school district. For any sexual health education curriculum materials in the public domain, a district must both post materials online, if the district has a website, and also provide materials on request to parents of enrolled students by email or by mail.

Agree

The teaching of America's founding documents allows each student to know and understand the origin of this country and how it was founded. Just as a student moving abroad would be taught the history of their host country, it is equally important for families moving to the United States of America to accurately understand this country’s history.

Agree

RRISD is a diverse community that should be celebrated. The district must provide all students with equal opportunities to learn and thrive academically, which means equitable access to resources based on individual needs and circumstances. Yes! We need inclusion. This means looking around the room, and saying, “Hey, is everyone here? Did we forget anyone?” RRISD should ensure all doors of opportunity are open for all based on their individual needs, abilities and least restrictive environment.

Disagree

The Dept of Ed is needed to hold public education systems accountable at state/local levels to ensure Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for all students, including those with disabilities. An accountability failure in 2004 occurred when TEA imposed an 8.5% cap on districts for those who qualify for SPED under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. Thousands of TX students were harmed from lack of oversight & functional multilevel system of government checks & balances.

Language Arts, Mathematics, American History, Information Technology, Civics, Foreign Language, Physical Fitness, Art & Music, Personal Finances and Vocational Learning

Disagree

Any funding being taken away from the public school district is not in the best interest of the district and public school education. Money already does follow the child in Texas, provided the child is enrolled in public school.

Students should have equality of opportunities since public education already accommodates each student and the student's individual learning needs.

(B) Opt-Out- In Texas, a child defaults to receiving CSE unless explicitly opted out by parent.

The most important value when it comes to education is that every child deserves to read at the 3rd grade level by the time they leave 3rd grade. The school and parent(s) or guardian should be engaged with the student from the start of school to graduation. Every child should feel safe when entering school grounds and should be protected against bullying. The values of the school district should reflect the values of the community.

Both the parents/guardians and the school should be involved in teaching a child about sexual education. If the district chooses to offer a sexual education curriculum, there are many checks and balances in place, including a state mandated SHAC (School Health Advisory Committee) that is made up of community members and parents. According to Texas Education Code 28.004, the role of school district’s board of trustees is to adopt a formal written process laying out how the district will select sex education curriculum materials. The School Board must formally adopt any curriculum through a record vote at a public meeting. The board must ensure that sexual health education curriculum is age-appropriate and has been reviewed by experts. Members of the community must be able to review all curriculum materials during the adoption process. Public domain materials should be posted online, while copyrighted materials should be made available for review at a student’s home campus or emailed in a secure way to the parent. The child’s school must send a detailed description of the content of the school district’s human sexuality program to the parents. and the They must inform parents of their right to look over or purchase the program materials and to remove their child from the program without academic punishment or penalty. Furthermore, the school must send a detailed description of the content of the school district’s human sexuality program to the parents and a general time schedule for the instruction, as well as the state requirements required for human sexuality instruction before each school year.

According to Texas Education Code 28.004 a sexual education curriculum must state that abstinence is the best choice in an unmarried relationship. Content on condoms and contraception are included in the updated middle and high school Health Education TEKS. Additionally, the program must discuss abstinence more than other pregnancy, HIV/STD prevention methods (e.g., condoms and other contraceptives) as well as state that abstinence is the only 100% effective method of preventing pregnancy and HIV/STD. Optional health class, rather than Sex Ed. is currently taught at the high school level. Age-appropriate sexual education in high schools should include human anatomy/the reproductive system, physical and emotional health outcomes, abstinence, consent, contraceptive methods, stages of pregnancy and fetal development, abortion methods and side effects.

Neutral

According to Texas Senate Bill 14, A minor child cannot receive puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or surgeries for the purpose of treating gender distress. A child must reach the legal age of adulthood (18) before making decisions that could damage their healthy bodies through surgeries or may cause infertility or life-long dependency of hormones/medications.

Agree

Public education, including libraries should not be involved in sexualization of children of any kind. Parents entrust schools to refrain from exposing their children to sexual content outside of sexual education lessons with express parental consent. Public schools are intended for educating and enriching through academics, fine arts, athletics, & extracurricular activities. Any classroom or library materials rated mature or for adults are best suited for the adult section in public libraries.

Neutral

Public school education should remain neutral on this topic to be inclusive to all students. This is not relevant to my roles and responsibilities as a district board of trustee.

Agree

Parents/guardians are the ultimate authority in their child’s education and healthcare. Public schools play a critical role in helping to shape a child’s life, education, and development. However, school/district officials should defer to parents/guardians to raise their children in accordance with their personal values and beliefs.

Agree

According to Texas Education Code 26.004, a parent is entitled access to all written records of a school district concerning their child, including attendance, test scores, grades, disciplinary/counseling/psychological records, application for admission, health and immunization information, teacher and school counselor evaluations, reports of behavioral patterns, records relating to assistance provided for learning difficulties. They should expect access to these in a timely manner.

Disagree

I support current Texas state legislation requiring proper voter ID.

Agree

As a Trustee, it is my duty to follow state law. House Bill 25 requires public school students to compete in interscholastic athlete competitions based solely on their assigned sex at birth. The law states that K-12 students who participate in interscholastic competition may only play on teams in accordance with the sex listed on their official birth certificate, which is defined as the one issued at or near the time of their birth and may not correspond with their gender identity.

Agree

In order to maintain the safety and privacy of both males and females, biological males and biological females should not share or enter one another’s space, which includes restrooms and locker rooms. The public school should provide restrooms/locker rooms that are gender neutral for those students whose gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth.

No

No

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Agree

A faculty should be allowed to carry concealed if board-approved as part of a Guardian Program or if the person is a designated school marshal.

Disagree

A school district should obey state and federal regulation or legislation and if no regulation or legislation is in place, recommendations can be made by the school district, but not required.