Chandra Villanueva oversees Every Texan’s policy and advocacy work. She joined Every Texan in 2010 and focused on school finance and education policy ranging from early education to higher education access and success. Prior to joining Every Texan, Chandra was the manager of Advocacy and Public Policy with the Women’s Prison Association (WPA) in New York City. At WPA, she educated formerly incarcerated women on the legislative process and researched options for pregnant women in the criminal justice system. Chandra has also served as a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow with the Congressional Hunger Center with placements in Tucson, Arizona and Washington, DC. Chandra earned a Master of Public Administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a Bachelor of Arts from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.
Policy areas: School Finance, Pre-K, Bilingual Education
Where to find me during session: The Legislative Reference Library
My surprising hobby: Circus things, including the trapeze!
Read the full white paper on how tax compression puts Texas children last here. The Texas Constitution declares the mission of our public education system is “to ensure that all
View this testimony as a PDF here. Texans of all backgrounds value public education and strive to unlock its promises of opportunity and shared prosperity. To ensure every child in
Read our full report about why Texas should switch to enrollment-based funding for public schools here. Education is the bedrock of an informed society and the bridge to self-sufficiency. Every
Read our full report about recapture and the school finance system here. In our new report, Recapture: The Most Misunderstood Aspect of the School Finance System, we highlight how recapture
While HB 3, the tax cut and school finance bill passed in 2019, added a needed $6 billion to the school finance system, the work of ensuring all districts have
While HB 3, the tax cut and school finance bill passed in 2019, added a needed $6 billion to the school finance system, the work of ensuring all districts have
This op-ed was co-authored by Every Texan’s Economic Opportunity Program Director Chandra Villanueva and Texas AFT president Zeph Capo for the San Antonio Express-News. While we’re all paying higher prices at
Read our full joint report with Texas AFT about the underfunding of Texas schools here. Texas AFT and Every Texan released a report highlighting “The Lost Decade” in Texas, a
The American Rescue Plan Act’s State Fiscal Recovery funds are intended to respond to COVID-19 health needs or the pandemic’s negative economic impacts, provide premium pay and other support for
This column was originally featured in the Dallas Morning News. When school budgets get tight, property-wealthy districts are often quick to blame the primary equity tool of the school finance
