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!
As the spread of COVID-19 became a global pandemic, disrupting every facet of our daily lives, Texas schools pivoted without warning or additional funding to continue the promise of public
Texas Schools at Risk of Significant Funding Cuts due to Pandemic-Related Attendance Loss As the spread of COVID-19 became a global pandemic, disrupting every facet of our daily lives, Texas
High-Taxing vs Low-Taxing School Districts Download this report as a PDF In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 3 (HB 3) — an $11.6 billion school finance reform law
With resources limited, the focus should be on educational needs, not tax cuts The Texas House Ways and Means Committee, which controls bills related to the state’s revenue system, is
Texas is responsible for educating nearly 5.4 million school-age children. However, our school finance system leaves nearly 4.3% — or 262,000 students — unfunded, which is nearly equivalent to the entire
