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Texas mayor bans STAAR testing in his city

The mayor knows his ban won't hold up in court, but he hopes the "peaceful protest" will bring changes to testing.
Credit: Stacia Pratt
Steve Horelica

LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas — The mayor of Devers, east of Houston, has banned the STAAR assessment inside his city limits as part of a “peaceful protest.”

Steve Horelica, who is also a fifth grade teacher, first posted about a possible ban – as a joke – on Facebook back in January.

He said he was tired of the “madness” over testing that don’t show what kids actually learn.

Credit: Stacia Pratt
Steve Horelica

But on Tuesday night, Horelica officially issued a proclamation banning the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness.

The proclamation says time is wasted by teachers and students stressing over the test, although the mayor admits he knows the children in his city will still have to take the test later this semester.

He hopes his “peaceful protest” will bring attention to frustrations over STAAR.

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