Patricia “Pat” Hardy is running for re-election to the Texas State Board of Education to represent District 11 and will be on the ballot in the Republican primary on March 5.
The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) comprises 15 members elected to four-year terms. According to the last census, District 11 comprises nearly 2 million people in Hood, Parker, and Somervell counties and portions of Dallas, Johnson, and Tarrant counties.
The Dallas Express visited with Hardy to discuss what she believes are some of the biggest hurdles teachers face today. Hardy has held her position in District 11 since being elected in 2002, and she maintains that she is just as passionate and committed to serving the people of Texas as she was 22 years ago.
Hardy said that she has seen a lot of change in the public education system, starting when she was a teacher in 1970 when she was fresh out of college.
“I don’t know if I would be a successful teacher today given some of the circumstances under which teachers are now working,” Hardy noted.
She said that when she was a teacher, most of her students were very polite and respectful. She rarely witnessed other students being overtly “hateful or mean” to one another. Hardy noted that parenting is one of the biggest differences between then and now.
“I do not like restorative discipline, and restorative discipline has caused a lot of problems,” Hardy said.
“Saying things like, ‘Honey, did you mean to throw your shoe at him? I didn’t think so. Why don’t you just sit here until you feel better,’” she said, citing such phrasing as an example of the type of “discipline” she called an “invitation to have more problems in the schools.”
Hardy explained that parents have moved away from disciplining their children to now criticizing teachers and defending their children if they are disciplined at school. “There is a lot of disruption in the classroom now,” she added.
She went on to discuss how the United States is “a country of majority rule with minority rights,” arguing that the mental health issues of children, including those with gender dysphoria, should not dominate the classroom. “I think there is too much emphasis on that minority child, minority meaning a transgender child or similar. … You don’t rule your classroom around one child being trans,” she said.
Hardy also commented on the prevalence of political ideology embedded in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which have proliferated across many institutions, including public education.
“DEI, to me, is an extension of critical race theory,” she said, adding that “the idea of putting anyone as more important than the next in the classroom” has no place in schools, public or private.
While Hardy has been vocal in her opposition to critical race theory, she opposed a particular legislative attempt at banning it in 2021, arguing instead that the SBOE would be a more appropriate venue to get “into the policy weeds,” according to the Fort Worth Report.
When discussing school choice, Hardy claimed, “I have been a big believer of school choice since we started having these conversations. I unequivocally believe in school choice.”
However, she said that “as time has gone on, school choice has moved in discussion to either vouchers or individual savings accounts for parents,” which she noted she was not in favor of.
On the subject of taxpayer money for education following the child, Hardy said, “My take on that is we do a lousy job of following the money in our government. All of this — we would end up with a whole new set of bureaucrats.”
“We would be pulling money from the public schools,” she claimed, noting that there could be potential transportation concerns in instances where a private school a child is enrolled in is not near their home.
“We just assume that mom or dad will be able to take [the child] to school, but it doesn’t always work that way,” she said.
“I would like to see us do a better job with our public schools,” said Hardy. One strategy she said she would like to see implemented is to have a committee “surprise visit, at random, public schools” to inspect and hold teachers and administrators accountable to the standards set by the state.
In looking at what things are being taught in public schools, Hardy said, “I am a conservative, and I fought very strongly to make sure that science, for example, is balanced. If you’re going to tell me that an EV, an electric car, is a good thing, you better also tell me the bad things about it. You can’t tell me all about the good things with the oil and gas industry, and there are many, without mentioning the bad things. We must ensure that our books are balanced and unbiased.”
On the subject of teachers keeping personal libraries in their classrooms that may contain questionable material, Hardy said, “I really think that personal libraries in teachers’ classrooms should be reflective of what the community expects from them. [Parents] don’t expect their child to go to school and be exposed to books like Gender Queer or something like that.”
Hardy warned, “Teachers have a lot of influence on our kids.”
“I am a conservative,” she reiterated, stressing that she does not support critical race theory and that this was evident in her support of SB 3. Hardy also said she was “anti-abortion” and has endorsements from groups like Texas Alliance for Life based on her “stance on pro-life.”
“I have an understanding of public schools and extensive experience,” said Hardy. “This is like a full-time job, and I spend a lot of time working on state board issues. I am able to do my job because I put it as a priority, and I have the most institutional knowledge on the board.”
When asked why she was running again, Hardy said, “I still have work to do.”