Ashley Bean Thornton – Waco, Texas

Ashley Bean Thornton is a Baylor alumna and former Baylor employee who hopes to make Waco’s community stronger and invest in the public school system.

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We need to make some changes.

To make those changes we need to elect people who have a better and deeper understanding of public education. I’ve worked in public schools. I’ve seen first-hand the amazing potential of the kids in our schools, and I have seen the frustrating and sometimes tragic challenges that are choking that potential.

Strong Public Schools Make us ALL stronger

Ashley Bean Thornton has worked in public schools.

Ashley Thornton - Ballotpedia

Ashley is a first-time candidate for political office.

2026 Texas General Election

As of July 22, 2026, Ashley Bean Thornton’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Economy

Public Safety

Healthcare

##### Six ideas to make schools stronger

Build a solid foundation for learning first.

Taking the time early to build a solid foundation for learning, helps kids go faster later. Pushing kids quickly into advanced academics may seem like it is “improving rigor,” but it is really like trying to start building a house before the foundation is poured and set – it leads to problems later.

Building a solid foundation for learning means making high-quality, full day, pre-K available for everyone. It means taking time to get strong on socialization, behavior, and essential foundational skills in pre-K, kindergarten and early grades instead of pushing kids too quickly into more advanced academics.

Get serious about attracting, developing and retaining great teachers.

A great education for every child depends on great teachers in every classroom. To attract, develop and retain a steady supply of great teachers we need to pay attention to the whole teacher lifecycle. Teachers need to be well-prepared before they start teaching, intentionally developed especially in their early career, given adequate support in the classroom, and treated and paid like professionals throughout their careers. Career teachers should be able to plan on a secure retirement.

Build an accountability system that supports learning.

We need an accountability system that helps us make sure all students are mastering the fundamentals for lifetime learning.

We don’t need the current high-stakes system that (1) ignores the reality that different students start in different places on the learning journey, (2) punishes the very schools and teachers that are working hard to help students who need the most help, and (3) traps students in a cycle of non-stop test prep to “perform” on tests that have become needlessly confusing in a misguided attempt to become “more rigorous.”

Manage behavior with an eye on the present and the future.

Students need a calm, orderly, constructive learning environment. That means effective behavior management is a must. But, if the goal of education is productive citizens in the future, a system based on just “throwing the bad kids out” is short-sighted. We need to invest in (1) developing positive social behaviors in young children, (2) helping schools develop, staff, and consistently implement behavior management plans that help teachers teach and students learn, and (3) providing counseling and support to help disruptive students self-regulate and get back on track for learning.

Strengthen special education.

Students who need special education services need support that is timely, appropriate, and effectively integrated into the overall work of the school. Serving these students requires, among other things, an adequate number of specially trained faculty and staff.

##### Investment is needed.

Great schools are the load-bearing pillars that hold up great communities. They are a smart investment that pays off – not just for the individual students – but for all of us. We need to make that investment:
  * Catch up school funding to 2019 levels, adjusted for inflation and enrollment.
  * Adjust future funding increases for inflation automatically.
  * Provide additional funding for schools serving a high percentage of low-income students.

We need to make that investment:
  * Increase pay for all teachers, not just those in the Teacher Incentive Allotment program. Increase pay for support staff as well as faculty.
  * Give school districts more flexibility in how they use the funds they have.

To that end, the two most important goals should be:

1. Making sure our already successful schools get the support they need to continue to succeed and to build on that success.
2. Closing the gaps between our schools that are serving financially stable families and schools that are mainly serving financially stressed families.

Our legislature should be focused on those two things. Everything else – funding private schools, 10 Commandments in the classroom, fussing over what afterschool clubs, weeding out the books in every teacher’s classroom – to me is a distraction from those goals.

This Month's Focus: Public Schools (Ashley Bean Thornton for Texas House District 56)

Supports making high-quality, full-day prekindergarten available to all children and emphasizing foundational skills in early grades.

Supports teacher preparation, development, support, professional compensation, and secure retirement benefits.

Calls for an accountability system focused on students mastering fundamentals rather than the current high-stakes testing system.

Supports school behavior-management plans, early social and behavioral development, and counseling and support for disruptive students.

Supports timely, appropriate special education services integrated into schools and adequate specially trained faculty and staff.

Calls for restoring school funding to 2019 levels adjusted for inflation and enrollment, automatic inflation adjustments, and additional funding for high-poverty schools.

Calls for higher pay for teachers and school support staff and greater school-district flexibility in using funds.

Said the Legislature should prioritize supporting public schools and closing school-resource gaps rather than private-school funding and classroom religious displays.

- Supports making high-quality, full-day prekindergarten available to all children and emphasizing foundational skills in early grades.
- Supports teacher preparation, development, support, professional compensation, and secure retirement benefits.
- Calls for an accountability system focused on students mastering fundamentals rather than the current high-stakes testing system.
- Supports school behavior-management plans, early social and behavioral development, and counseling and support for disruptive students.
- Supports timely, appropriate special education services integrated into schools and adequate specially trained faculty and staff.
- Calls for restoring school funding to 2019 levels adjusted for inflation and enrollment, automatic inflation adjustments, and additional funding for high-poverty schools.
- Calls for higher pay for teachers and school support staff and greater school-district flexibility in using funds.
- Said the Legislature should prioritize supporting public schools and closing school-resource gaps rather than private-school funding and classroom religious displays.

Education

Ashley Bean Thornton, a Democrat running for House District 56 had this to say about Data centers and their potential impact on Central Texas.

“Data centers — blessing or curse, who knows? But everything is moving really fast. We need to take a breath. There’s a long list of questions that need to be answered before we can make any big decisions,” she said.

She went on to ask those questions.

Texas primary candidates discuss AI, property taxes, economy before election - The Baylor Lariat

She went on to ask those questions.

“Is there enough water? Who gets first dibs on the water if it runs out? How much is the electric bill going to go up? What are we going to do about the noise and light pollution? There are a million questions that need to be asked and answered and agreed to,” she said.

Calls for answers and agreements on water, electricity costs, noise, and light pollution before major data-center decisions.

- Calls for answers and agreements on water, electricity costs, noise, and light pollution before major data-center decisions.

Energy & the Environment

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Ashley Bean Thornton

Ashley Bean Thornton is from Waco, Texas. She is a Baylor alumna.

Texas House District 56 candidates unite on data center transparency

For Candidate Ashley Bean Thornton on Issue economy: Aims to create a future where young adults can afford to buy homes and raise families.

Ashley Bean Thornton is from Waco, Texas.

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- Your state representative represents the interests of your local district in the Texas House of Representatives. The State House of Representatives, along with the State Senate, makes up your state lawmaking body: the Texas State Legislature
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