Friday, state Rep. Terri Collins announced that she would be seeking another terms in the Alabama legislature representing House District 8.
Collins cited her impressive record of protecting the unborn, promoting conservative values, and working to provide quality public education for students and parents in a statement.
“Since taking office, Alabama has made great strides in education, economic development, and protecting unborn life, but the job is not yet finished, and our mission is not complete,” Collins said. “We must keep working to give every child access to a quality public education regardless of where they live or how much their family earns, create new jobs and opportunities, and preserve our conservative Alabama values.”
Collins is the chair of the House Education Policy Committee. She sponsored and passed the Alabama Literacy Act, which seeks to ensure every public school student is reading at grade level by third grade or the state will make them repeat the grade. Collins said that multiple studies have shown that students who read at or above grade level by third grade are more likely to maintain progress, perform better, and graduate than students who do not.
Collins also holds a seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Education Committee, which annually appropriates roughly $7 billion to the state’s K-12 public schools, community colleges, and four-year universities. The 2022 education trust fund budget passed during this legislative session is the largest in the history of the state of Alabama.
Collins was also the author and House sponsor of the nation’s strongest pro-life law, which sponsors hope could prompt the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider the controversial 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that opened the door to abortion-on-demand.
Collins said that since first taking office, she has passed numerous landmark bills and initiatives including implementation of an easy-to-understand A – F grading system to measure public schools’ performance so parents may see the quality of education their children receive and creation of the Alabama School Safety and Student Security Task Force, which ensured the state’s public learning facilities are prepared to handle active shooter and terroristic threat situations.
Collins is a retired marketing executive and businesswoman who spent sixteen years in the Decatur banking industry. Collins was married to the late Tom Collins, who passed away in 2020.
Collins has been criticized by some conservatives for not helping advance legislation to repeal the Common Core aligned Alabama College and Career Ready Standards.
The Republican primary is scheduled for May 24, 2022.
