Florence Shapiro

Florence Shapiro is known as a champion for education and children's issues. Representing the 8th Senatorial District, which encompasses Collin County, she is in her third term in the Texas Senate and has dedicated herself to improving public education and creating an alternative to the state's public school finance system. As a former school teacher and the mother of three children, all of whom attended public school, she has utilized her chairmanship of the Senate Education Committee and the Joint Select Committee on Public School Finance to advance educational excellence for all Texas students, while working to lessen the burden on local property taxpayers.

But her interest in education does not stop there. As Chairman of Senate Education, she also is charged with issues relating to higher education. To that end, she passed legislation allowing state university boards of regents the authority to set tuition rates, while providing accountability measures for higher education. Because of her work in this area, she was appointed co-chair of both the Joint Select Committee on Higher Education and the Legislative Oversight Committee on Higher Education.

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Shapiro holds a bachelor's degree in secondary education. She is a former public school teacher and former Mayor of Plano. In addition, she was a six-term Plano City Council Member and President of the Texas Municipal League before being elected to the Senate in 1993. She remains focused on the pressing needs facing our state, namely public school finance and education reform, and making Texas a leader in higher education. As the former chair of the Senate State Affairs Committee, her tenure includes major legislation creating the Texas Mobility Fund and Ashley's Laws. Her underlying goals are to make government more efficient, to protect citizens and improve accountability in Texas schools, both in public education and in higher education, fostering educational excellence and opportunities for all Texans.

Shapiro currently serves on the Senate Finance, State Affairs, and Infrastructure Development and Homeland Security Committees. She was recently appointed by Gov. Perry to the Southern Regional Education Board, a coalition of elected officials and education leaders that addresses issues such as long-range planning, policy proposals and the advancement of education among the states. Her leadership has earned her many honors over the years, most recently the "Woman of Excellence Award" by Women's Enterprise Magazine, and the "Texas Lone Star Leadership Award" from Texas Public Policy Foundation, as well as being recognized as a "Fighter for Free Enterprise" by the Texas Association of Business. She is also the recipient of the 2004 "Legislator of the Year" award from the Associated Security Services and Investigators of the State of Texas, and the 2004 John McVeigh award for her work in the Collin County Republican Party. She was named a Top 10 Legislator by political newsletter, Capitol Inside, and was called the "backbone of the Collin County delegation" and a "session winner" by the Dallas Morning News for her leadership in the 78th Legislative Session. She is a 1997 recipient of the John Ben Sheppard Public Leadership Forum's Political Courage Award and the Legislative Star Award from the Texas Classroom Teachers Association. In addition, she is a Paul Harris Rotary fellow and was named 2002 "Woman of the Year" by Les Femme du Monde for her contributions to society over her lifetime.

Shapiro is president of an advertising, public relations and special events agency, Shapiro & Company. She lives in Plano with her husband Howard. They have three children: Lisa and Brian Strauss of Houston, with grandchildren Joshua and Noa; Staci and Paul Rubin, and Todd and Jori Shapiro, all of Frisco.