Sandy Kress' practice focuses on public law and policy at the state and national levels, with a strong focus on education matters, including policies, reform and accountability. Mr. Kress was named a senior fellow of the James B. Hunt, Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership in 2009. He served as senior advisor to President George W. Bush on education with respect to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. He also previously served as president of the board of trustees of the Dallas Public Schools.
Mr. Kress formerly served on the Education Commission of the States, and he currently serves as counsel to the Governor's Business Council. He is also a life member of the board of directors of the Texas Business & Education Coalition.
In 1991, Mr. Kress was appointed by Texas Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock to the Educational Economic Policy Center. He was later asked to chair the Center's Accountability Committee. This committee produced the public school accountability system that was later adopted into Texas state law and recognized as one of the most advanced accountability systems in the nation. Lt. Gov. Bullock also appointed Mr. Kress to serve in 1994 on the interim committee to study the Texas Education Agency. In December 2007, Mr. Kress was appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to serve on the Select Committee on Public School Accountability, which is tasked with thoroughly reviewing the public school accountability system.
Gov. Perry appointed Mr. Kress in April 2007 to chair the Commission for a College Ready Texas. This commission issued recommendations to promote greater college/work readiness among Texas high school graduates.
Mr. Kress was also appointed by Gov. Perry in December 2007 to serve on the Governor’s Competitiveness Council, which was launched to identify obstacles to global competitiveness and to seek recommendations on ways Texas can enhance its economic footing for long-term, sustained success.
Prior to joining Akin Gump, Mr. Kress was a partner in a Dallas law firm. He also served as deputy assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the U.S. Treasury Department from 1977 to 1980.
Mr. Kress received his A.B. in 1971 from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. with honors in 1975 from the University of Texas School of Law, where he served as president of the student government. He is a member of the Texas and District of Columbia bars.