News
House and Senate Negotiate School Funding
House and Senate conferees on the state budget have begun negotiating to harmonize their differing proposals. The Center for Public Policy Priorities delivered an open letter to the negotiators today on the status of key portions of the budget, including some telling points on funding for public education. They wrote: “We support the higher level of…
TEA Commissioner’s A-F Performance Rating Plan
(From the Dallas Morning News. Note: the new performance rating system, while a welcome change, still uses testing criteria as the only measure of the quality of a campus.) A new school performance rating system that will spotlight how well schools are doing to close long-standing achievement gaps between white and minority students was announced Tuesday…
Bill proposes state takeover of campuses
Senate Bill 1718 (West) proposes that the state would take over campuses that are underperforming on state tests for 3 consecutive years. Using a poorly-fundtioning model pioneered in Louisiana, Texas would form the “Texas Achievement District,” which would take responsibility for the campuses away from local school districts. In many (if not most) cases, the schools…
Voucher Bill Set for Hearing on Tuesday
The Senate Education Committee will hear testimony for Senate Bill 115. which proposes vouchers for students with disabilities. The bill is being proposed by Sen. Tommie Williams. The hearing will begin at 8:30 am on Tuesday, March 5 in hearing room E1.028. For more information about vouchers, click here.
Senate Panel Votes to Add $1.5 Billion Back into School Budget
The Senate Finance Committee voted to include $1.5 billion in the budget for public education, over and above funding for student growth (which was not funded in 2009-2013). This is still far short of the $5.4 billion cuts from schools in the 2011 session. $40 million of the $200 million in state grants would be restored…
Texas’ School Funding System Ruled Unconstitutional
On Feb. 4, Judge John Dietz declared that the way Texas funds schools is both inadequate and unfair. Responding to lawsuits brought by over 600 school districts, Dietz criticized the state legislature for raising standards while at the same time cutting resources to meet those standards. The ruling will now be appealed to the Texas Supreme…
Texas schools running $1 billion short, expert testifies
Texas’ public schools are $1 billion short, meaning officials will soon have to seek that much in supplemental appropriations from the state Legislature to meet upcoming financial obligations, a top official said at the school finance trial Monday. Shirley Beaulieu, chief financial officer at the Texas Education Agency, testified before state District Judge John Dietz that…
Comptroller Susan Combs Projects $101.4 Billion for Budget
Today, State Comptroller Susan Combs projected that the Texas legislature will have a larger-than-expected $101.4 billion to work with. In addition, the “Rainy Day Fund” will have $11.8 billion. For more information about this development: http://www.texastribune.org/2013/01/07/combs-says-texas-will-have-1014-billion-session/
Senator Patrick Announces Education Plan
On December 19, 2012, Sen. Dan Patrick, chair of the Senate Education Committee, announced his plans for public education. Glaring was the omission of any mention in the hour-long press conference of restoring funding to public schools. Proposals included a voucher plan, couched as a business tax credit, greater school choice across and between school districts,…
TEA Commissioner Williams Waives 15% Rule for EOC Exams
On Friday, Nov. 30, TEA Commissioner Michael Williams extended the right of school districts to request waivers to the unpopular 15% rule, which makes new EOC (End of Course) exams count 15% of a student’s final course average. Governor Perry, as well as the Senate and House Education Committee Chairs, urged the change in response to…