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November 20, 2009
Texas House Interim Charges Impact Education
House Speaker Joe Straus has issued the interim committee charges for the state House of Representatives, 81st Legislature.

There are numerous charges that could have an impact on education in the State of Texas. TSTA will be closely monitoring these charges and, when necessary, actively intervene to affect the outcome of the charges. Listed below are the specific charges TSTA will be monitoring. 

House Committee on Appropriations 

2. Monitor the use of funds, adherence to state and federal reporting requirements, and ongoing development of federal rules and regulations provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Evaluate the impact of those funds on the state's economy. Joint Interim Charge with House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding 

7. Examine the Texas Education Agency's programs and services, including the Student Success Initiative, and evaluate their impact on achieving the stated agency and statewide goals. 

House Committee on Higher Education 

4. Study and recommend strategies for improving community college participation and success. Examine the role of community colleges within the state higher education system. Include a review of programs, practices, and incentives to improve efficiency and productivity, such as expanding dual credit options, encouraging credit by examination, and improving student preparation in high school. 

House Committee on Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services 

2. Examine Texas school districts' administration of their employees' optional retirement investments. 

4. Examine the performance and accountability of the Texas public pension funds and make recommendations as needed. 

5. Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction. 

House Committee on Public Education 

1. Monitor the implementation of the public school accountability, college readiness, and other reforms enacted by HB 3 (81R) and recommend adjustments as needed. 

2. Study the role of public schools in promoting student health, providing health related information, and responding to infectious diseases, including the H1N1 virus. 

3. Study the best leadership and management practices of campus administrators for improving student achievement, with particular focus on effective leadership models for improving low-performing campuses. Make recommendations on how to implement successful strategies at scale. Review the current administrator certification process and make suggestions for improvements. 

4. Review policies to ensure the availability of quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum to all students in primary and secondary education. Examine strategies to increase the supply and improve retention rates of teachers in STEM fields. 

5. Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction. 

House Committee on Redistricting 

1. Conduct public hearings in appropriate locations to obtain public input on all issues relating to the redistricting of legislative, congressional, and State Board of Education districts following the release of the federal census in 2011. 

2. Gather information regarding the existence and location of communities of interest to be considered in the creation of legislative, congressional, and State Board of Education districts. 

House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding 

1. Monitor the use of funds, adherence to state and federal reporting requirements, and ongoing development of federal rules and regulations provided under the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Evaluate the impact of those funds on the state's economy. Joint Interim Charge with House Committee on Appropriations 

House Committee on State Affairs 

1. Review state compliance with federal law regarding undocumented immigrants. Evaluate the costs of services and benefits provided to undocumented immigrants by state agencies and local governments.

June 1, 2009
The Road Not Taken
Two major bills highlighted the education agenda this session; the school finance bill (House Bill 3646) and the school accountability bill (House Bill 3). This major legislation presented an opportunity to address the two key issues currently faced by the public schools. In both cases, policymakers faced clear alternatives in how to approach important issues that affect educators, students and their families alike.

In the area of school finance, almost everyone agrees the current system is severely broken. Schools don’t have the resources they need, and under the current school finance plan, they no longer have the capacity to generate additional resources at the local level. The franchise tax created in 2006 isn’t generating enough state revenue to offset local school property tax cuts the state mandated then. That funding imbalance drains an ever-increasing amount of state money to sustain the poorly funded system in place today, and that doesn’t begin to account for what is needed to provide excellence in public education.

Faced with making the difficult decisions about how to fix the problem, the legislative leadership used federal stimulus funds from President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide some modest improvements but elected to punt the larger funding problem to the 2011 session. By then, a more urgent school funding crisis is likely. More districts will be at the maximum tax rate, will have spent their reserve funds and will be looking at major cuts in programs and staff to balance their budgets. The 2 percent increase in the budget for the next biennium that is paid for with stimulus money will have to be replaced with state dollars just to keep up with current funding levels.

Instead of providing the necessary funding to provide a comprehensive fix for the school finance problem this year, legislative leaders decided to change the failed 2006 funding system. Unfortunately, they weren’t willing to pay for it, opting to put $9.5 billion in the state rainy day fund, meandering toward 2011 and very likely another lawsuit over school finance. In that context, we had to fight hard to overcome those who tried to deny a minimum $800 pass-through, across-the-board pay raise for each classroom teacher, full-time speech pathologist, full-time librarian, full-time counselor and full-time school nurse. Fortunately, we succeeded.

Given the wide range of problems associated with the current school accountability system, everyone in the education community hoped that when a task force was formed to suggest changes in the system, we would finally begin to turn away from a high-stakes “test and punish” system. Many stakeholders, including TSTA, urged legislators to adopt accountability system reforms that would use multiple measures to assess students, focus on the diverse needs of our 4.7 million students and provide assistance for schools that had high concentrations of at-risk kids.

Instead, the leadership largely elected for more of the same – a lot more of the same. When it was all said and done, the Legislature passed an incredibly complex 187-page bill that almost no one completely understands. After months of changes that alternated between better and worse, the final accountability bill includes a few good elements, but for the most part it offers more – not less – testing, and punishment is still very much the focus of the bill.

The final version of HB 3 eliminates one third-grade test in the elementary grades and replaces the high school TAKS exams with 12 standardized end-of-course exams. Students will be required to pass the English III and algebra II exams to graduate. Given the opportunity to forge a new path in student accountability, the leadership, at the urging of Gov. Rick Perry, decided to stay the course. The only good news is the bill is so complicated that it will probably take several years to implement it, and the Legislature will be back in session in 2011.

Looking ahead to the 2010 March primary and November general elections, we must work to elect candidates who will support the kind of change that swept through the rest of the country in November of 2008. Obviously, we have many friends in the Legislature, but we won’t break new ground on public education policy in Texas unless we elect more people who share our vision and our dedication to creating a first-rate public education system. This is particularly true at the highest levels of leadership in state government. We must make a difference in 2010 get state government out of a rut that has us stuck with leaders who continue to spend as little as they can get away with and put the squeeze on public schools and public school employees.

 

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