If it feels as if we have been having this debate for years, it’s because we have, long before we endured the onslaught of special sessions in 2023 on the issue.
To illustrate the point, let’s revisit the April 11, 1997, column from the legendary Texas writer Molly Ivins: “Texas: Laboratory for Lunacy.” You may or may not agree with Ivins’ takes on the state of public education or other issues, but what she describes about vouchers rings as true today as it did then:
“Now maybe, just maybe, some upper-middle-class folks might be able to afford a fancy private school with a voucher to help, but working-class and middle-class kids are going to be stuck just where they always were. Why should we spend public money to help just that one thin slice of the population when it won’t improve the public schools?
The rural kids are really going to get burned by this idea. As you may have noticed, almost all private schools are in cities. Hundreds of rural school districts don’t have a single private school, but because of the way state education financing works, they’d still lose thousands of dollars from their budgets for the public schools without a single kid going to private school.”
Now’s as good of a time as any to learn from history.
In this week’s Hotline:
Dismantling the Department of Education
The Lege is kicking into gear
A new report on charter schools
Bills to give you a voice in your workplace
The U.S. Congress is proposing devastating budget cuts
As news of an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education looms, parents, students, and staff are left in limbo. Join us on March 4 at 6 p.m. on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram to understand what the chaos at the DOE could mean for our schools. RSVP for the livestream online!
Things are heating up in this legislative session, with a metric ton of bills being filed and some of the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s stated priorities moving through the committee process.
Several of those bills are various attempts at pay incentives for teachers – and we do mean just teachers, unfortunately. We walk through what’s moving and our view on those bills, as well as recap the Senate Education Committee’s non-pay-related hearing.
The deadline to file bills for the Texas Legislature is March 14! Committee hearings soon will ramp up, so now is the time to get yourself ready to testify. Join us this Monday to get familiar with the process. At the end of the session, we’ll help you schedule a date to testify this spring! RSVP via Mobilize.
A new report from Our Schools Our Democracy (OSOD) lays out a damning reality: while Texas public schools struggle with historic underfunding, privately run charter schools are expanding unchecked and draining billions from local school districts with little oversight or accountability. It’s time for Texas parents and the public to have more power over the decisions that impact our kids’ education and cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
The Legislature’s 89th session is seeing a wave of proposed legislation that could reshape workplace democracy in public schools for the better, a key right outlined by our K-12 and higher ed members in ourEducator’s Bill of Rights. From expanding collective bargaining rights to strengthening grievance procedures, these bills could have a major positive impact on the working conditions of educators across the state.
The U.S. Congress is discussing a budget proposal that will mean steep cuts to Medicaid, a program that supports people from birth to retirement and beyond.
Last week, House Republicans narrowly passed a budget resolution that directs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to find $880 billion in “savings”; in reality, those savings are just cuts to the vital services provided to Americans in all walks of life.
Medicaid is not waste. It is essential to keeping hospitals open and supporting students at school. Cutting Medicaid will hurt individual patients and entire communities.
Education news from around the state and nation that’s worth your time.
📖Basically everyone agrees Texas teachers need a raise. The question is how to do it. Two pieces of current legislation include three different methods for boosting teacher pay. That’s because there isn’t one universally agreed upon quick fix for the issue. To better understand the potential impact of these different approaches, KUT spoke with school finance experts, the Texas Education Agency, and advocacy groups.(KUT, Feb. 26)
📖 We’re Fort Worth educators. Let us tell you how bad vouchers will be for schools.School voucher bills in front of the Texas Legislature are wolves in sheep’s clothing. As North Texas public school teachers, we implore you to take a closer look and ask for a sensible education budget worthy of our students. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Feb. 22)
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