Chapter 12
Public Policy in
Texas
Education Policy in Texas
– Debate over Texas public education extends back
to period when Texas was part of Mexico.
– Republic of Texas Constitution requires public
education system; legislature adopts one 1854
– Constitution of 1876 established the Permanent
School Fund, specifies funding guidelines.
– Public education policy was left to local school
districts until the 1940s
• State legislature attempted to address problems
associated with public school funding and
facilities.
Education Policy in Texas
• State Board of Education
– 15 members, 4-year terms
– Oversees the Permanent School Fund
– Executes the education budget
– Nominates commissioner of education
– Purchases textbooks and shapes what is in them
• Curriculum, content, and materials covered in
books reflects what the SBOE wants—Texas is
a huge market for companies selling textbooks
and testing services
– Sets education standards for students and schools
Education Policy in Texas
Three issues have shaped Texas public
educational policy over the last fifty years:
1. Desegregation
2. Equity in public school funding
3. Search for educational excellence
– How to measure and demonstrate
– High stakes testing
Education Policy in Texas:
Segregation
• Texas Constitution called for segregation
– Black students had fewer school days,
– One-third less funding than white students
• State legislature passed a resolution in 1957
opposing Brown v. Board (1954) decision
desegregating public schools.
• Many districts are still de facto segregated by
residence patterns
Education Policy in Texas:
Funding
• San Antonio ISD v. Rodriguez landmark case
addressed equity in public school funding
• 1971, Texas school finance system ruled
unconstitutional
– Violated 14th Amendment equal protection clause.
– Overturned on appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Education Policy in Texas:
Funding
• Edgewood ISD v. Kirby (1989)
– State Supreme Court declares existing funding
system in violation of state constitution
– Funding public school districts with local property
taxes violated Texas equal protection and efficient
systems clauses
• Vast differences in property values from one
school district to another produced an unequal
system of school funding
Education Policy in Texas:
Funding
• “Robin Hood” funding system emerged as a
result of the Edgewood decision
– Property wealthy districts share their local tax
revenue with poor districts
• Wealthy districts pay “wealth equalization”
share of their local property taxes back to the
state
• The state redistributes funds to poor districts
– Poor districts retain their local property tax dollars
and receive additional funds the state collects
from the wealthy districts
Education Policy in Texas:
Funding
• Robin Hood system remains in place today
• Texas has 1,265 school districts
• As of September 2012, 374 districts
designated by state as “property wealthy”
– First year of program, only 35 in that category
Education Policy in Texas:
Educational Excellence
• Education Reform in 1980s
– Select Committee on Public Education (SCOPE)
– Made 140 recommendations
– Centralized state control over education
• Education Reform in 1990s
– Students in low-performing schools have some
ability to move out of them
– Gov. Bush lead effort, foundations of NCLB
Education Policy in Texas:
Educational Excellence
• Twenty years after reforms, mixed results
– Dropout rates declined
• Controversy remains about how these data are
derived
– Scores on standardized tests rose
• Controversy remains about curriculum and daily
classroom effort driven by state testing
• 2011 state legislature budget cuts to education
may jeopardize many of the reform initiatives
of the previous 20 years.
Welfare Policy in Texas
• Poverty in Texas
– 18% of Texans (over 4 million) in poverty (2011)
• Compared to 15% national average
• Federal Poverty Guidelines 2012
– Income of $11,170 for an individual
• + $3,960 for each additional household member
• This means individuals earning $935/month are
not, by legal definition “poor.”
• 58% of poor households are employed
Welfare Policy
• Most major state welfare programs are
cooperative using federal matching funds
– Medicaid: medical care for the poor
– TANF: welfare
• income assistance, medial and social services
– Public Housing & Section 7 vouchers
– School meals and SNAP (Lone Star Card)
Welfare Policy
• Temporary Aid to Needy Families
– Temporary: limited to 36 months (3 years)
• Not more than 5 years over a lifetime
– Aid Types: Income, child care, social services
– Often vouchers or direct agreements with
providers, less direct cash payments since
Clinton Era Welfare Reforms
– Needy: Must be near poverty
– Families: Must be children in household
– Adults must be caring for young children, working or in
school/job training
Medicaid and Health Care
Policy
• Medicaid: health insurance for poor, disabled,
or otherwise needing financial assistance
• Evidence required demonstrating disability or
inability to pay for private health insurance
– Joint state-federal program established under the
Social Security Amendments of 1965
• Requires Texas (all states) follow certain
principles and meet set standards to receive
federal funds.
• Not to be confused with Medicare, a federal
contribution health care program for the elderly.
Medicaid and Health Care
Policy
• Medicaid began as narrowly defined targeting
people on public assistance
• Today Medicaid is large, complex insurance
program serving many identified groups
including:
– adults not fully covered by Medicare
– people with disabilities
– individuals receiving TANF and SSI
– Impoverished children
Texas Medicaid Recipients
by Age and Ethnicity
Distribution of Medical
Payments by Enrollment
Group in Texas
Distribution of Medicaid
Spending by Service in Texas
Medicaid and Health Care
Policy
• Texas administers Medicaid through the
Texas Health and Human Services
Commission
– The federal government monitors the state
Medicaid program
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in the
Department of Health and Human Services
• Establish what constitutes basic services, and
set delivery, quality, funding, and eligibility
standards.
Average Annual Growth in
Medicaid Spending,1990-2010
ACA and Texas Health Care
Policy
• In 2010, Congress passed two bills known as
the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often referred
to as Obamacare.
– The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
– The Health Care and Reconciliation Act of 2010
• Two key provisions for states to implement
– State Health Care Exchanges
– Expand Medicare
Medicaid and Health Care
Policy
• State Health benefit Exchanges
– Assist in accessing affordable health insurance
• Texas (among other states) has indicated the
state will not establish a state health exchange
– The federal government will run exchanges in
states that choose not to set up their own system
Medicaid and Health Care
Policy
• Governor Perry also rejects expanding
Medicaid provision of ACH
– Opposes expanding government and the state
absorbing more program responsibilities
• The Texas Legislature and/or future Texas
government administrations may compromise
on the exchanges and Medicaid provisions
– Rejecting Medicaid means Texas does not receive
millions in federal dollars
Water Policy
• Access to water is necessary for a thriving
economy and expanding population
• Texas’s water consumption projected to
increase by 82% in next 50 years.
• A statewide water policy is difficult because of
the diverse climates within the state
– Floods and droughts simultaneously occur in
Texas
Water Usage by Sector
Water Policy
• Private property rights make Texas water
policy even more complicated.
– Spanish law, traditional English common law, and
statutory law
• Texas law recognizes several legal classes of
water rights governed by different rules
– For example: laws governing surface water and
ground water, for example, sharply differ.
Water Policy
• The Texas Water Development Board
– Primary water planning and financing state agency
• Several more local and state government
agencies and boards oversee water policy and
planning
– Drainage districts
– Conservation and reclamation districts
– River authorities
– Water and control improvement districts