WEEKLY NEWS REPORT
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21ST
Speaker Joe Straus has shed more light on his priorities for the upcoming session – to increase manufacturing
jobs in Texas by addressing critical water problems and increasing technical training programs in schools.
Education funding is on his short list as well. Other goals and the complete article are below.
The Texas Supreme Court could blow a hole in the state's budget if it finds the business tax unconstitutional, as
maintained in a lawsuit led by food giant Nestlé USA. If the Supreme Court throws out the law, the scope of the
court's decision will determine if the state needs to quickly find another way to come up with some $4.5+ billion
annually. The court must rule in the case by Oct. 23.
TEA announced this week the 23 school districts that will participate in the Texas High Performance Schools
Consortium. Created by SB 1557, these schools will develop methods for transforming public schools through the
development of innovative, next-generation learning standards, assessment and accountability systems. These
districts were chosen to participate through an application process.
Anderson-Shiro CISD
Lake Travis ISD
Clear Creek ISD
Lancaster ISD
College Station ISD
Lewisville ISD
Coppell ISD
McAllen ISD
Duncanville ISD
McKinney ISD
Eanes ISD
Northwest ISD
Glen Rose ISD
Prosper ISD
Guthrie CISD
Richardson ISD
Harlingen CISD
Roscoe ISD
Highland Park ISD (Dallas County)
Round Rock ISD
Irving ISD
White Oak ISD
Klein ISD
The Chicago Teacher Strike ended this week. You may be interested to learn about the reforms Mayor Rahm
Emanuel has been seeking:
Teacher evaluations very similar to State Sen. Florence Shapiro’s, (R) Plano, bill last year, and similar to
Houston ISD’s already approved evaluation program. Chicago’s mayor wants a significant part of a
teacher’s evaluation based upon data about student performance in classes. Emanuel wanted Chicago
schools to ramp up the percentage to 40 percent over a five-year period.
Shapiro’s SB 4 bill last year asked that half of an evaluation be drawn from performance information. She lowered
the number to at least 30 percent of an evaluation linked to classroom scores, believing that teachers shouldn’t be
evaluated simply upon classroom observations or other non-data assessments. The bill died in the House.
Houston ISD has put in place a plan to use student performance data for roughly half of a teacher’s
evaluation. The Dallas school district is working on a plan now to include student performance as well.
Executive Director Kyle Ward and Government Affairs Consultant Ellen Arnold recently attended a meeting of
groups opposed to vouchers for private schools. The group, Coalition for Public Schools, met to prepare for the
start of the legislative session and to discuss the recent Senate Education Committee hearing, led by Vice-Chairman
Dan Patrick, (R) Houston, on choice – vouchers and charter schools. The coalition has hired a director, Julie Haney.
Texas PTA has agreed to sit on the steering committee of this coalition.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
The Joint Select Committee on Public School Accountability will meet at 9:00 AM on Monday, September 24th.
The Committee will hear invited testimony followed by public testimony on issues related to the public school
finance system.
Education Forum to Examine High Stakes Testing and Accountability
As the 83rd Legislative Session approaches, Texans are focusing on the issues surrounding high-stakes,
standardized testing for elementary and secondary students. To better inform and engage parents, educators,
legislators and advocates in discussion of these issues, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at
Austin will host “Measuring Up: A Statewide Conversation on High-Stakes Testing & Accountability” on Sept. 24th.
WEBSITE
The House Committee on Public Education will meet at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, September 25th to consider the
following interim charge: Conduct a review of the University Interscholastic League (UIL).
The Senate Education Committee will meet at 9 a.m. on Monday, October 8, to hear testimony on the following
interim charge: to study the growing demand for virtual schools in Texas. Review the benefits of virtual schools,
related successes in other states, and needed changes to remove barriers to virtual schools.
The Senate Committee on Education will meet at Noon or upon adjournment of Joint hearing of Senate Education
and Senate Criminal Justice, on October 30th to hear testimony on the following charge: to monitor the
implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Education, 82nd Legislature, and make
recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, and/or complete implementation. Specifically:
SB 6, relating to the establishment of the instructional materials allotment; SB 8, relating to the flexibility of the
board of trustees of a school district in the management and operation of public schools; HB 1942, relating to
bullying in public schools; the implementation of legislation related to the state's accountability system and other
reforms enacted by HB 3, 81st Legislature, and SB 1031, 80th Legislature, Regular Session.
Early voting begins October 22nd and ends November 2nd.
Election day is November 6th.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
Straus outlines priorities for upcoming session
Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, outlined his priorities for the upcoming state legislative
session Thursday in a speech at Midwestern State University, including plans to attract more manufacturing jobs in
Texas, focus on the state's water needs and address growing population and education funding issues.
ARTICLE
Study: State will need 715,000 jobs by 2018
In the past decade, Texas-based corporations have invested hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars
to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) initiatives in our schools. Corporate investment
is aimed at building a competitive work force that will fill high-demand, high-paying jobs. In other words,
it’s just good business.
ARTICLE
TEA announces new transparency website for charter school
The TEA has published all charter applications for schools since 2001.
DATABASE
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Your vote matters, no matter where you live
This year, all the seats are up for grabs. Everyone should get registered to vote and should look up which local
issues can be impacted by their votes. While being a blue voter in a red state or vice versa may dismay people,
there are plenty of elections where your vote will make a statement.
OPINION
Required Physical Fitness Assessment
Fitness levels of all students in grades 3-12 who are enrolled in a physical education course or any substitute
course or activity will be assessed at least once annually and school districts must submit the results to TEA. TEA
identified FITNESSGRAM® as the assessment tool to be used by all school districts.
NOTICE TO SCHOOLS
Follow-up on athletic concussions now extends in classroom
Classroom teachers now are being brought into the discussion on how to treat high school athletes with
concussions.
ARTICLE
Texas piloting two new teacher evaluation systems
The teacher strike that has given Chicago kids an unwelcome vacation is partly about money but largely about
teacher evaluations. Across the country, from California to Florida, demands for better assessment of public school
instructors have inspired pointed, if less dramatic, reactions. ARTICLE
Central Texas school districts boost anti-bullying efforts
Talk About It, a computer and mobile application being rolled out in the Leander school district, will give bullied
students and witnesses another way to report bullying. Students can load the app on their phones or use a
computer to fill out a short form. The software allows them to confidentially report incidents to faculty or staff
members of their choosing.
ARTICLE
Education news you shouldn’t miss
These brief news clips feature summaries of a study done on Texas charter schools, the efficacy of merit pay for
teachers, and the prevalence of Latino students in secondary and post-secondary schools.
ARTICLE
Voucher Issue Makes a Comeback
Top Republicans in Texas—Rick Perry, David Dewhurst, Michael Williams, and more—have vowed to consider
school choice legislation in the upcoming legislative session. They face an uphill battle with many legislatures who
remain opposed to voucher programs.
ARTICLE
Reject public vouchers for private schools
As one who worked for President Ronald Reagan, then later was chief of staff to Chief Justice of the United States
Warren Burger, I wish to explain why I believe that Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Education
Commissioner Michael Williams and state Sen. Dan Patrick are misguided on public vouchers for private schools.
OPINION
Education reform gets failing grade
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Education reform is often backed by corporate sponsors who push policies that have been proven to fail. Diane
Ravitch, a former supporter of high stakes testing and school choice legislation and a former Bush administration
education official, speaks out against corporate reform of education. Ravitch contends that, we should “instead
focus on the essentials of education — a strong, coherent curriculum grounded in the liberal arts and sciences,
opportunities for students to engage in learning activities that ‘make learning lively,’ and ensure that students
learn to understand politics, scientific phenomena, and the world we live in.”
COLUMN
Guest Column: Wake Up — Schools Are Failing
Less than a quarter of Texas’ graduating students are college-ready—and this number only reflects the 39 percent
of students that took the ACT. Texas schools are failing students and forsaking their future by emphasizing high
stakes testing while ignoring vocational training.
OPINION
Texas Education Agency becomes part of the problem
The Waco Tribune urges the TEA and Michael Williams to become more transparent and doubt his appointment as
Commissioner.
OPINION
Breaking the Barrier in Texas
Democrats are optimistic they will win at least 25 key seats in the Legislature, some important seats on the SBOE,
and will be pushing liberal candidates in key judicial races.
ARTICLE
Texas could face new budget woes
Big businesses like Nestle are suing the state over a business tax. If Texas loses the lawsuit, the state will lose
billions of dollars in annual tax revenues and may have to pay up to 4 years of refunds. Contentious lawsuits are
starting to pile up as hundreds of districts have also sue d the state over what they consider an inequitable form of
education finance.
ARTICLE
Michael Williams was suggested for top TEA job a decade ago to fight “pseudo-science” and liberal textbook
bias
In 2002, Williams was suggested by state Rep. Charles Howard to fill the empty seat of TEA Commissioner. Howard
urged Perry to appoint a “true conservative” as to “ensure that our textbooks are free of liberal bias and green
pseudo-science, and see to it that we have an assessment test that really tests our students’ knowledge.”
ARTICLE
NCLB 'law is just untenable': Educators, officials react to Texas' intent to seek federal waiver
Many educators are supporting Michael Williams’ decision to ask the federal government for an NCLB waiver.
While many prefer the local accountability system, educators are also wary of signing a waiver that would force the
state into fulfilling many federal requirements.
ARTICLE
Save Us From Educationese, Teachers Plead
Three teachers are suing the Ysleta Independent School District and Commissioner of Education Michael Williams
in Travis County Court, claiming that “Williams erroneously interpreted a section of the Texas Education Code
which states that teachers may not be required to prepare written information other than a lesson plan that
outlines, in a brief and general manner, the information to be taught.”
ARTICLE
SBOE News
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Miller for State Board of Education, District 12
The Dallas Morning News endorses Republican Geraldine Miller over Democrat Lois Parrott in the District 12 SBOE
race.
OPINION
Ratliff: AYP and What It Really Means to Texas
SBOE member Thomas Ratliff is speaking out against the Annual Yearly Progress report, which tracks whether
districts meet NCLB requirements.
ARTICLE
Another Example of How the Texas Textbook Wars Undermine Education Far Outside the Lone Star State
Parents and physicians in California are suing over a health textbook that is “putting teens’ health at risk by
teaching students misinformation and denying them critical instruction about condoms and contraception.” The
book was originally published by Holt for the conservative Texas market but since the state is the 2nd largest buyer
of textbooks in the country, often publishers will only release editions that cater to conservative curriculum.
ARTICLE
Set a Good Example
Rebecca Bell-Metereau, candidate for SBOE, shares her inspirations and how she strives to set a good example for
educators across the state.
BLOG
State Board of Education, Dist. 13 Voter’s Guide
GUIDE TO THE BALLOT
ISD News
Waxahachie ISD – WISD Education Foundation awards scholarships
Waxahachie High School students who wish to get a jump-start on their college careers can do so while still
enrolled in high school by taking Dual Credit courses.
ARTICLE
Pauken demands end to testing treadmill
Texas Workforce Commissioner Tom Pauken is frustrated with high stakes testing and believes the state
accountability system does not create an educated workforce. Pauken supports vocational training and real
world applications of curriculum instead of teaching to the test.
ARTICLE
Straus visits Bell Helicopter
Joe Straus recently visited Bell Helicopter, a manufacturing facility near Amarillo, and praised the partnership
between Bell and local education institutions. He wants to strengthen these types of partnerships to make “sure
that more Texans either graduate ready to go to college or graduate ready to go to work.”
ARTICLE
PERRYMAN: Texas must keep its eye on the economic ball
Ray Perryman urges Texas to maintain a strong workforce, a low tax burden, and a business friendly
environment to retain its economic strengths.
OPINION
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Williams is unusual pick as Texas education leader
Educators have not been enthusiastic to embrace Michael Williams’ appointment as TEA Commissioner.
Williams inherits an educational agency facing multiple lawsuits over education finance, backlash over highstakes testing, as well as budget issues. How his limited education policy experience will fare is yet to be seen.
ARTICLE
High-school dropouts will face tougher GED tests in 2014
A redesigned GED test will be given starting 2014. The test will be “more relevant to a job market that demands
workers with technological skills and more training than a high school diploma.”
ARTICLE
POLITIFACT: Bill Hammond says that if trends hold, one in three Texas workers will lack high school
diploma by 2040
The President of the Texas Association of Business was right to suggest that one in three workers won’t have a
high school diploma by 2040 if educational trends keep up.
ARTICLE
Throwing Money At Education Isn't Working
The US spends hundreds of billions of dollars on education but isn’t getting any bang for its buck. Across the
nation, students are being outperformed by other nations and high levels of funding are yielding increasingly
low standardized test scores.
ARTICLE
Google Unveils Open Source Online Education Software
Google will be launching a new online education tool called Course Builder. The open source software will
allow hundreds of thousands of students from across the world to customize and complete online courses.
ARTICLE
Michael Williams was suggested for top TEA job a decade ago to fight “pseudo-science” and liberal
textbook bias
In 2002, Williams was suggested by state Rep. Charles Howard to fill the empty seat of TEA Commissioner.
Howard urged Perry to appoint a “true conservative” as to “ensure that our textbooks are free of liberal bias and
green pseudo-science, and see to it that we have an assessment test that really tests our students’ knowledge.”
ARTICLE
William McKenzie: Making sense of conflicting school data
Single snapshots of data don’t make it easy to track the progress of students and the education system. William
McKenzie helps people make sense of data trends such as higher graduation rates but lower college readiness.
OPINION
School voucher proposals raise concerns
Talk of school vouchers raises some concerns for this parent. How will private schools be held accountable if
they are using public funds? And what will the fate of public schools be if money is routed to institutions with
more resources?
OPINION
Online learning hits fast track
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North Texas colleges have rapidly expanded their online course offerings. Midwestern State University and
more are offering the courses to help non-traditional and part-time students finish their degree programs at their
own pace. 90 percent of the MSU student body takes courses that have online components.
ARTICLE
Taylor and Hutto students get chance to earn college associate degrees in high school
Legacy Early College High School has partnered with Temple College to offer students a chance to finish their
Associates degree before they even start college. Taylor and Hutto students save money and get a leg up on
college.
ARTICLE
Texas is on a path to 57% obesity by 2030, and that would be costly
While almost 60 percent of Texans may be obese by 2030, the obesity crisis in the state has slowed. If Texans
could decrease their BMI by 5 percent, they’d save $54.2 billion. But the solutions have to be more than simply
telling people to eat right and exercise—they need to be taught “how to prepare healthier foods and [given] the
choice to buy those foods, so people can indeed practice that personal responsibility.”
ARTICLE
Updated: Texas High Court Hears Franchise Tax Challenge
Nestle and two Texas companies have sued the state over the franchise business tax—which they allege violates
the constitutional right to fair and uniform taxation. If Texas loses the case, over $5.5 billion a year would be
lost in revenue and the companies would be refunded billions that they have paid over the years.
ARTICLE
Texas could face new budget woes
Big businesses like Nestle are suing the state over a business tax. If Texas loses the lawsuit, the state will lose
billions of dollars in annual tax revenues and may have to pay up to 4 years of refunds. Contentious lawsuits are
starting to pile up as hundreds of districts have also sued the state over what they consider an inequitable form
of education finance.
ARTICLE
TEXAS Grants need full funding
TEXAS Grants, a state program to provide financial aid for low-income students whose parents cannot
contribute more than $4000 towards their education, has already been cut by nearly $100 million during the last
legislative session. Now education officials are considering giving individual students less aid so that more
students can benefit from the program. But as Senate Education Committee Chairperson Judith Zaffarini said,
the proposed changes wouldn’t be an issue if Texas would restore funding.
ARTICLE
Let's not let student-loan debt wreck young lives
Providing an affordable college education ensures that students don’t drop out because they can’t juggle school
and work. Texas should expand financial aid programs and curb tuition costs to provide higher education for all.
OPINION
Abstinence-plus gets an A+
The UT Prevention Research Center has designed a sex education program that emphasizes abstinence but
provides information on contraceptives. Abstinence-plus programs are necessary for a state with high rates of
teen pregnancy.
OPINION
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NCLB 'law is just untenable': Educators, officials react to Texas' intent to seek federal waiver
Many educators are supporting Michael Williams’ decision to ask the federal government for an NCLB waiver.
While many prefer the local accountability system, educators are also wary of signing a waiver that would force
the state into fulfilling many federal requirements.
ARTICLE
SBOE
Candidate for SBOE responds to conflict concerns
SBOE District 3 candidate Marisa Perez recently accepted a government relations position with San Antonio
ISD. Five SBOE members work for school districts and critics contend that her position would be a conflict of
interest. Perez says she is just interested in learning more about how school districts run.
ARTICLE
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