Some Texas Districts Pursuing School Choice Locally
In debates over school choice, like the one brewing as the 83rd legislative session draws closer, traditional public school districts are often cast as stubborn defenders of the status quo.
Proposals allowing parents to use public money to send their children to private schools — which will probably never gain the support of most major public education associations in the state — tend to suck the oxygen out of any discussion. But as Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Dan Patrick, the Senate Education Committee chairman, push to expand the choices available for the nearly 5 million Texas public ...
Comments (14)
Karen Brooks Harper via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Is it supposed to be a marketplace?
Scott Eaves via Texas Tribune on Facebook
What choices are we talking about?
Jalapeño Schwartz via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Corporate gobbledecrap!
Jaime R. Carrero via Texas Tribune on Facebook
It's not a marketplace, education should be good across the board not just for rich districts. Tx has got to be the most callous state when it comes to educating its children.
Darrel Mulloy via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Of course it is supposed to be a marketplace. You get choices in everything else you buy, why not your kids' education?
Karen Spivey-Cummings via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Wow. The dumbing down of America will only get worse. Much worse. Bad idea and privatization of public schools is a really bad idea. Just wait until the taxpayers get the bill for this fiasco.
Karen Spivey-Cummings via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Republicans don't believe in education. Keep people stupid.
Casey Norman via Texas Tribune on Facebook
If rural Texans can barely afford to support public schools with less and less support from the Legislature every session, how will they support private schools as well?
Carolyn Mata via Texas Tribune on Facebook
No
Texas Parents Union via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Thanks for the excellent article on public school choice!!!
Judy Burns via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Public education needs to remain public. The right wants to put public schools out of business.
Texas Parents Opt Out of State Tests via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Voucher schemes will not help improve the quality of instruction in our neighborhood public schools. Why is the legislature even considering vouchers? Let's stay focused on the 2 most important issues facing our Texas Public Schools; providing fair and adequate funding and getting rid of high-stakes/accountability testing.
blanca fogleman
The obsessive focus on THE TEST is what is hurting public school education. I am a retired teacher of public school. I gave my life to teaching in public school. I stayed in as long as I could but I finally realized that many of the obstacles to my ability to teach were not going away any time soon. To my dismay, even though my grandchildren live in a very nice neighborhood, the public school they should attend is toxic with the stress of STAAR. I never thought we would have to turn to home school, but that is where we are and my granddaughter is learning again and loving it. If she does return to a classroom it will be a private school. Parents cannot give up 4-6 years of their child's education while promises of reform are given in the legislature. There is a group I recently heard about named TAMSA. They are working diligently to remove the obsessive focus we have in this state on standardized testing. This is the root of the problem. I have 2 grandchildren on the way. I hope that when it is time for them to attend school things will have turned around. I will keep fighting for our public school system and all the children who's parents do not have a choice.
Edd_Doerr
School vouchers clearly violate the Texas constitution. They also violate the religious freedom of every taxpayer and undermine public education. See my article "The Great School Voucher Fraud" on the Americans for Religious Liberty web site -- arlinc.org.
Edd Doerr