Education
School Considerations in the Texas Legislature, February 14, 2023
LWVTX Public School Position: The League of Women Voters of Texas supports adequate state funding for public schools to ensure that all Texas school children receive a high-quality education.
Bills filed that increase funding for education. Currently, the state funds only 41% of the K-12 educational cost. It funds school districts based on average daily attendance. One bill submitted this session provides for counting a school district’s yearly enrollment rather than the current system of counting average daily attendance. This bill addresses the fact that since COVID, parents are more likely to keep sick children home from school resulting in a decrease in the average daily attendance. This has caused a significant decrease in state funding for many school districts. Counting school enrollment could increase school funding by approximately six billion dollars. Another bill recently filed increases the daily average attendance allotment from $6,610 yearly per student to $7,095.
Some bills filed address critical problems in education such as teacher shortages and school safety. These bills would also directly or indirectly increase support for education.
- Yearly scholarships for students entering teacher training programs,
- Raises for teachers,
- Support for school safety measures
- Funds for mental health professionals on school campuses.
School Vouchers: The League of Women Voters of Texas does not support the Texas Taxpayer Parent Spending Account Proposal.. School choice is a priority for the 2023 Texas Legislature according to Governor Abbott. Many news outlets have reported that the governor is planning to support legislation that will provide Texas parents with a tax payer spending account to supplement their ability to choose nonpublic education. School officials and rural lawmakers have historically opposed schemes devised by lawmakers to financially support the ability of parents to choose private schools because these schemes can divert funds from public schools. Texas currently practices school choice by allowing parents to enroll their children in free charter schools and by allowing transfers to schools within a school district or to another school district.
LWV Texas published an action paper written by the LWV Texas Education Issues Chair, Diane Andy. It discussed the reasons why the League thinks a taxpayer parent spending account system is a bad idea. She stated that research showed students in nonpublic settings on average do not achieve better academic gains than public school students. In addition, the financial support provided by the state is insufficient to help low-income students enroll in private schools and find a way out of poverty.
Other potential legislation the League of Women Voters of Texas does not support:
- Limits to the ability of students or teachers to talk freely about topics such as LGBTQ
- Limits to the opportunity to participate in civic life.
We encourage you to follow the development of these Texas state education issues as they continue to move through the Texas legislature.
Eileen Rosenblum PhD.
LWV Dallas Education Action Chair for State Level Education Issues. 2/14/2023 |