El Paso – Texas State Board of Education Member Georgina Pérez (D-El Paso) joins members of the Texas Legislature in urging the legislature pass House Bill 392 by Rep. Rhetta Bowers (D-Garland), otherwise known as the CROWN Act.

The CROWN Act stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair and would prohibit discrimination on the basis of hair texture or protective hair style associated with race.

"As Texans, our diversity is a source of both beauty and strength," said Pérez. "Every student and every employee should be proud to wear their hair in a way that serves both practical purposes as well as a symbol of cultural identity. I am proud to stand with my colleagues in support of the CROWN Act to end discrimination based on natural hair."

HB 392 has been introduced and referred to the House Committee on State Affairs and has yet to receive a hearing. Pérez urges the committee to swiftly consider the bill before the deadline for hearing House bills in committee.

SB 28, may be heard as early as tomorrow on the Senate Floor.

The Texas State Board of Education does not support a supermajority requirement for the SBOE's existing authority to veto approval of a new open-enrollment charter school.

A supermajority requirement disenfranchises a majority of Texas voters.

The SBOE is the only elected body with any oversight regarding the approval of new charter school chains, schools which will cost Texas $8.5 billion in state revenue in the next two years. A supermajority requirement allows a small group on the board to control the lucrative award to a private entity of what is essentially creating an entirely new school district in this state. Limiting the fifteen elected members – a body representative of Texas's very diversity – to decide by supermajority vote would exacerbate our children's educational segregation and disenfranchisement.
 
The SBOE believes it is imperative that its veto authority be expanded to include charter expansion amendments, which account for the vast majority of charter growth. Providing that the veto is expanded in this way, the board would be open to consideration of the following general limitations on veto authority.

The Texas State Board of Education voted in its legislative agenda to request veto powers over charter expansion amendments in 2020. The TXSBOE has made no agreements to limit its existing authority to veto new charter applicants.

Please see the proposal sent to the Lt. Governor's office, to follow. We offered a proposal of limits of reasons for vetoes of initial charters - only if veto authority is granted for charter expansion amendments, but we did not agree to a supermajority limitation.  I therefore respectfully urge you to oppose SB28.

These considerations, focused on students' and taxpayers' best interests, will give charter applicants and existing charter school operators clearer information about the metrics for consideration of requests to establish or expand a charter school. Transparency and public review, and input on these requests, will provide the public with the assurances that charter schools in Texas provide the student equity and educational quality that our students deserve.
 
The State Board of Education veto of an open-enrollment charter school application or amendment request will be limited to the following considerations to ensure student equity, academic performance, financial responsibility, and ethical transparency:


STUDENT EQUITY

1. Evidence the requestor serves the lesser of state or local average of special education students and has recruitment policies in place that encourage special education students to apply and that do not limit admission and enrollment.
2. Evidence the requestor has budgeted for, employs, and intends to employ certified teachers in special education and bilingual education as required by law.
3. Evidence the charter intends to serve students representative of student demographics in the proposed charter location.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

1. Evidence of a record of performance such as state ratings of campuses, performance of all students, teacher qualifications, and student or teacher attrition.
2. Evidence that the proposed curriculum and materials are aligned with TEKS and do not violate the prohibition of Common Core.
3. Evidence the curriculum and instructional materials are not racially insensitive.  
4. Evidence that planning and execution of each academic and student support program are based on research-based best practices.
5. Evidence that charter leadership has had no prior issues raised related to school/campus operations, academic and fiscal management, or student performance.
6. Alignment of proposed professional development for teachers and staff with the time, budget, and expertise sufficient to execute the application's programs at a high level based on documented best practices.

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

1. Evidence that the proposed charter model and school design are differentiated from existing public school options in the proposed area.
   
2. Evidence that the proposed campus location and any other requests for new charter campuses will not harm students in existing public schools.
   
3. Evidence that the charter budget includes sufficient funding to support the academic programs, support services, and staffing included in the charter application.
   
4. Evidence of community support and parental demand for the proposed new charter or campus, such as sign-in sheets from public meetings, petition language, and signatures from parents whose children would be eligible for the proposed campus.
   

TRANSPARENCY AND ETHICS

1. Adherence to TEA rules, state law, and instructions in the application, such as the no-contact rule and the use of TEA data in the application.
   
2. Reasonableness of the percentage of state tax dollars paid to related parties, charter management organizations, contractors, and the number of jobs that will be exported.
   
3. No evidence of conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or nepotism between the charter school and its governing body and related parties, including the charter management organization and contractors
   
4. No material breach of transparency and truthfulness in application and public testimony.
   
5. Evidence that the fiduciary responsibilities and decisions reside with the Texas charter governing body.
   
6. Evidence that transparency to parents and public is honored in the same manner provided by law for school districts.
   

As a little girl living out of a duffel bag, schools were one of the few stable environments I could rely on. 

When I got older, the fact that there were other displaced kids just like me out there drove me to work my way from the maquiladoras and night classes to my first job in a classroom. 

After a decade of working with El Paso’s highest-risk students, I was proud to be chosen by our community to fight for our schools on the Texas State Board of Education. 

One of the things I quickly realized is that the rapid expansion of charter schools is slowly defunding our critical neighborhood public schools. Charters are schools that are funded by taxpayers like you and me but run by private businesses — often sending our tax dollars to states like California, Florida, and New York.
 
As an educator, I have always prioritized the students who face the most significant challenges. I’ve taught students with special needs, gang members, and kids experiencing homelessness. These are the students who charters don’t want in their buildings. 

The truth is that students in public schools are protected by decades of state and federal laws that guarantee their right to a free and appropriate education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires public schools to provide, free of charge, any services required by a special education student under their individualized education plan. 

Many people don’t realize that those protections go away the minute a child walks in the front door of a charter school. But that hasn’t stopped charters from trying to lure students with special needs through misleading marketing and empty promises – hoping that parents won’t read the fine print. 

So who exactly is benefiting? 

Texans spend a staggering $3.1 billion per year subsidizing unaccountable charter schools, and all our taxpayer money is making charter owners rich. Just look at the recent headlines about the state’s largest charter chain, IDEA Public Schools, spending millions on a private jet and a luxury suite to watch the San Antonio Spurs. 

Currently, the Texas State Board of Education is the only check voters have against new charter chains’ approval. This past year, my colleagues and I vetoed the creation of three newly proposed charter chains that would have drawn millions more tax dollars away from our neighborhood schools.

Charter lobbyists are already funding efforts in the Texas Legislature this session to remove that veto authority, which would eliminate the only say Texas voters and taxpayers have in the process. 

Meanwhile, voters have no say in the expansion of existing charter chains like IDEA – which are popping up new franchises all over the state to compete for funding with our neighborhood schools. 

Legislators must not be distracted by charter lobbyists trying to ban Texans from having a say over where our tax dollars go. The Texas Legislature must instead protect taxpayers by preserving SBOE oversight and expanding the authority of the SBOE to approve or reject charter expansions. 

Voters must have a say when we’re footing the bill, especially when charters are drawing that money away from our community schools to fund their dishonest marketing efforts targeting our most vulnerable students.

PDF as of 4 March 20201

This guidance addresses:

• On campus and virtual instruction
  
• Administrative activities by teachers, staff, or students that occur on school campuses or virtually
  
• Non-UIL extracurricular sports and activities
  
• Any other activities that teachers, staff, or students must complete that cannot be accomplished virtually
  
• Visits by parents and the general public
  

Please click here for all TEA COVID-19 Supoort & Guidance

5 January 2021

Gov. Greg Abbott
Texas Capitol
1100 Congress Ave, 2S.1
Austin, TX 78701

Dear Governor Abbott:

Many school districts in Texas are preparing to return to in-person instruction in the next few weeks, even as new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations reach record numbers statewide. In my district, the City of El Paso Department of Public Health has recommended teachers and children return to schools for in-person instruction beginning January 19, which is less than two weeks from today.  

As of this week, COVID-19 patients account for more than 20% of available hospital beds in the state, which is well above the 15% threshold you designated in October which would trigger a rollback of reopening plans under your executive order GA-32. Districts have implemented varying mitigation policies in response to the absence of concrete rules from the Texas Education Agency, leaving many school employees to report they feel little or no effort has been made to keep them safe.

This creates an imminent crisis for employees preparing to return to fully-staffed school campuses with the pandemic at its highest recorded level. You agreed in December that teachers are frontline workers and should be “near the front of the line” in receiving the vaccine. It is time to put your words into action.

The current Phase 1B definition released by the Department of State Health Services does NOT include early access for teachers and school staff who do not already meet the general age and medical history criteria under Phase 1B. As we enter the most dangerous and unprecedented phase of the pandemic, it is imperative that all school employees who are required to return to campus must be provided with the opportunity to be immunized against the virus.

Your office has the final authority over the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in Texas. In consideration of the rapidly approaching start of in-person instruction and the urgent need to safeguard the lives of frontline school employees, I urge you to take immediate action to specifically include all school employees under Phase 1B of the Texas vaccine distribution plan.

My office stands ready to assist in any way possible. Thank you for your continued service.

During the 87th session of the Texas Legislature, your TXSBOE1 office will support or initiate legislation that aligns with the priorities of our west Texas and border communities. Follow Education Policy and Track Education Bills here

26 October 2020

Governor Greg Abbott
Texas Capitol
1100 Congress Ave, 2S.1
Austin, TX 78701

CC: Commissioner Mike Morath
Texas Education Agency
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78701

Dear Governor Abbott:

Earlier this year, you waived administration of the STAAR test for the 2019-20 school year as a result of educational disruptions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was clear then that administering high-stakes tests while the majority of students are learning remotely would be logistically challenging, yield questionable data, and carry negative consequences for both students and schools.

When I wrote to you in March to ask that you waive the spring STAAR administration, I pointed out that broadband infrastructure is unavailable across much of State Board of Education District 1. Many communities along the border between Texas and Mexico do not have access to WiFi and lack the digital devices necessary for online learning. This remains unchanged, and many communities have become even more isolated during the pandemic. As cases surge, El Paso is now under a new lockdown, which will further disrupt the learning process.

The potential consequences attached to STAAR outcomes are serious. Student promotion, retention, and graduation is based on test scores. The school accountability system includes interventions and sanctions based on STAAR data. Furthermore, we know the effects of high-stakes testing leading to toxic stress in children. Our students and teachers are already burdened with the stress of adapting to remote instructional models, in addition to the stress of simply trying to survive this pandemic. Administration of high-stakes tests this year would only add to this stress, while jeopardizing students’ academic careers and subjecting schools to the threat of sanctions based on unreliable STAAR data.

I applaud you for your reasonable decision to waive the administration of the 2019-20 STAAR assessments. Today our students and teachers face the same – if not greater – challenges, rendering the need for a waiver this year even more critical. I respectfully ask that you waive administration of the STAAR, TELPAS, and all end-of-course (EOC) assessments for the 2020-21 school year.