9 April ~ Oh so many charter transparency bills!

​Of the many substantive House Bills heard today in the Committee on Public Education, HB 1853 lays out some of the most outrageous Charter operator allowances:

• Charters (and Districts of Innovation) are NOT required to employ certified and credentialed teachers; 
• The Texas State Board for Educator Certification does NOT have the statutory authority to investigate or track teacher misconduct. 

Texas is only 1 of 8 states in the U.S. which allows uncertified personnel to teach our students. I would not take my truck to an uncertified GM mechanic... much less my child to a classroom where there is an uncertified teacher which the state of Texas cannot investigate for misconduct.


HB 2510 - Disciplinary Action allowed for Charters 

Students who attend charters are treated quite differently than students in public schools. For example, charter kids have been expelled for reasons such as presence in school space without supervision, cursing, and not attending Saturday school. Charters also do not post their reasons for expulsion on their Code of Conduct.

While these behaviors may not be condoned, they are not reasons students should be expelled. Bare in mind that:

• 6% of Texas students are enrolled in Charters
• 43% of all Texas students expelled are expelled from Charters

*Texas House Public Education Interim Report p.39


HB 43 - Charter disciplinary exclusion

ISDs are required to educate all students while charters cherry-pick students in many ways. This bill discussed unique non-selection of students based on “disciplinary problems"  which has included the simple removal of students to the principal's office for disrupting the class. 

Charter operators are using stories of extreme violence and sexual assault as scare tactics to defend their cherry-picking practices.  For example, the question posed to the committee was "Do you want your students with those kids?" The irony, however, is that charter personnel are not required to be certified which disallows the State from investigating and tracking of the inappropriate behaviors of the adults. 

It should be noted that according to charter lobbyists at today's hearing, charters can opt-in to Chapter 37 - Safe Schools.

Charters want taxpayer dollars - which are intended to serve the greater good, but only want to serve certain students. Perhaps because it's the only way they can claim such high levels of success or maybe it's because their programs are not as good as they claim because they only work for a specific kind of student. 

Nevertheless, if you're tired of your tax dollars funding some students at the expense of all students, contact your elected officials and tell them Texas can no longer afford to support two education systems. Simply funding one great system is the answer Texas students deserve. 

Who represents me? ​https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home