Home ::
TCTA testified on several key teacher issues at a recent hearing of the House Public Education Committee. It was Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott on the hot seat though, as the only invited witness to the meeting. He was asked to discuss the fundamental role of the agency and the implementation of laws passed in recent legislative sessions.
During the committee’s questioning, the broad meeting agenda developed a focus on some very specific issues that have plagued the Texas Education Agency in recent weeks; most notably concerns about a recent grant application that would allow state funding to flow to private schools.
The grant application was the latest step in a long-watched move by state leaders to include private schools among the potential providers of a dropout recovery program. TCTA had previously testified before the High School Completion and Success Initiative Council in opposition to language in the Council’s strategic plan that would pave the way for a “back-door” version of private school vouchers.
The grant application, which was developed prior to adoption of the formal rules regulating the dropout recovery grant program (proposed rules are expected in June), specifically includes non-profit private schools in the list of entities eligible to apply for the grants. Under questioning, Commissioner Scott acknowledged that it was uncommon to send out a grant RFA prior to adoption of rules. He was unable to recall any similar program allowing state funding to flow directly to a private school for the provision of instructional services, and did not appear to satisfactorily address legislators’ concerns about why the private school provision was included despite considerable opposition and an overwhelming vote by the House during the 2007 session to prohibit any sort of voucher program. (It was duly noted that the amendment approved by the House was later removed from the final state budget.) Scott has maintained that this program is not a voucher program.
The dropout recovery grant program is funded at around $50 million and would provide funding for grant recipients to recover high school dropouts (up to 25 years old) and provide them with a variety of services, with the goal being a high school diploma or GED and other evidence of college readiness (such as successful performance on the ACT/SAT). One of the primary concerns is that under the current criteria of the RFA, there appears to be nothing to prevent parents from removing their secondary school child from a public school for a short period of time to technically meet the “dropout” definition, and subsequently be eligible for a dropout recovery program at a participating private school. There’s also concern that the goal includes a GED, which could open the door to fund homeschoolers who are not pursuing a high school diploma.
Students who have dropped out of non-public schools are not eligible to be served. In order to be considered a student dropout, the student must (a) have withdrawn from a Texas public high school and been assigned a leaver code in the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) that corresponds to the definition of a dropout for that school year in which the student withdrew, or (b) have been previously enrolled in a Texas public secondary school but not been in attendance for at least 30 consecutive school days during the regular school year, or (c) have a notarized affidavit from a parent or legal guardian stating that the student dropped out of a Texas public secondary school under one of the circumstances listed in (a) or (b) above, and is not currently enrolled in a Texas public school.
TCTA’s testimony to the committee noted our concerns about the dropout recovery RFA and the process under which it was developed before rulemaking (and a formal public hearing on said rules) was finalized. We pointed out that to the extent education programs are privatized, there is less oversight and more potential for problems.
We also took the opportunity to speak more generally about TEA issues, including the lack of enforcement authority at TEA. TCTA suggested that TEA should be given the authority to investigate allegations of school districts not following the law, based on a formal complaint process. TCTA also noted concerns about the proliferation of meetings and other required activities taking place during uncompensated time, and suggested that teachers should have more direct access to TEA to obtain assistance for implementing educational programs.
Web posted: 05/29/08
