The Texas Constitution guarantees an "efficient system of public free schools," but schools have recently found themselves unable to provide an adequate education to the more than 5 million students in Texas because of the many problems within the education policy in the state. Such issues involve school financing, lack of preparation for college, early childhood education, teacher quality, and school choice. Tough all of these conflicts pose a potential threat to the school system’s competence and effectiveness as well as to Texas’ economy, there are a broad number of possible adjustment and reforms that could be placed to improve the adequacy of Texas’ school system.
The biggest issue relating to the education policy in Texas is the
…show more content…
State legislators slashed more than $121 million from college financial aid programs alone, leaving 29,000 students without the possibility of receiving aid from TEXAS grants, the state’s financial aid program for needy students. Since Texas colleges and universities were also cut 9 percent by the legislator, they were forced to raise prices for students. Due to the uncertainty of the Texas financial aid, many college administrators reported losing numerous highly qualified students to out-of-state universities and colleges and many families have lost the ability to pay for tuition because of the lack of resources.
Many of the other financing problems come from individual districts that some times misuse money that could be used to better the quality of education. Assistant Attorney General Shelly Dahlberg, said that individual districts must also “show they are spending their money efficiently”. Superintendents spend too much on items that they seem to prioritize such as iPads and equipment for the sports departments and other extracurricular activities that aren’t required by the state. At times, they also base their teacher pay on seniority rather than student performance. If Texas were to stop overemphasizing on the local control of its school districts and were to hold individual districts responsible for not spending their money efficiently, there would be a lot less shortcomings and a lot more money directed into bettering the
Education development has been an important matter in Texas for decades. Texas has been known for their improvements and reformation in public schools since their first attempt of a public school system. Within these improvements, came issues that escalated to create our public education system today. The issues that helped arrange the system are desegregation, equity in funding, and education policy.
State legislators slashed more than $121 million from college financial aid programs alone. TEXAS grants, the state’s financial aid program for needy students, now serves 29,000 fewer students than it did previously. College administrators have reported losing highly qualified students to private or out-of-state
11.13). When it comes to addressing the performance issues facing Texas schools, issues facing the poor, the reality of a water shortage, and problems relating to transportation, there is great reluctance among Texas Republicans when it comes to expanding the government’s role in improvements, as well as in raising the necessary funds through taxation. The Texas Politics Project (2017) explains that when it comes to the current state of Texas schools, supporters of a more fiscally conservative approach feel that such an approach “at least achieves average results with below-average spending” (p. 11.9). The current conservatism that defines the overall political approach in Texas may not be adequate in the long term. As we are seeing, changing demographics are substantially impacting the state of Texas and will likely lead to necessary changes throughout the state.
In order to implement this policy, responsibility will be bestowed upon the “Foundation School Program” and the Texas state Legislature (Grusendorf, 2015, pg.2). These two groups play the most vital role in changing and implementing the new “state formulas” (Grusendorf, 2015, pg.3). Both will work together in creating and agreeing to the new state formulas. We will review the formulas every year and decide if funding is truly being distributed with equity. Only if they are not then will both organizations have to re-write the formulas to improve upon them.
According to 2002 Census of Government figures, Texas has 1,196 cities, 254 counties, 1,089 school districts, and 2,245 special districts. During the past 20 years, the num- ber of special districts has steadily increased, due mainly to the rapid creation of water districts in unincorporated areas. Conversely, the number of school districts has steadily de- clined, as smaller systems have consolidated with larger ones. The number of counties has remained constant for 100 years, while the number of cities is increasing at an av- erage of about 10 per year.
With 145 institutions of higher education including a large number of universities, community colleges, and technical colleges, Texas has a wide array of opportunities for post-secondary study. The number of students served has increased significantly, with the “10 Percent Rule” identified as responsible for particular gains in Hispanic students, female students, and first generation students. When it comes to affordability, the state has attempted to increase financial aid programs in response to growing tuition yet there still remains a significant gap in unmet need. Looking forward, identified issues affecting the higher education environment include affordability, increasing degrees awarded, and addressing the needs of non-college bound
Presently, the availability of educational opportunities at the college and university level is a critical state and personal interest given the needs of the state for a well-educated workforce which has never been greater. Too many, the focal point of attending college is receiving a high paying job in the future. Unfortunately, in most states, tuition is on the rise and students who come from low-income families find themselves struggling to fund their education. According to legislatures, “The cost of college in New Jersey, as in the nation, continues to grow faster than the rate of inflation.” (State of New Jersey 1). In the national financial aid policy resources that are typically given to the neediest families are shifting towards
According to Texas Government in the New Millennium, “The Texas Legislature decided to provide an additional $528 million for school financing.” (Trania, 2014 pg. 353)
Each topic is just as important as the previous and next all issues that involve federalism are important and need carful consideration when discussing possible improvements and revisions. Throughout history we have learned from our mistake and are constantly making minor changes and adjustments to fit our current and future goals. From the beginning of time long hour are put in studying and accumulating a knowledgebase to help us understand the world, beginning with school guided blindly by the government. Although it may seem unimportant at some times education is the greatest gift one can grant them selves. The power of knowledge goes beyond many other issue we have the most control over how exactly education policy will effect our lives. Looking back at the covered topics involving education policy, the Every Student Succeeds Act is the most recent and will be the new laws to follow when finding subjects moving forward it will be the new standard. Along with is one of the oldest, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which helped out the initial school funding dramatically. Leading to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which aimed to close the achievement gap between groups of students through greater accountability and increased flexibility and choice. Furthermore, educational core curriculum and testing was tested through these policies and specialized for our states needs. Ultimately our success is nothing to brag about although it does not hurt to appreciate just how far out nation has come. Having to power to operate and help fund education for all ages. In all Texas and the Federal government operate as smoothly as possible although we may not always agree improving progress is the
Since more attention had been placed on the cost of higher education (Murphy & Katsinas, 2014), it was important to understand the financial aid process and the different ways to assist and maximize funding to students. The U. S. Department of Education’s website provided resources and information on the different types of financial aid that the federal government provided. This paper discussed the availability of loans to students, repayment plans, accessibility of the application process, support for applicants with questions or concerns, ease of information retrieval, and how institutional financial aid budget directors might maximize access to funds for students.
Public schools in Texas have been declining due to an unequal distribution of funding and budget cuts stratifying middle and low-income districts while also limiting the resources that are available to students needed to receive a quality education. Texas public
Clark further exposes how universities from a variety of states, throughout the nation, are being forced to cut resources that students depend on. For example, “Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio have run out of scholarship money and are turning down thousands of qualified applicants” (Clark 1). Consequently, students must depend on loans or seek other cheaper avenues to continue their education, but even smaller community colleges have not been able to escape these compromising changes.
As previously stated in demographics of my district 80 percent of citizens working in the private sector, specifically management, finance, and warehouse/transportation. This is an area where many middle class, or lower middle-class citizens reside and where small business owners are extremely prevalent. Information like this shows that many people in this area would like to see changes in the laws that govern the private sector of business. Especially with more people coming to Texas in recent years to create new business. Another point that I would stress, as it is very important to me as well as the district, that focuses on the Texas public school system. There is much talk about how unprepared kids are coming out if Texas public schools, especially lesser funded systems such as Irving. With about half (49.7 percent) of the parents in district 16 having kids under 18 years old, I would push for better funding for lower income areas, because as of now the education at Texas Public Schools is not equal. A student living in a wealthy city such as Southlake comes out much more prepared for college than a student in Irving or Grand Prairie. The strength of my platform comes for the financial aspect, as I feel that in an already diverse, but lower income district social change would not be as impactful as economic change. This creats the three pillars of my campaign platform Better healthcare prices, lower the
School choice for K-12 students is still a controversial education reform topic. Choice programs for education include school vouchers, tax-credits scholarships, individual tax credit, and Education Savings Accounts (ESA), provide financial support to families who wish to access private schooling for their child (Wolf, 2016). There are now 61 private school choice programs in 30 states and the District of Columbia (Forster, 2016). Texas publicly funded school choices are limited to public schools and some charter schools. This paper explores the empirical evidence on school choice to establish an argument for expanding school choice in Texas, particularly the school voucher program. We will examine the empirical evidence involving all five domains 1. Academic outcomes of choice participants, 2. Academic outcomes of public school, 3. Fiscal impact on taxpayers and public schools, 4. Racial segregation in schools and 5. Civic values and practices. And lastly will look at surveys to find public opinions on K-12 school choice programs, especially millennials who are more than any other generations to have children in K-12 school.
School Finance: According to the Dallas Morning News, approximately 54% of the property tax levy is bringing over $28 billion in state revenue. “School funding, or lack thereof, has been an issue for lawmakers who have been unable to agree on allocating any new money for Texas' public schools this session. (Dagney)” So even though lawmakers cannot decide where the money is to go, this District perceived as a “wealthy” district is having money siphoned off at a rate unacceptable to the constituency. We should not be redistributing money outside of our district.