Education Policy

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Education Policy
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Issues in Education Policy

• Plessy v. Ferguson case provided for separate
  but equal public facilities, including education
• Texas maintained such facilities until the 1950s
• Brown v. Board of Education overturned Plessy in
  1954 and required steps to integrate public
  schools

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Issues in Education Policy

• Starting in the 1950s many Texans moved out of
  cities
• Many reasons, including crowding, crime rates,
  bigger housing
• That movement, along with racial integration of
  schools, resulted in the phenomenon of
  suburbanization

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Issues in Education Policy

• Retail businesses followed, as did other industry
• Urban school systems began to have limited
  economic resources
• Property tax system hurt lower-appraised
  districts, requiring a higher tax rate

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Issues in Education Policy

• Challenge by property-poor districts in San
  Antonio School District v. Rodriguez failed, with
  U.S. Supreme Court holding that school finance
  was a state issue
• Edgewood v. Kirby, decided by the Texas Supreme
  Court, held system of financing unconstitutional

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Issues in Education Policy

• Result was Robin Hood, a bill requiring sharing
  of resources
• Legislature will be forced to address school
  financing sooner, rather than later

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Higher Education

• Affirmative action programs have long been used
  to increase minority enrollment
• Hopwood case held that institutions could not
  rely on race as a factor in admissions
• Other factors, such as income, 10 rule, and
  reduced weight on SAT can increase enrollment

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Higher Education

• Permanent University Fund (PUF) provides support
  for UT and AM systems
• UT gets 2/3, AM 1/3
• Higher Education Assistance Fund was established
  in 1984 to assist other institutions

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Comparison

• Texas teachers earn about 10 less than the
  national average, but argument is made that if
  cost of living is considered, Texas is with 1 of
  the national average
• Per pupil spending is also about 10-15 lower
  than national level

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Comparison

• Texas National Assessment of Educational
  Progress scores outpace the national average
• Scores vary by race, ethnicity and social class

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School Choice

• Voucher programs have been held constitutional by
  U.S. Supreme Court
• Publicly funded voucher is provided to permit
  child to attend any school of choice
• Charter schools operate under a relaxed set of
  regulations and can experiment with new and
  innovative teaching techniques

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Issues

• School prayer
• Santa Fe decision prohibited student-led prayer,
  although there is not an entire ban on prayer
• Textbook selection

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Players in the Game

• Legislature
• Governing Boards
• Boards of Regents
• Governor
• Courts
• Local School Boards
• Administrators/Faculty