San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Safety, charter schools, accountability — this is what parents want
When you’re focused on your child’s ability to read, do math and think critically, the siren song of partisanship is much less captivating.
For the first time in years, Texas parents will have education at the top of their minds when they vote this election.
In a May survey by the Harris Poll, more Texas parents named education as one of their top three political issues, above immigration, taxes, health care or crime.
The reasons for this shift in attitudes are well-documented. As mothers and fathers endured school closures during the pandemic, they intimately observed what and how their kids were learning. Many were frustrated. Even as the education system gradually returns to normal, the genie is out of the bottle.
On education, Texas parents are pragmatists, not partisans. In fact, 83 percent told the Harris Poll they would be willing to vote for someone outside of their political party if the candidate’s education platform aligned with their views.
That might be surprising, but consider the stakes. When you’re focused on your child’s ability to read, do math and think critically, the siren song of partisanship is much less captivating.
So when it comes to education policy, candidates should be focused on thoughtful bipartisan solutions. Here are four ideas candidates should champion:
• Safety must come first. The horrific tragedy in Uvalde underscored the need for a permanent change in the way Texas approaches the protection of our students and educators, including allocating greater resources.
Right now, the state allocates $50 million to school safety as part of the education budget — only about $10 per student.
This forces schools to make agonizing and deeply unfair choices. How does a principal decide between hiring a security guard and hiring a math teacher?
• Candidates should double down on policies from recent legislative sessions that have proven to be effective at helping students make academic progress — especially those who most need support.
When lawmakers passed House Bill 3 in 2019, they addressed a glaring need to improve literacy among younger students. More than 90,000 teachers in grades K-3 have now either completed or started “reading academies,” and many point to that training as a key driver of improved instruction.
Texas students’ reading scores have rebounded more quickly than math, with many districts doing better than before COVID. Lawmakers made a similarly bold move in 2021 with House Bill 4545, which requires small-group tutoring for students who are behind.
Neither law was easy for schools to implement, and they are compounding burnout at a time when we need teachers more than ever. The state could address this by allowing new teachers to complete the reading instruction course over the summer. Yes, these challenges make it tempting for candidates to step on the brakes and promise “relief ” to adults at the expense of students who are benefiting. But this would be the wrong move — both educationally and politically.
• Candidates must similarly hold their ground on administering the STAAR exams. Like clockwork, pressure to “end state testing” emerges whenever an election approaches. It’s catnip for special interest groups that prefer as little accountability as possible.
It’s also a complete nonstarter for parents who want to meaningfully understand how their children are doing.
• Finally, anyone running on education should champion more school options within the
public education system. That includes public charter schools, which are tuition-free, open to all students and allow more parents to find exactly the right learning environment for their children.
Charter schools remain incredibly popular — more than 58,000 students in Texas are on waiting lists to attend
them — but they aren’t the only way to empower parents to find the best school fit for their kids. Lawmakers can soften, or even erase, the rigid school district boundaries that fence off families from schools that might help their students succeed.
San Antonio ISD, for example, encourages all children in Bexar County to enroll in its “choice schools” and magnet programs. It’s a great example of democratizing public education instead of treating our school systems as walled gardens.
These policy ideas might not have the flash and sizzle of the culture wars that sometimes dominate political debate. But for any candidate interested in winning — by helping parents win — they’re a recipe for success.