Archive for February, 2007
TEXAS Grants for graduates of any Texas High School
80(R) HB 1250 – Introduced version – Bill Text: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to prohibiting discrimination based on a student’s secondary school in awarding certain financial aid for higher education. ???????BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: ???????SECTION?1.??Section 56.304(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows: [...]
How will private schools be held accountable for vouchers?
MySA.com: Metro | State: Sen. Kyle Janek, R-Houston, plans to introduce a school voucher bill later this month that would allow up to 5 percent of the low-income children in the state’s largest urban school districts to attend a school of their choice at taxpayer expense.” It will target those folks who don’t have the [...]
HB 1091 Bad for homeschoolers, bad for public education
Or how the Texas Department of Public Safety is going to regulate public education. First of all, this bill has the DPS setting up a different attendance policy than that required by the Texas Education Code. Furthermore, it then puts the burden on the local schools to track this information and inform the DPS. Talk [...]
HB 795 What high schools are left?
I’m not going to quibble over this one but I still have to wonder why it couldn’t have been written as “graduated from a high school in this state?” Are there any high schools in Texas that wouldn’t be covered by the stated definition? 80(R) HB 795 – Introduced version – Bill Text: ???????Sec.?54.220.??EXEMPTION FOR [...]
Accountability
There are so many who want education reform based on “running a business” and accountability that I think it’s time to explain the situation in language they should understand. Let’s pretend that you run a plant nursery. You sell a healthy, well-kept tree to your customer. You give them fertilizer and detailed instructions. You might [...]
It’s the money that matters
Texans for Excellence in the Classroom Unveils 2007 Education Recommendations | Excellence in the Classroom: The report recommends strengthened standards and coursework aligned with those standards; improved collection of education data; improved tools to measure academic progress; dramatically improved teacher evaluation methods; increased pay for highly effective teachers; support for teachers through enhanced professional development; [...]