Please contact Lt. Governor David Dewhurst’s office at (512) 463-0001 and urge him to refer HB 2836, by Rep. Ratliff, to the Senate Education Committee and have the bill set for a hearing immediately.

HB 2836 limits state assessments for 3-8 grade students and improves the accountability system by narrowing the amount, scope and time of state-mandated testing of those grade levels. It  reduces the number of state-mandated tests from 17 to 15 in grades 3-8. HB 2836 also reduces the time spent on each test from 120 minutes for 3-8 grade students, and 180 minutes for 6-8 grade students. The bill ensures students can learn the TEKS readiness standards comprehensively.

You may contact the Lt. Governor by phone (512) 463-0001, Fax (512) 463-0677 or e-mail.

Representative Bennett Ratliff’s HB 2836 was approved on the second reading by the Texas House on Monday without debate, and after Rep. George Lavender pulled his amendment on Tuesday afternoon, the bill passed on the third reading with a vote of 142 to 0.

HB 2836 bill focuses on “readiness” standards for accountability purposes in grades 3-8, allowing comprehensive teaching on the TEKS, with the supporting standards being used for diagnostic or reporting purposes.

Rep. Diane Patrick’s first amendment to HB 2836 eradicates the STAAR writing test in grade 4. The grade 7 writing test was already eliminated on the bill’s first filing. HB 2836 will re-establish the social studies test in grade 8. The amended bill would require third-eighth grade students to be tested in Reading and Math, grades fifth-eighth grades to be tested in Science, and eighth grade students to be tested in Social Studies.

Rep. Mike Villarreal’s second amendment to HB 2836 will prohibit school districts from administering more than two benchmark assessments to prepare students for the corresponding state tests in grades 3-8.

Currently, Texas elementary and middle school students take seventeen state exams prior to entering high school.

According to Terrence Stutz with The Dallas Morning News, Chairman Dan Patrick, R-Houston, defended the bill changes and disputed criticism from business groups and others that the legislation is weakening standards in high school. “We are not reducing accountability and rigor, and do not intend to do so,” he said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” But Texas Association of Business President Bill Hammond and other business representatives said they are concerned that the new requirements will leave many students without the skills they need to succeed in college or a career. “Our goal is an educated work force. We want to make sure more students are ready to succeed after high school,” Hammond said.

Texas ASCD is monitoring legislative activities pertaining to education in Texas. Follow us on Twitter at #txascd and on Facebook for up-to-the-minute news.

Reprinted in part from TASA Daily and The Dallas Morning News.                                                                                             

Texas ASCD encourages everyone to contact members of the Senate Education Committee and tell them that they support student flexibility and meaningful testing.

Senate Education Committee Contact Information:

Sen. Dan Patrick (Chair)

Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (Vice Chair)

Sen. Donna Campbell

Sen. Robert Duncan

Sen. Ken Paxton

Sen. Kel Seliger

Sen. Larry Taylor

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte

Sen. Royce West

The senate education committee meeting will be available live on the web. Click here for details.

Many educators feel that with the 15 state assessment tests we have now, that it is hard not to just teach the test.  So much of educator’s time and money go into the STAARs testing as it stands today. With this new legislation, educators may be able to focus on the individual student and their needs.

House Bill 5 also mentions flexibility of students with their graduation plan.  Giving students more options with their graduation plan may help keep them in school till they graduate, and better prepare students for their goals after high school.

Another piece of this legislation is school ratings.  If House Bill 5 passes, it would change the way we rate schools.  Instead of primarily being graded on assessments, the state would also look at school’s financial accountability and student/community engagement.  Schools would be rated on a scale of A, B, C, D, and F, just like students.

What do you think of House Bill 5?  Are you supporting this bill or are you in opposition of the bill?  What changes would you make to the bill?

For more information on this bill and where it stands, please visit 83rd Legislature Regular Session Texas Legislature Online at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/ 

Texas ASCD is proud to partner with Discovery Education and Digital Promise for Future@Now, a national leadership summit on the transition to digital learning environments.

Featured speakers include U.S. House of Representatives Congressman George Miller; Alberto M. Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools; James H. Shelton III, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement; Dr. Mark Edwards, Superintendent, Mooresville Graded School District; Dr. Kamela Patton, Superintendent, Collier County Public Schools; Dr. Christine Johns, Superintendent, Utica Community Schools; Eric Spiegel, President & CEO, Siemens Corporation U.S.; and Mary Moss Wirt, 3rd Grade Digital Learner.

For more information or to register for the free live webcast on April 11, visit http://www.discoveryeducation.com/FutureNow/.

House Bill 5 — after almost 7 hours of debate on 118 amendments — was adopted last night (March 26, 2013) on a vote of 145 to 2.   House Members expressed appreciation for the discussion’s quality and thoroughness, the respect shown for the issues, and the decorum demonstrated towards one another.

Texas ASCD will have more information about the House engrossed version of HB 5, with details on the amendments incorporated into this critical piece of legislation.

The second day of the Board of Director’s meeting opened with a sit down question and answer breakfast with Representative Mark Strama.   Representative Strama has been on the Education Committee in the past, but was not put on that committee this year.  Representative Strama was very candid with the board members in his answers.  This time with Representative Strama really helped the board prepare for their talks with the Legislators at the Capitol.

Advocacy Day Chairs Gena Gardiner, Highland Park ISD, and Suzy McWilliams, Forney ISD, divided Texas ASCD’s board into 5 groups.  They assigned each group certain members of the state education committees.  Armed with Texas ASCD’s Legislative Agendas and new information regarding bills that were up for adoption, the Board of Director’s spent the rest of the second day visiting Legislators.

This was a great day for both Texas ASCD and Educators across the state of Texas. The Texas ASCD Board of Directors was able to connect with senators, representatives or their staff, they were able to leave important information with the different offices pertaining to educators needs and wants, they were able to supply the legislators with suggestions and documentation on bills being discussed, and the board was able to make relationships that will hopefully carry over to becoming advisors on education for future bills and discussions.  Texas ASCD hopes to make this advocacy day a bi-annual event.  With Education being a major topic of discussion, Texas ASCD aims to become the go-to association for question and concerns of Legislators. Texas ASCD would like to thank all those who were involved in this day for it was a great success!

To find out more about the Senate Committee on Education, please click on this link: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/commit/c530/c530.htm

To find our more on the Public Education Committee, please click on this link: http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/committee/?committee=400

Both sides of the argument

For Choice Schools:

There are over 300,000 students who attend schools that are academically unacceptable in the state of Texas.  Under this new bill, student’s who would like to attend a better-ranked school or private school would be allowed.  This could improve some schools due to the competition for their students.

Against Choice Schools:

Dedicated public school money could potentially be given to private/charter schools that are not held to the same rules/standards as public schools.  This would be another cut to the public education budget.  Wealthy students who already attend private schools would be able to take money from public schools to give to their private schools.  The thought is that private schools would then increase tuition.  Also, the amount each student would be able to bring with them through this voucher would not be enough for low-income students to attend a private school.

Currently, there are 12 states that have some sort of voucher program setup through tax credits.  Most of these are provided for special needs students, low-income students or through scholarships.  If Texas passes this bill, they would lead the way for a program such as this.

What are your thoughts on the subject?  Please let us know.

Read/hear more about the potential new bill on these websites, where some of the information was obtained for the blog above:

Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20121219-texas-senate-leaders-pitch-school-choice-plan.ece or http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20121226-clash-over-vouchers-comes-down-to-vastly-different-views-on-texas-schools.ece

Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Proposed-Texas-school-vouchers-program-won-t-work-3979178.php

Press conference Senator Dan Patrick held: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/avarchive/ramav.php?ram=00005625

The hearing provides members with the unique opportunity to provide input to Senators on how the waivers are working; how they are affecting your school, district, and state; and why this process is not the preferred way to set federal education policy.

We encourage each of you to write a letter to your Senators if they serve on the Committee, or to Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Alexander. Click here for instructions and sample talking points. Please share your letters with us after you have sent them, and let us know if you have any questions or concerns.