Teach the Vote's Week in Review: Feb. 5, 2016

Date Posted: 2/05/2016
Campaigns are heating up and the stakes are high for public education. Read more in this week's wrap-up.

A congressional hearing entitled “Expanding Educational Opportunity Through School Choice” originally scheduled to take place during School Choice Week was held Wednesday in Washington, DC. Our federal relations team covered the hearing, which was postponed due to a weather system that shut down federal government buildings last week, and shared that the focus was on two main themes: (1) whether or not expanding school choice had a positive impact on low-income students, and (2) whether or not there is adequate accountability for existing school choice programs. The panel of invited testifiers consisted of three proponents of school choice and only one who testified to the risks associated with school choice programs. No other testimony was taken at the hearing. We noted in a blog post last week that School Choice Week drew attention to some of the private school voucher and related proposals on the move around the country. The same post discusses that Texas is not immune to the push for private school vouchers and stresses the importance of educators voting in the upcoming election. As voucher proposals in Texas gain more steam, it is critical that we elect a Legislature that continues to stand in the way of those proposals ultimately passing. The upcoming primary election will determine the majority of the elected officials sent to Austin to serve in the next Texas Legislature. It is critical that voters send pro-public education candidates.

We previously reported on two separate community meeting series taking place across the state. The State Board of Education is hosting meetings to gather feedback on Texas' testing and accountability systems, and the Coalition for Public Schools is hosting meetings to discuss the value of public education and how communities can get involved to support public schools. Both meeting series have been updated by the respective hosts. The changes are reflected on our original postings linked below. Please note the following changes:


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