On what was the first day of school for many Texas school districts, the House Public Education Committee held its first of two days’ worth of hearings on interim charges Monday. These two days of hearings are expected to be the committee’s only interim hearing. The agenda was as follows: 

• Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 88th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure the intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:
  • HB 1605, relating to instructional material and technology, the adoption of essential knowledge and skills for certain public school foundation curriculum subjects, and the extension of additional state aid to school districts for the provision of certain instructional materials; authorizing a fee;
  • HB 2209, relating to establishing the Rural Pathway Excellence Partnership (R-PEP) program and creating an allotment and outcomes bonus under the Foundation School Program to support the program; and
  • SB 2124, relating to an advanced mathematics program for public school students in middle school.
• Consider issues and matters to increase educational opportunities in Texas to ensure that students and families have increased options to attend a high-quality school, regardless of circumstance. Evaluate the use of education savings accounts in other states and make recommendations for a Texas program, including suggestions on eligibility and prioritization of applicants.

Although the term was not used, the third agenda item pertained to vouchers. 

Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D–Austin) gave an opening statement decrying the fact that another hearing was happening on vouchers when public schools continued to be starved of funding. 

Commissioner Mike Morath gave an update on the state of education in Texas. Morath then participated in a panel that testified on the Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) process and continued work to adopt new High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) as part of the implementation of House Bill (HB) 1605 by Chairman Brad Buckley (R–Salado).  

Rep. James Talarico (D–Round Rock) questioned Morath on the heavy presence of Christian topics and passages in the new materials, describing it as a bias toward one faith in the materials that could go past academic acknowledgement and into religious instruction and thus violate the separation of church and state as well as alienate non-Christian families. Talarico also questioned Morath on whether the passages included in the new curriculum violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits establishment of an official religion by the government. Morath argued that the passages reference multiple faith perspectives and specifically reference Biblical passages well known by people of all faiths, such as the Ten Commandments. Morath also said TEA and the IMRA committee were willing to listen to feedback and make adjustments but that he did not have any problems with the current content. 

“I can tell you, there is a difference between teaching and preaching,” said Talarico, who is currently attending seminary. “And in my opinion, these passages, which appear at length throughout the curriculum … they are preaching under federal law.” 

Other members of the committee disagreed with Talarico, arguing that it was important to teach Biblical passages as they formed the principles America was founded on. 

“The simple truth is that all world religions did not have an equal impact on why we’re here today,” Rep. Matt Schaefer (R–Tyler) said. “I don’t think we should ever be ashamed of mentioning the name of Jesus in our curriculum or shying away from the role of Christianity in developing this country, developing Western civilization, and developing the very American legal system that brings us here today as lawmakers.” 

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave (center) testifies at the House Public Education Committee interim hearing Aug. 12.

ATPE Lobbyist Tricia Cave testified on the impacts of HB 1605 in rulemaking, specifically at the State Board for Educator Certification. She pointed out that the curriculum in HB 1605 is meant to be optional, yet the TEA staff was attempting to replace lesson design in the teacher pedagogy standards with “lesson internalization,” making internalization mandatory and potentially creating a generation of educators who do not have the fundamental skills of designing and planning lessons that meet the unique needs of their students.  

After hearing from the IMRA panel, the hearing moved on to the most hotly contested issue of the day: school vouchers. Invited testimony on vouchers included educational savings account (ESA) and voucher operators from other states, rather than Texas experts from both sides, as was the case in the past. States represented included Indiana, Utah, and Arkansas. 

Talarico sparred with the panel, as well as several of his fellow committee members, over the issue of special education services in private schools. Special education, he pointed out, is often singled out as a population helped by vouchers, but private schools do not have to provide them needed services or even accept them at all. He pointed out that few Texas private schools—only 67 out of approximately 1,200—exist to specifically help special education students and that the average tuition at these private institutions is $20,000.  

Rep. Ken King (R–Canadian) debated with panel members on whether vouchers would help the rural community he represents. “I have 90 counties and more than 60 school districts. I have one accredited private school, and it teaches Pre-K and Kindergarten. Until rural kids are considered part of the student population we’re trying to get a better education for, it’s hard for me to vote for part of the state and leave mine underfunded.” 

Rep. Steve Allison (R–San Antonio), who lost his reelection bid in March after being targeted by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for voting to kill Abbott’s voucher bill, pointed out the inequity of a voucher system. “If we’re serving 1% to 8% to the detriment of 92% or 99%, something’s wrong. That’s just not a good business model any way you stretch it.” 

ATPE Governmental Relations Director Monty Exter testified that the public schools, not vouchers, were the answer to the committee’s charge on educational opportunities, saying in part: 

“Let me just read this part of the committee charge, ‘Consider issues and matters to increase educational opportunities in Texas to ensure that students and families have increased options to attend a high-quality school, regardless of circumstance.’ There is only one system of schools in Texas which is capable of meeting this goal, one—the Texas public school system.” 

The hearing stretched into the evening despite having a posted cutoff time of 6 p.m. as the chairman allowed community members who had waited all day the opportunity to testify. The hearing adjourned after more than 13 hours. 

Tuesday’s interim committee hearing will focus on certification issues, specifically the rising number of uncertified educators in Texas, as well as early numeracy and literacy.