The Texas Senate Education Committee held two days of interim hearings last week, hearing testimony on several major issues likely to be addressed during the next legislative session, which begins in January.
Chaired by State Senator Donna Campbell, the Committee examined topics including public school enrollment, educator misconduct, instructional calendars including 4-day school weeks, school choice, the influence of hostile countries, and inappropriate books in school libraries.
On the first day of the hearing, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath raised concerns about school districts implementing shorter instructional calendars. Morath said the average school district instructional calendar is 169 days, down from 180, with 15% of schools offering fewer than 165 instructional days.
“The students are learning less. They’re learning less in reading, and they’re learning less in mathematics,” Morath told the Committee.
Later in the hearing, Levi Fuller – the Texas Education Agency’s Inspector General for Educator Misconduct – testified that reports against school employees have more than tripled under a new law aimed at educators who abuse students. He warned that his office will need more staff to prevent a backlog of investigations.
Currently, the harshest penalty the Texas Education Agency can impose on an educator who is found to have engaged in misconduct is revocation of their teaching certificate. However, lawmakers discussed creating stiffer penalties, such as ending an educator’s pension credit from the time any misconduct began.
Despite the uptick in investigations and well-publicized cases of teacher misconduct, Fuller emphasized the quality of Texas teachers.
“Texas teachers are the finest in the country. We’re talking about a fraction of a tiny percent,” he said.
On the second day of the hearing, the Committee heard about the success of the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, the state’s new school choice program.
“TEFA is the largest and most successful year-one school choice launch in U. S. History and the second largest education savings account program in the nation,” said Travis Pillow, interim director of the TEFA program in State Comptroller Don Huffines’ office.
According to Pillow, more than 116,000 students participate in the TEFA program, with more than 95,000 on a waitlist and another 65,000 on an interest list to apply next year.
The Committee also heard testimony from State Board of Education Chairman Aaron Kinsey, who defended the revised social studies standards the State Board of Education finalized last month. Those revised standards stress American exceptionalism and patriotism in the social studies curriculum, reflecting legislation lawmakers have adopted over the past several years.
Kate Bierly, Campaign Director for Next Generation Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, provided lawmakers with examples of foreign influence in some Texas public schools, including how groups such as Qatar Foundation International (QFI) have been able to influence instructional materials.
“Foreign entities are currently observing Texas classrooms and influence what is being taught. Across Austin and Houston, public records show more than $1.5 million in QFI funding to the two school districts since 2015. That funding, again, is supporting teachers’ curriculum, instructional materials, professional development, and other program activities,” she said.
The Committee also discussed inappropriate books in school libraries, with some witnesses expressing concern that school districts were ignoring a new state law prohibiting vulgar books from school libraries. At an August press conference, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick expressed support for legislation to impose penalties on school districts that fail to remove prohibited books from school libraries.
