School finance in the United States has been in turmoil for thirty years. Three things have contributed if not caused this turmoil. First, the courts have become very active participants in the design of school finance policy, and this is not something they are particularly well-equipped to do. Second, court decisions have reinforced a more general tendency to centralize school decision making at the state level. Third, school finance has been largely divorced from considerations of the performance of schools. The result has been that the outcomes have been disappointing both in terms of the levels of student achievement and in terms of measures of equity across schools. The State of Texas of course knows many of the problems, and I believe it is a very good sign that the Governor and the Legislature are prepared to address the issues.
Round Rock ISD Caught Pushing Politics in the Classroom
A Central Texas school district is in hot water after its staff allegedly “creat[ed] a Mexican-American lesson plan teaching that immigration law amounts to the oppression of minorities.” The shocking incident occurred at Round Rock ISD, a relatively large ISD north of Austin with a history of controversy, and was exposed by a watchdog group,...