The Children Are Watching
The state of
Texas is threatening to “take over” the Houston Independent School District and
its schools. The threat first came
because several Houston ISD schools had persistently low scores on state tests,
thus triggering sanctions that included possible closing of those schools or
outsourcing them to charter chains or other organizations outside the
democratic governance of the elected school board. More recently, the state has
threatened to “take over” the entire district, dissolving the elected school
board and installing some kind of appointed manager or management team not
elected by or accountable to voters.
Such a “take
over” would not solve the persistent problems in the Houston school
district. In fact, there is strong
evidence such a move would effectively destroy the public’s schools.
In short, the State that has starved our
schools can’t be trusted to run them.
We know from
cities where state neglect and predatory privatizers have instigated such ‘take
overs” that dissolving or over-riding elected school boards diminishes the
possibility of improved educational quality and sets in motion factors that
(often by design) decrease academic quality and increase inequality within and across schools. New Orleans, Detroit, Washington DC are but
the starkest examples.
We also have
clear evidence that Texas in particular – whether through the Texas Education
Agency or other state or out-sourcing entity – cannot be trusted to ensure
children’s well-being. The state’s
history of neglect, failed oversight, underfunding, and outright non-compliance
with legal mandates proves its lack of capacity and expertise to manage, much
less improve, its largest urban school district. Even more obvious is the state’s flagrant,
careless disregard for official requirements for children under its
jurisdiction.
Two
prominent and contemporary examples make my case:
First,
thousands of children in need of special services have been denied those
services and the diagnostic examinations needed to determine those needs by
state policies capping “special needs” at roughly 8% of any school district’s
child population. Diligent investigative reporting uncovered this policy by following the stories of
families willing to make public their struggles to find help for their
children. Many were told year after year
their children’s physical disabilities, cognitive limitations or other
conditions were just evidence of “slowness” or “not trying hard enough” or not
the school’s responsibility. The reporting traced these stories through
interviews with current and retired special education administrators, and
teachers who had tried in vain to get kids tested, across a number of school districts. What emerged was a strong directive from the
state that no more than 8% of children should be classified by – and thus
served by – special needs accommodations. Never mind that federal law requires
that each child that needs one have an individually prepared education plan (an IEP) and
that it be followed. The state --- TEA officials – denied putting forth such a
directive. Lawsuits, courts, new
pronouncements from the governor’s office, and a meek attempt at legislation add up to a sad
combination of further denials, promises to do better, and some new policies
which we hope will be diligently enforced.
If there has been compensation to the thousands of children who have
missed out on the early interventions and sustained programs which would have
helped them develop to their full potential, that hasn’t been made public. Experts estimate that in urban districts
with high poverty (and well as centralized medical facilities) as many as
12-13% percent of children have special needs that qualify for state and
federal support. These children and
their families have trusted the state at their peril. Not a good track record for taking over the
education of 200,000 Houston students.
Children’s
Protective Services provides further evidence of the state’s inability – or
unwillingness – to act ethically on behalf of its children. The foster care system, perennially
underfunded and understaffed, “loses” children from time to time and fails to
provide robust, supportive care for many of those that do have family
placements. The record is stark, is
continuous, and is another example of
careless disregard for the weakest youth in our state. Revelations of serious problems unearthed by
investigative reporters were followed by promises by the governor for
more funding to hire additional and better trained case managers and assurances
of special legislative action. None has been adequate. None of the actions have matched the urgency
of need.
The Houston
Independent School District needs adequate funding. It needs an experienced educator for
superintendent, one with the vision of equity and educational excellence begun
under the brief tenure of Superintendent Carranza. It needs a state funding formula that does
not require giving local tax dollars to other districts to compensate them for
their own lack of adequate state funding.
It needs to overcome the system of management by fear and intimidation that
was the pride of the last permanent superintendent. And it needs its currently elected school
board to rise above the embarrassing pettiness made public in several open
school board meetings and a recently revealed informal session. (The state is investigating whether certain
actions taken by several members of this board violated the open meetings act;
a stupid thing to do if true. I’m equally concerned that the board’s on-the-record
talk stayed completely personal with NO MENTION –
or at least none in the newspaper account – of a commitment to an
educational vision for the district as a whole, for particular schools or
children, for the role of teachers.)
The answer
is for parents and teachers and friends of education (and yes, students – think
of the Parkland students and the leadership groups they inspired in Houston
around gun safety) to demand this board put the children ahead of their own
personal quarrels.
The board
needs to build common cause with its employees, especially with teachers, with
parents and students, with those sectors of the business community that aren’t
in the pocket of the privatizers, with the faith leaders like Pastors for Texas
Children, with community groups -- to take on the state, not cede authority to
it! Why doesn’t Houston ISD lead the other
urban districts in demanding this legislative session pass full funding for
Texas schools? With compensatory funding for
those districts most needing to make up for past starvation-level funding for salaries
and facilities?
From other
so-called “take overs” we know the State is not always a friend of the public’s
schools. Too often the state’s role is to grab power – and funding – from local
elected boards and hand it over to the charter chains and “education
management” companies that are not in any way accountable to voters or
parents. We know the privatizers are
circling – new charter chain offices are opening in our city and their billionaire backers are writing the checks
to establish their foothold. We can’t
let them have our tax dollars – or our kids.
So, no to a
state take over. No to out-sourcing our kids.
Yes, to speaking out, speaking up, demanding this board get its act
together until we can elect a new one.
If you care about the future of our schools, the public's schools, and the children, then seek out
kindred spirits whose informed activism needs you. Community Voices for Public Schools invites
you to their meeting coming up on February 16.
