This week we have some news from the Legislature about bad bills. You know what to do.
- Texas Tribune & ProPublica: Texas conservatives are using school board elections to exert influence over what students learn. The headline of this article is deceptive: this article is really about at-large voting in school districts. It’s comparing Keller ISD, which we all know about, and which has only at-large trustees, and Richardson ISD, where my house is zoned, which has district trustees. And of course, Patriot Mobile is involved.
- Dallas Observer: New Bill Would Remove DEI Programs From K-12 Schools. This is SB 12 filed by State Sen. Brandon Creighton, who is from Montgomery County (so not one of our local idiots; one of my home town’s exurban idiots). The bill would also ban queer student groups like Gay-Straight Alliance. Call your reps.
- Dallas Morning News: Texas school libraries could have tighter oversight if Republicans get their way. This is SB 13 filed by State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney), who is one of our exurban idiots. And yes, in case you didn’t know, she is also Mrs. Ken Paxton. The DMN’s editors failed to notice that the bill number wasn’t included in the article, so I had to chase it down in this Texas Tribune article. I can excuse that in a blog but nobody pays bloggers! Wherever this is in the process, we need to find out and call our reps, because our local school districts need to decide what students can read, not the State Board of Education and certainly not the Lege.
- KERA: Texas cleared to release 2023 school accountability ratings, appeals court rules. Also the Texas Tribune: Texas Education Agency can release schools’ 2023 performance ratings, appeals court rules, updated with the most recent developments. The school ratings are a complicated topic that I’m not competent to address, but what I do know is the state will use these ratings to take over urban districts like Houston. And based on HISD, I don’t think anybody the state puts in charge of a district is going to do right by the students.
- DMN: What we know about the fatal Frisco track meet stabbing. This is tragic. A 17-year-old was stabbed to death at a UIL track meet in Frisco. The assailant, another 17-year-old, claims self-defense and is facing a murder charge. I have to wonder what impact this case is going to have on the demand for school security. On the one hand, how did a student get a knife into a track meet? On the other hand, how do you keep legitimate tools that can be used as weapons, like box cutters, out of the hands of students who might use them to hurt someone. Another one where I don’t have answers, just questions, and condolences for the victim.
- Fort Worth Report: Arlington ISD owns 168 acres of undeveloped land worth over $15.7M. Here’s why. Tax foreclosures are a big part of it. I’m not surprised to find out this happens but the look at what they’re trying to do with the properties, most of which will be taken over by the city of Arlington, was news to me.
- KERA: ‘Grossly misleading’: Coppell ISD officials deny teaching critical race theory in lawsuit. This is the Ken Paxton lawsuit based on Accuracy in Media’s edited video. AIM is not James O’Keefe-level lying but I don’t trust them. Also, CRT is a term with a technical meaning that is actually taught in graduate schools; it’s not appropriate for secondary schools. It does not actually mean Black history, despite what some people like to say on reactionary web sites.
- DMN editorial: Dallas ISD leads again on retaining teachers. It’s the money. Pay-for-performance plan money, but it’s money.
- Texas Tribune: Ken Paxton wants Dallas school officials under oath on transgender athlete policy. Also KERA: AG Paxton wants to depose Dallas ISD officials over transgender athletes policy. This is another investigation driven by Accuracy In Media. DISD says it’s following the law; AIM got someone to say they might be able to let a kid play if the kid’s birth certificate had been changed. Changes to birth certificates are illegal in Texas, but some other states will still change them. Our tax dollars at work.
- Star-Telegram: Keller school board to consider campus closings, bond issue for 2025-26 school year. They have a $9.4 million shortfall for the next school year. I wonder how much of that is legal bills.
- Related, also in the Star-Telegram: Fort Worth HOA demands removal of 5 Keller ISD board members over split. This is the lawsuit over the board violating the Texas Open Meetings Act. Also, remember up at the top of this post where we talked about the differences between the at-large school boards and the single-member district boards, with Keller as one example? This is an example of how at-large boards go very, very wrong.
- DMN: Transgender teacher at North Texas district resigns after viral video spurs threats. This is in Red Oak ISD, south of Dallas and the viral piece comes from Libs of Tik Tok. I’m very sad for her. Also, her State Rep is Brian Harrison, whom the article quotes as demanding her job, and I’m sad for her about that too.