Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Senate Bill 3 Testimony
Good afternoon, Senators.
My name is Sara Stevenson, and I’ve been a librarian at O. Henry Middle School in Austin for 14 years. Previously, I taught English at St. Michael’s Catholic Academy for ten years, so I have a great respect for Catholic education.
I also write opinion pieces for The Austin American-Statesman, The Houston Chronicle, and The Texas Tribune. I have written against private school vouchers many times. Let’s be clear, ESAs are the same as vouchers.
What disturbs me most about Senate Bill 3 is its lack of accountability. With public money comes public accountability. As the bill is written, any private school or home school which accepts scholarship money does NOT have to administer state-mandated tests as do public schools and charter schools. These private schools DO NOT have to follow IDEA (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), and they DO NOT have to change or open their admission policies. Furthermore, the amount of the scholarship is not enough to cover tuition at most private schools, especially when transportation, textbooks, and other materials are included.
This bill is NOT a path for uplifting children in poverty but a thinly veiled tax break for parents who already or were already going to send their children to private or home schools.
Secondly, we must consider the research. According to a Brookings Institute Report by Mark Dynarski in May 2016, studies concluded that both Louisiana and Indiana students who received private school vouchers scored LOWER on READING AND MATH tests compared to similar students who remained in public schools. As Mr. Dynarski wrote:
“In education as in medicine, ‘first, do no harm’ is a powerful guiding principle. A case to use taxpayer funds to send children of low-income parents to private schools is based on an expectation that the outcome will be positive. These recent findings point in the other direction. More needs to be known about long-term outcomes from these recently implemented voucher programs to make the case that they are a good investment of public funds.”
Let’s look at some longer-term studies. In 1989, Milwaukee began its Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. That’s over 25 years ago. According to a Public Policy Report, in the years 2012 – 2014, students in Milwaukee public schools were more proficient than their private school choice counterparts in statewide reading and math tests at every grade level (3 – 10).
Even the DC Opportunity Scholarship program, according to a recent NCEE report, shows no benefits in math, after three years, between students who applied and were selected for a voucher and those who applied but were not and instead continued at public schools.
But the bottom line is that Senate Bill 3 DOES DO GREAT HARM to our already woefully underfunded public schools. The money going to the voucher students is money taken from public school coffers, which will cause greater hardship to the over 5 million Texas schoolchildren who currently attend Texas public schools. We already have so many choices in public education. Senate Bill 3 is not about choice.
Senate Bill 3 is not only unnecessary. It is ineffective and even harmful.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:
Thank you Sara Stevenson
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Short and sweet and well-stated.
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Yes–wonderfully written. The only thing I would suggest is a stronger statement at the end towards more and better support to the public schools as an already-vibrant democratic institution.
Diane–do you have a kind of “grid document” in your group, almost like the ALEC legislative documents, that others who talk before their state and local groups can use as a template for their REAL concerns–not as robotic, but as a help for experienced teachers talking about the same now-national problem?
But back to that letter: From the reading of the many educational issues that come through this blog, I think the most overlooked issue is foundational–that is, that the drift away from PUBLIC schools is a drift away from the very foundations of a democratic culture. Money and accountability are huge and essential issues of course. There is also the mounting evidence of some really weird billionaires who are trying to build our country and culture on their own limitations and yes, weirdness. (I’m referring to that recent Jane Meyer article: Money doesn’t equal quality, nor it seems does it guarantee sanity.)
However, the potential long-range entrance of all sorts of unfettered ideologies into the curriculum, along with the potential absences that accompany those ideologies will become the basis of our future citizens.
If legislators care at all about the survival and continuation of this experiment of democratic government, then they won’t be able to even think of vouchers or ALT-EDUCATION as an optional under-grid of our culture.
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How long will we have to fight this inanity? How long will our best institutions be sold out to moneyed interests? Our country is under so much that can and maybe will destroy what has been built up for so long by intellect, blood, sweat, and yes tears. I thank so very much people like Dr. Ravitch who continue the good fight.
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Based on the current political climate, this fight will last until hell freezes over.
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I am glad that there are brave people, who will continue to fight the public-school monopoly. I believe that school choice will come soon to the people of the Lone Star State. Texas is more than a state, it is a state of mind.
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You are wrong Charles.
Texans have a strong independent streak. With the help of Pastors for Texas Children, we will fight for our public schools and beat the profiteers.
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Texas is the only state, that was once an independent republic. Texans fought at the Alamo, and won their independence at the battle of San Jacinto. Texas parents are going to earn their independence from the teacher’s unions, and the public school monopoly.
(I am a former resident of San Antonio, and I have an ex-wife in El Paso).
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Charles,
I am a graduate of the Houston public schools. I was born and raised in Texas. Texans will fight to prevent a private takeover of their public schools. The legislator, now Lt. Gov., leading the charge is a Mini-Rush Limbaugh.
I know you consider yourself an expert on all things, but you know nothing about children, teachers, teaching, the role of public education in a democracy. Or why vouchers have been rejected again and again in Texas.
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Q I know you consider yourself an expert on all things, but you know nothing about children, teachers, teaching, the role of public education in a democracy. Or why vouchers have been rejected again and again in Texas. END Q
I am not an expert on all things. I am a telecom engineer, and reasonably well-educated.
I have never had children, and I am no expert on children.
I have been accepted to be a substitute teacher in Fairfax County VA (One of the finest public school systems in the nation). My Grandmother was a teacher, and my sister is a certified teacher in Kentucky. I know a great deal about teachers, the commonwealth of Virginia has found my background and education, acceptable to teach in public schools (substitute).
I have worked in a vocational-technical school as a curriculum development specialist (Saudi Arabia). I have prepared lesson plans, and written textbooks. I know a great deal about vocational/technical education, and how to set up an educational program.
I do not see a role for public education in a democracy. (The USA is a constitutional republic, not a democracy). Thomas Jefferson envisioned a widely-educated electorate, as vital for a republican form of government. I agree with this assessment. This is why I have consistently supported the expansion of civics education in all schools.
I understand how the pubic school monopoly, and the teacher’s unions have conspired to defeat school choice in the Lone State State.
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Charles,
Every state and district in this country has school choice. There are choices within public schools. There is choice to go to a religious school and choice to go to a private school. But the public pays for public education, not for private and religious education. If I decide I don’t like the public community pool, should the other taxpayers pay for me to build a private pool?
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Charles: If I may contribute to this conversation, you say you support civics education in schools–but just ONE of the problems identified with the privatization of schools is the push towards eliminating accountability–and the farther we drift from democratic roots (even as a “constitutional republic” as you say) the farther away we easily can drift away from requiring a civics education, or finding ways to account for that education in our private schools.
The other side of that is the encroachment of all sorts of ideologies and their omissions, religious or otherwise, into the curriculum, not to mention the conflict between democracies (and/or constitutional republics) and the capitalist-only mindset. Whatever version of the former you want, it won’t last long with such a mindset–we end up with klepto-capitalists who consolidate their power and throw their adversaries out of four story windows.
I admire your background and obvious commitment; but on this one, I think you don’t know what you are messing with; and don’t know how much of what we DO have is based on a long history of public education. It’s far from perfect, but it’s foundations as public are essential to the maintenance of a constitutional democracy and/or republic.
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Sara Stevenson’s letter to the Senators I feel is strong and very persuasive because she has first hand experience from within the classroom as a teacher and public school librarian that most Senators do not have. I completely agree with her opinion towards accountability within schools. Private and home schoolers do not half to abide by the same rules that public schools must and if this bill passed it would take more money away from public schools and improving them. I know many California public schools are underfunded and this bill would do more harm then good in Texas. We already have Betsy Devos now more then ever will push for charter schools over public and vouchers will again demolish the public school system. People assume that taking children from low income areas and placing them into private schools will somehow solve all problems. More research and studies need to be done to see if this is successful or not. At the moment the bill would make public schooling even harder for the 5 million children currently attending public schools in Texas.
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