Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is a rightwing zealot. He has two obsessions that keep him awake at night. He wants vouchers. And, he wants to keep transgender people out of the bathroom of their choice. He runs the State Senate. He is an extremist. As one of the regular readers here said, if Patrick has his way with the bathroom bill, the women’s and girls’ bathrooms will suddenly have some hairy, muscled patrons who look very much like men.
Two sisters testified against the voucher bill, which is intended to offer vouchers to students with disabilities.
First was Abby. This is her testimony:
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee:
• My name is Abby Tassin. I am 17-years-old and I have Down syndrome.
• I am testifying against the bill.
• I am going to the 11th grade at Ridge Point High School in Fort Bend ISD.
• I have been going to school in my neighborhood with my friends ever since I was in kindergarten.
• I like going to school with my friends and my sisters.
• Sometimes my teachers give me help and sometimes they don’t.
• Sometimes my teachers follow my IEP and sometimes they don’t.
• Sometimes my teachers follow my behavior plan when I get upset in class and sometimes they don’t.
• When I was in the 6th grade, my teacher flipped me out of my desk.
• She grabbed me and scratched me.
• She told me, “Shut up you stupid Brat.”
• She made me sit in the middle of the floor during class and would not let me get back in my desk.
• I was embarrassed and I was crying.
• Going to school has not always been easy for me.
• My parents have to fight for me to get what I need in school.
• My parents have to fight for me to be in the regular class.
• Now I go to my ARD meetings with my parents and fight for myself.
• But, I do not want to go to private school.
• Giving my parents money for me to leave my school will not help me.
• I want to go to school with my friends and my sisters.
• My best friend is named Nevaeh. She has been my best friend for 8 years.
• She does not have a disability.
• We help each other. We are in theater together. We were on swim team together.
• I don’t want to be treated differently. I just want to be like everyone else and go to school with my friends like everyone else.
• Please help me to stay in my regular school with my friends.
• Please make it easier for me to be able to go to school there.
• Help my teachers be able to help me better.
• Please fight for me and other people like me.
• Please don’t give up. Please vote against this bill. Thank you.
Then came her sister Sarah. This is her testimony:
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee:
• My name is Sarah Tassin. I am testifying against the bill.
• I am 15-years-old and am going to the 10th grade at Ridge Point High School in Fort Bend ISD.
• I am two years younger than my sister, Abby, who has Down syndrome.
• We have been very close my whole life and have gone to school together since we were babies.
• My sister would not be interacting with typical peers and learning how to be independent if she went to a private school for kids with disabilities.
• Abby is becoming independent and prepared to be part of our society because she has had the opportunity to go to school with typical kids and learn in the same classes they do.
• While she has not always gotten everything she needs in school and my parents have had to fight for her to be there, she is pushed harder to learn more in regular classes with other kids her age and she has learned how to make friends who are different than her.
• It makes me sad when someone says they would rather send a kid away to another school than take the time to help educate them where and how they need.
• These kids don’t need to be put in a school where everyone is the same and they never learn how the world actually is and understands the standards the world sets. Instead we need to put money and effort into the programs we have for them right where they are.
• Having my sister at school with me means a lot to me. I get to share classes with her, like theatre, and it allows my friends to get to know her. Going to school with her helps them better understand people with disabilities and they learn how to interact with all kids, not just typical kids.
• My sister inspires me to be better every day because she is constantly defying any limits set for her. Please help make sure her school and all other schools in Texas are doing what’s right for my sister and other kids with disabilities.
• I am asking you to vote against this bill and instead fight to make public school better for my sister and all the other kids like her.
• Thank you.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
When I read the letter from Abby, it brought tears to my eyes. Seeing how she was treated in yes, a PUBLIC school.
And then you write, “Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is a rightwing zealot. He has two obsessions that keep him awake at night. He wants vouchers. And, he wants to keep transgender people out of the bathroom of their choice. He runs the State Senate. He is an extremist” – but not a single word about the way this young girl was treated!
I’m not sure about vouchers. But I AM sure that the teacher who abused this young lady should be fired, and never allowed in a class room again! I’m sure she was certified… So much for certification, I guess.
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Apparently you didn’t read Sarah’s letter. Or do you think Abby would be better of shut away with other of “her kind”?
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To imply that the certification process for teachers as you do “So much for certification, I guess” is a false conclusion from so little “evidence” that it is risible and ludicrous.
Diane could have easily edited out what Abby said in that statement and I’d bet no one wouldn’t have been any wiser for the sleight of hand. But you see, Diane doesn’t work that way, she put the statement out there for all to see. I noticed that part, just like you and it saddened me, just as it saddened you. I too, hope that the teacher was properly reprimanded by those in charge.
But to take one example of a teacher mistreating, perhaps it might even be considered abusing (I can’t tell because I do not know all the details, but I would like to think that her parents did what they needed to do in that situation) and to attempt to make a case against certification lacks logical thought.
May I ask L.Kinyon, how long and what grade/subject have you taught in a community public school (charters, unless they are part of a district’s schools, do not count)? What area(s) are you certified to teach in?
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as a teacher’s aid (as mentioned before) I work with special ed kids, and have done so from 6-12th grade.
But that is not important. And I am not sure how much more you need to know about the circumstances around the way Abby was treated. The fact that she was treated that way is what matters. Last I heard, there are no extenuating circumstances to justify this kind of treatment for ANY student, least of all for a young girl with Down’s syndrome.
As far as the certification statement, that refers back to earlier conversations, that only certified teachers should be allowed to teach. I would much rather see a competent (and they DO exist!) non-certified teacher who will not find a need for such behavior.
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First, thank you for working with those who need the extra help! I have the highest respect for all who work with our most challenging students whether they are aides or certified teachers.
Certification is important, though because it shows a dedication to do what should be done in order to be the teacher of record of the classes in which you work. There is a huge difference in the levels of responsibility, which doesn’t negate the good work you do on a daily basis, it just shows that ultimately the certified teacher is the one who is legally and ethically responsible for the children in a way that an aide/assistant can never be.
And again, one bad apple of a teacher does not sully (sorry folks couldn’t resist that one) the necessity and appropriateness of demanding proper certification for those “in loco parentis” to the children of this country.
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They heard as far as this and then they stopped listening:
“• I am 15-years-old and am going to the 10th grade at Ridge Point High School in Fort Bend ISD.”
That sounds like a public school. No one told she attends an unfashionable public sector school?
The bold innovators don’t have time for the kids in the “dead end government schools”
The adults are busy reinventing education. She should get out of their way. If she doesn’t they’re roll right over her anyway.
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Why are these children “protecting the status quo”? Are they members of labor unions?
Don’t they know all the fashionable people disdain public schools?
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It’s nice that the NAACP wants to ban “for profit charters” but they need to look deeper at how charter schools are organized.
The schools are a series of contracts. Layers. The charter (the contract between the state and the contractor) is only the first layer.
Here’s an example: Ohio charter schools are ALL technically “non profit” under state law. It doesn’t mean anything without more. All they have to do is set a frame with the non profit tax status. They can stuff anything in there.
I think that’s why California doesn’t ban for-profits. It would be nearly impossible to enforce. Jerry Brown knows it.
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Do any of the public employees at the Texas statehouse ever do anything for PUBLIC school students?
How many voucher initiatives is this? Ten? Do public school kids have a single adult advocate in the whole state capitol?
What did they get done this year other than drafting voucher bills and lobbying for 3% of students who attend private schools? My God, there are thousands of them. Maybe they could devote an hour or two of honest work to the unfashionable public school sector?
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Re Texas: public schools have been protected by Speaker of the House Joe Straus and chair of the House Public Education Dan Huberty, Republicans who have not swallowed the poisoned Kool-Aid served at the Tea Party
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Comprehensive public schools can provide wider opportunities for diverse young people, especially for special needs students. Many classified students need to learn how to interact appropriately with others. Public schools are social environments in which students that may not normally socialize with a particular group get the opportunity to reach outside their comfort zone. This is an opportunity for social and emotional growth both for special needs and regular students.
As an ESL teacher I saw how the social learning of public schools can help students that are “different” find their place. ELLs often struggle with academics. When these students went to art, music, PE or lunch with American students, they learned how to interact with them. In fact, many of my students were highly valued in a PE team sport, some of my students had beautiful voices in music, and a few were artistic. All of these positive experiences helped to build their confidence and taught them how to deal with people.
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