RISD stakeholders should be aware of an issue coming up for a vote in the Texas House that will ultimately harm public schools, including RISD.
Senate Bill 8 creates a voucher-like program that allocates millions in taxpayer dollars to allow students to attend private schools. With this legislation, the accountability for the use of tax dollars that apply to public schools would not apply to a private school receiving these public funds.
RISD and public schools must comply with a wide range of requirements to ensure tax dollars are used appropriately, that all students within RISD are accepted into an RISD school, and that the academic progress of students, schools and districts is measured through a public system of test scores and school ratings. Yet, none of those requirements would apply to a private school receiving public tax dollars through this legislation. And, since public schools have not received an increase in funding since 2019, those dollars are desperately needed to keep pace with high inflation, and fund needed pay increases for RISD and other public school educators.
In addition, Senate Bill 8 actually adds more testing requirements for public schools with mandatory through-year testing, including an additional 11th grade exam; plus it increases the number of high school STAAR tests.
The legislative session is in its final weeks, and feedback from taxpayers and citizens matters a great deal. Please consider using the link below to ask your representative, and those that serve on the House Public Education Committee, to oppose Senate Bill 8 and any other voucher-like program. In order to send the email to your representative, a home address and email address is necessary for the representative to know you’re a real person. The feedback letter in the email can be edited any way you wish.
Texas representatives need to know that creating another school system and entitlement program in Texas is not in the best interest of RISD or Texas public school students or taxpayers. Public tax dollars should be used for public schools, and not private schools with no financial or academic accountability to taxpayers or parents.
Click here to contact Texas House Members.
Learn more about 2023 legislative priorities adopted by RISD’s Board of Trustees.
