Texas Democrats

"Teaching was the hardest work I had ever done, and it remains the hardest work I have done to date." 

- Governor Ann Richards

 

"At the desk where I sit, I have learned one great truth. The answer for all our national problems - the answer for all the problems of the world - come to a single word. That word is "education."

- President Lyndon B. Johnson

 

From the Texas Democratic Party Platform

Education
Texas Democrats believe public education is essential to American democracy and economic opportunity, recognizing that a free public education provides all Texans an opportunity to achieve to their fullest potential. We believe:

• every child deserves a quality public education in a safe, secure school;
• every child should have equal access to an exemplary educational program that meets that child's needs and abilities, so all Texas children can reach their maximum potential;
• public education must be funded adequately with 100% equity to accomplish these goals;
• access to affordable high-quality higher education and career education programs must be provided to all Texans.

Texas Democrats led the fight to improve student achievement and lower dropout rates, often over Republican opposition. Democratic initiatives include the 22-1 class size limit, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs and improved funding equity, all of which have been cited in national studies for improvement in our children's schools. Democrats also led efforts to retain and attract qualified, talented professionals to teach in our children's classrooms.
 
In contrast, education funding was cut by over $3 billion in 2003, the first year Republicans took legislative control, including a $500 pay cut for all teachers and school support personnel.  In the 2006 special session, Republicans further cut $350 million below the inadequate amount earmarked for public schools in 2005.  Republican cuts in higher education funding and student financial aid, along with their deregulation of tuition and raising student loan interest rates, have put higher education out of reach of many deserving students and left others facing crushing debt burdens.

 

Improving Public Education-A Moral Imperative 
Public schools are meant to educate children, not to manufacture widgets.  Equipping students with the well-rounded education they need to succeed in the 21st century is more than a constitutional obligation, it is a moral imperative. To fulfill this commitment, qualified teachers and sufficient, equitable funding are crucial.  Excessive emphasis on one standardized achievement test must be replaced with a more comprehensive assessment system.  Teaching materials need to be brought up to date, and the test-driven narrowing of achievement standards and curriculum must be reversed.  Our teachers need the time and tools to give every child individual attention.  Class sizes should be smaller.  All children should be eligible for public pre-kindergarten.  At-risk children who need extra, individually tailored instruction should get the help they need to succeed instead of becoming anonymous dropout statistics. 
 

The Democratic Goal-An Excellent Public Education for Every Child
Texans believe our children come first and that all children must be guaranteed equal access to the educational resources, programs, and services necessary to achieve their maximum potential. The Texas Constitution provides for free public schools budgeted with public tax dollars, yet many Republicans seek to siphon off public education funds for inequitable, unaccountable voucher and privatization schemes that interfere with that constitutional mandate. To make state education policy reflect that highest priority, Texas Democrats believe we should:

• Establish a 100% equitable school finance system with sufficient state funding for all education costs to offer an exemplary program and equitably reduce reliance on "Robin Hood" recapture;
• Fully reflect in state funding formulas all student and district cost differences and the impact of inflation and all state mandates;
• Require the federal government to fully fund all federally mandated education programs, including those required by the No Child Left Behind Act, special education requirements such as assistive technologies, and others;
• Ensure universal access to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten;  
• Provide early-intervention programs so every child can read at grade level;
• Make dropout prevention a top priority, count dropout rates accurately, and reclaim dropouts with programs tailored to their needs;
• Make appropriate vocational education, from apprenticeship programs to college preparatory academics, available to all students in all communities;
• Provide sufficient funding to ensure that every student in our public schools has updated, factually accurate textbooks that cover the state required curriculum and all material on required assessment tests, and preserve an equitable system of statewide distribution of textbooks that reserves the state textbook fund for its intended purposes;
• Involve parents with appropriate, innovative programs and ensure parental and teacher input into local district and campus decision-making;
• Provide sufficient resources for students with special needs or challenges to learn to the maximum of their ability in the least restrictive environment;
• Enforce and extend class-size limits and construct sufficient classroom space to provide a better, more disciplined learning environment by ending overcrowding;
• Support multi-language instruction to make all children fluent in English and at least one other language and reject efforts to destroy bilingual education;
• Oppose any form of private school vouchers;
• Block efforts by right-wing extremists to control curriculum and textbook selection and to censor textbooks; 
• Restore the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) to its original purpose of helping public schools and libraries attain access to the internet and electronic communications by funding the technology allotment from the Available School Fund;
• Support continued enforcement of Title IX protections to provide gender equity in all public educational institutions.

Teacher Quality
The most important factor in student success is having qualified teachers in our classrooms.  Texas faces a serious shortage of qualified teachers because teacher pay and benefits are not competitive with the private sector.  More than 50,000 classrooms are staffed by individuals assigned to subjects they are not prepared or trained to teach.
 
The solution is obvious: improve pay, benefits, and the conditions for teaching and learning in our classrooms.  Texas ranks 33rd in the nation in average teacher pay and 50^th - dead last among the states - when average teacher pay is compared with average private-sector pay.  The recently enacted teacher pay raise still leaves Texas teachers almost $5,000 below the national average and fails to close the gap with private-sector pay for comparable knowledge and skills. To recruit and retain our best to teach our children, Texas Democrats advocate the following:

• Raise teacher pay to at least the national average and provide a quality state paid health insurance program for every educational employee;
• Respect and safeguard the rights and benefits of education employees;
• Guarantee that every class has a teacher certified to teach the subject of that class;
• Recruit and train teachers who reflect the state's diversity;
• Repeal the federal "government pension offset" and "windfall elimination provision," which unfairly reduce Social Security benefits duly earned by Texas teachers and other school employees;
• Finance a mentor program to provide every novice teacher the help of veteran, highly qualified teachers to improve their skills;
• Oppose Republican "incentive pay programs" that undercut the collaborative efforts needed to help all children excel by linking pay to student performance on standardized tests that are already an excessive focus of our school system.

Safe Schools for Every Child
Texas Democrats believe we must protect students, teachers, and other school personnel from acts of violence. We support swift and fair enforcement of disciplinary standards. Furthermore, we support the passage of the Dignity for All Students Act to ensure guaranteed safety for all students. Teachers deserve support when they exercise their right to take a disruptive student out of the classroom. Students referred to disciplinary and alternative education programs deserve strong academic instruction, not warehousing in low-quality programs.  School campuses and functions must be weapon-free and drug-free.

 

Higher Education and Adult Education
Texas Democrats believe all Texans should have the opportunity and be encouraged to pursue higher education, at an affordable cost, at public universities, community colleges, and technical schools.  We support:

• A guarantee of two years of public college or post-secondary technical education tuition-free for all who complete high school and additional scholarship aid for military veterans;
• Restoration of 2003 budget cuts and the rollback of tuition and fees to affordable levels;
• Expansion of the Texas Grants Program and reopening the Texas Tomorrow Program to open the doors of higher education to more Texans without an excessive debt burden;
• Adequate compensation, security, professional status, and benefits for all faculty; and higher education research funding to spur economic development;
• Collaborative public/higher education partnerships to enhance pre-K-16 learning and teacher preparation;
• The role of community colleges in providing lifelong educational options;
• Enhanced, equitable funding for Prairie View A&M and TSU and for higher education in South Texas and all border communities;
• Sufficient funding to locate a flagship research and teaching university in every region of the state;
• Efforts to place a voting student regent on the appointed governing board of each state-supported four-year institution of higher education; and
• The maintenance of current funding for public resolution.

Texas Democrats support innovative approaches to ensure diversity in every Texas institution of higher education.  We condemn intolerance on Texas campuses and encourage universities to develop and offer culturally diverse curricula, student activities, and student recruitment policies that promote understanding and tolerance.