School districts stay quiet as lawmakers push to limit when they can ...

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

68% : He called it an ironic shift in power in a GOP-led state since limited government has long been a key conservative principle.
57% : "This bill may or may not pass, but it illustrates a truth that courts too often forget: if current laws are not followed, the Legislature may enact more drastic ones," Brister wrote in a court opinion.
50% : In backdoor conversations with lawmakers, superintendents have conveyed their fears that the bill would limit their ability to defend what they think is best for them and give the head of the state education agency unchecked power to change school performance rules.
50% : They said the agency had applied the new standards to evaluate students who had already graduated, which meant districts did not get a chance to come up with additional measures to meet the new goalposts.
45% : Senate Bill 1962, which now heads to the Texas House for consideration, would make it more difficult for districts to use the courts in a similar way again, effectively taking away a tool district leaders have leaned on to push back against state changes to the ratings system they believe are unfair.
41% : They described a hostile climate toward them that reflects a broader, growing skepticism of public schools.
39% : " The Texas Tribune spoke to seven school leaders who criticized the proposed legislation but said they declined to testify against it because of what they described as a growing hostility among Republican lawmakers, particularly in the Senate, toward public education.
37% : Schools have gone for years without a significant increase to their base funding at a time when inflation has sent some of their costs skyrocketing, leading many districts to adopt deficit budgets.
31% : Since the pandemic, public schools have faced criticism from conservative groups and some families over health restrictions and the way children are taught about sex and race.

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