This bulletin from the Texas Legislative Education Equity Coalition just went out to state lawmakers and leaders. It references a letter to Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Education Agency Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, and Commissioner Harrison Keller of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
You can read the letter here. Among other things, the TLEEC Coalition calls for the following:
"We recommend that funding not only be allocated equitably but that the state fund existing public-school districts rather than funding entities that are not established or part of our communities. This will cut down on any inefficiencies that would stem from establishing both new infrastructures and relationships with families who are already under great stress. These programs, services, and resources should include:
• Compensatory education services and summer learning opportunities to ensure students do not fall further behind academically while schools are closed;
• Access to free internet service, hotspots, software, software licenses, devices, as well as instructions for each of these items, that allow students and families to participate in online learning;
• Testing for diagnostic purposes only to ensure that at-home learning needs are supported; and
• Access to online learning opportunities, including instruction, software, devices, and internet services for students being held in juvenile justice facilities and those who are released from a facility during the COVID-19 crisis. When there are not viable online options for school districts, funds should be invested in other forms of educational support. These can include hard copies of instruction materials and transportation services to deliver them directly to students’ homes."
Do read the entire letter. As the letter clearly states, if we want to be a better Texas in this crucial moment, equity must be paramount and abide by this well-conceived, amply supported intelligent roadmap in the use of funds by truly resisting the funding of "entities that are not established or part of our communities."
Please direct all questions to Christie L. Goodman, APR, IDRA Director of Communications, christie.goodman@idra.org, 210-807-0016.
-Angela Valenzuela
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