Perry: Defer 15% provision this year
Education
parents, should have a voice on whether the endof-course exams should count towards a student’s final grade,” said Patrick, who plans to propose other modifications to STAAR in coming weeks.
Both Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said they backed the change proposed by Patrick in Senate Bill 135.
On the other side of the Capitol, a bill filed by state Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, would eliminate the 15 percent provision entirely. Huberty, a leading member of the Public Education Committee, couldn’t be reached for comment on Thursday.
Dineen Majcher, an Austin lawyer who helped form the parent group, Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment, welcomed Patrick’s willingness to take the lead on an issue that had worried so many parents.
But she added that it wouldn’t quell the parents’ concerns over the testing system. They want legislators to reduce the number of tests that must be taken to graduate and modify the complicated method for determining if a student is on track for graduation.
“The 15 percent issue awoke us to a system that is bad for kids,” Majcher said. “Changing the 15 percent requirement is only a start. Thus, while this is an important step in the right direction, there are still significant revisions that must be made. Simply addressing the 15 percent is akin to putting a Band-Aid on a major hemorrhage.”
Business leaders that have been the most vocal proponents of the 15 percent provision were resigned Thursday to the about-face by lawmakers.
Drew Scheberle of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce blamed the Texas Education Agency’s bumpy roll-out of the new testing system last year for undermining the cred- This report is one in a series previewing important state issues before the 83rd Legislature, which convenes Jan. 8. ibility of the 15 percent requirement with parents and educators.
But he said there is room to compromise on nuts-and-bolts of the system without compromising the fundamental goal of ensuring students are ready for college or a job upon graduation.
Perry on Thursday called for the 15 percent requirement to be deferred by the education agency so that students wouldn’t be affected next spring. Last year amid the uproar, the agency allowed school districts to opt out of the mandate and at least 90 percent of them chose to do so.
“While we must continue to adhere to our state’s accountability system, we must also recognize the importance of local control. That is why I am asking you to defer until the 2013-14 school year the requirement that an end-of-course assessment count as 15 percent of a student’s final course grade,” Perry said in a letter to Education Commissioner Michael Williams.
Williams said the leader’s request is under review. records.
This week, Washington told KVUE that the bureau typically has raised $30,000 by this time of year but had only about $150.
A copy of the bureau’s 2009 tax forms, the most recent available, shows it had about $130,000 in revenue that year.
Acevedo said the nonprofit will be investigated thoroughly. “The Christmas Bureau, whether they know it or not, will account for every dollar, whether they do it the easy way or the hard way.”
In lieu of donations to the bureau, Acevedo asked that contributions be made instead to Blue Santa at any Wells Fargo bank location.
The scheduled delivery day is Dec. 15, so Acevedo said he hopes donors will act quickly. “If it’s been a tradition in your family, please don’t sit out this year,” Acevedo said. “If it isn’t your tradition, make it one.”
Colpaart said that she is back on at the Christmas Bureau and working to relaunch its services in time for the holidays. She implored people not to think badly of the organization, which was started in 1964.
“Please do not allow the bad behavior of one individual to tarnish the reputation of this organization,” she said. “It sickens me that the credibility and legacy (of Alma Cruz) is about to be tarnished.” U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay on ethics-related campaign finance charges.
Delay, who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2011, remains free while he appeals his conviction.
Other lawmakers were upset by the unit’s prosecution of state Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, on ethics charges in 2010. Flores was sentenced to five months’ probation on felony charges of tampering with governmental records.
“We’ve prosecuted far more Democrats than Republicans,” Cox said, noting that the biggest positive change approved Thursday by the commission might be the request to change state law to allow the Ethics Commission to share its investigative information with prosecutors in Travis and other counties.