Well, roughly three weeks have passed since the end of the regular session, meaning that teachers have had some time to reflect on lawmakers’ performance this year. The Observer reached out to several Dallas educators to ask what grade they would enter for the 88th Legislature.
The report card is just about as bad as you might think.
Rosie Curts, a Dallas ISD teacher, and Rena Honea, president of Dallas’ Alliance/AFT teachers union, each said they would give the past session a failing grade. (In her email, Honea formatted the “F” in a large, bright red font.)
But Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde replied to our inquiry a bit more charitably.
“There were some plusses, such as the new state curriculum materials that will liberate teachers from needing to spend hours every day writing lesson plans,” she wrote in an emailed statement. “But I can’t turn in grades for this legislature yet because the teacher pay raises were held hostage to pass vouchers, and neither got done. We need the former, but the Governor has made it clear that he will call the legislature back for the latter.”
Elizalde previously blasted the lack of teacher raises during an interview with Inside Texas Politics.
“It’s truly mind boggling that the legislature started with a $33 billion surplus and we’re having a conversation about teachers getting zero from that,” she tweeted last week.
Honea, an educators’ advocate who worked as a teacher in Dallas ISD for 26 years, said “F” is the only grade she could give the session. She noted that some state lawmakers campaigned on boosting teacher salaries and funding public education. The way she sees it, they “should be ashamed of being deceptive” to get ahead in politics.It’s truly mind boggling that the legislature started with a $33 billion surplus and we’re having a conversation about teachers getting zero from that. https://t.co/5tVMlKAhSz
— Dr. Stephanie S. Elizalde (@DallasISDSupt) June 14, 2023
Honea blasted legislators’ treatment as “demoralizing.” Republican Gov. Greg Abbott had even ordered the creation of a task force to address Texas’ teacher shortage but he ignored its suggestions, she said.
When the Legislature meets, education-related bills always fall to the bottom of the agenda, Honea said, adding that the same was true this time around.
Even though there will likely be additional special sessions this summer, Honea noted that discussion of educational needs may not be held until September. By that point, teachers will be tied up with the school year and could be penalized by districts for stepping out of the classroom to speak at the Capitol.
Honea thinks that the timing isn’t an accident.
“Students and educational personnel are tired of the crumbs and scraps thrown at them every biennium, and many teachers are refusing to continue being treated with no respect and dignity,” she continued. “They’re leaving their chosen career!”
Curts, a high-school math teacher with Dallas ISD, also anticipates that without raises or more funding for public ed, Texas’ ongoing teacher shortage will only get worse. Seasoned educators will continue to flee the field, and it’ll be more difficult than ever to hire new teachers, she said. “And what that results in is just basically a really damaged quality of education for the students.” Oh, and there’s a sub shortage, too."When they see their schools closing or their kids not having a teacher for a whole year, hopefully that will finally be a wake-up call." – Rosie Curts, Dallas ISD teacher
tweet this
A major reason the legislative session earned “a solid F” in Curts’ book and not a flat-out zero was because a couple of noncontroversial bills skated through, including one on the prohibition of discrimination based on hair texture. Another big reason? Voucher laws were averted — for now.
Curts said teacher raises and school funding were “held hostage for the vouchers.” She encourages people to call their representatives to relay their gratitude if the lawmaker is a holdout on pro-voucher legislation.
Aside from a worsened teacher shortage, an additional danger moving forward is a lack of supplies or funding for student experiences like field trips, she said. But those things don’t matter when there aren’t enough teachers to begin with.
Curts compared the public education crisis to climate change.
“It is really scary, because it feels like we're sounding the alarm, but … people don't do anything until they see it directly impact their life,” she said. “So when they see their schools closing or their kids not having a teacher for a whole year, hopefully that will finally be a wake-up call.
“I wish we could get it before that.”
