Good morning,

Below, you will find reader responses to yesterday's One Click Survey about a Texas House proposal mandating government tests on private school students.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

UPFRONT: Regarding an error yesterday... the "State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness" is abbreviated STAAR. I apologize for the confusion!

Reforming The Impeachment Process

• In the wake of the House’s highly criticized impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, State Rep. Travis Clardy (R–Nacogdoches) is proposing reforms to the impeachment process.
       

• Brandon Waltens reports the proposal would guarantee the target of impeachment is paid during the impeachment process. Comptroller Glenn Hegar chose to withhold Paxton's pay and has since refused to issue backpay after the attorney general was exonerated.

     
• Clardy wants to amend the state constitution to “establish a clear and concise framework recognizing the importance of due process and uphold the fundamental rights of any officer facing impeachment consistent with the Constitution and the rule of law.”
       
• Under his proposal, the Texas House would be required to conduct comprehensive investigations into all impeachment articles. This includes having all witnesses and testimony under oath and subject to cross-examination. House witnesses were, notably, not put under oath when they talked with investigators earlier this year. 
       
• Clardy also wants the target of an impeachment effort to have the right to participate in the process. In contrast, Paxton and his legal counsel were barred from participating in the House investigation.
         
• House members were given 48 hours' notice before their vote to impeach Paxton in May. Clardy’s resolution would give members a minimum of 14 days to review all records prior to voting.
      
• "We have a duty to protect the rights of every individual, even during the most difficult circumstances," said Clardy. "This legislation reinforces our commitment to fairness, due process, and upholding the principles upon which our great state was founded."

Federal Judge Tells Biden DHS To Stop Cutting Texas' Border Wire

• A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration, which had instructed agents to cut concertina wire placed by Texas to curb the flow of illegal aliens.
       
• In response to the Biden order, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The wire cutting that became the basis of the lawsuit took place in Eagle Pass, which has become a hotspot of illegal crossings.
       
• DHS has claimed they have been forced to cut the wire at points so they can detain and process illegal aliens who cross into the United States. Paxton, meanwhile, has maintained that Texas is within its rights to defend its border.
         
• A hearing on the matter is set for Nov. 7 in El Paso.
   
• “The federal government’s outrageous escalation in response to our lawsuit demonstrates Biden’s disturbing contempt for the State of Texas, for the citizens of the United States, and for our country’s entire foundation of the rule of law,” said Paxton. “By acting quickly and monitoring their actions closely, we were able to secure a restraining order, and I am confident we will continue to prevail.”

Senator Calls Out School District For Incentivizing Teachers to Vote for Tax Increase

• A Houston-area school district is taking fire for allegedly incentivizing teachers to vote for a tax increase. Emily Medeiros has the details.
     
• State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) called out Fort Bend Independent School District after it was reported that the district may be incentivizing its teachers to vote for the tax rate increase on the November ballot. He wants the Office of the Attorney General to open an investigation.
   
• According to a report from Katy Christian Magazine, at the beginning of early voting, FBISD offered “jeans passes” to reward staff members’ voting actions. While jeans passes do not hold monetary value in themselves, some FBISD campuses have charged employees money to purchase them.
       
• In another announcement obtained by Katy Christian Magazine, the district incentivized students with prizes to urge their parents to vote. If a child returned to school with an “I voted” sticker, they could grab prizes.
       
• As criticism has mounted, FBISD has made changes to the incentives. The district has instructed campuses to no longer offer jeans passes for purchase. For students, the district changed the incentive to prizes without monetary value.
       
• Earlier this year, FBISD voters approved a $1.26 billion bond. With interest, FBISD property taxpayers are set to pay $2.6 billion—double the dollar amount shown on the ballot.
      
• In this election, FBISD voters are asked to adopt a higher property tax rate to generate $38 million in new revenues.

Republican Party of Texas Endorses Local Candidates

• With Texans heading to the polls, the Republican Party of Texas announced endorsements of 11 city and school board candidates on the November ballot. As Erin Anderson notes, all Texans’ ballots will include 14 proposed amendments to the state constitution.
            
• The RPT endorsed five city council candidates in two cities (Houston and Princeton) and six school board candidates in two districts (Houston ISD and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD).
          
• Early voting continues through Friday ahead of the Nov. 7 election day.

🎃 Scare A Politician By Telling The Truth! 🎃

• Do you know what scares politicians? An informed and engaged citizenry! Encourage your friends and family to read the Texas Minute email or listen to the podcast.
       
• If you really want to make a politician nervous, contribute to Texas Scorecard today so we can expand our coverage!

Y'All Answered

Education activists on both sides of the "school choice" debate have been unified in their desire to see the abolition of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test that is imposed on public schools. The STAAR has been criticized as a poor testing instrument that dictates the direction of classroom instruction. 

The Texas House leadership has proposed imposing the STAAR on private schools.

Yesterday, we asked readers if private schools should be required to administer the STAAR to their students. Just over 15 percent of readers said they believe the STAAR should be required for private school students, while 84.5 percent do not.

Here is a sampling of the responses we received...

• “Public schools waste time only teaching to the test. Most private schools are teaching reading, writing, arithmetic, how to think critically, which is a much greater use of students’ time.” – Kaye Jameson
      

• “I am a retired [38 years on my record] public educator.  So far as I am concerned, if /since the STAAR test is important enough to be given to students in public education, it should be a requirement for ALL students.  Also, if/since TEA and UIL, along with our state legislature, has the oversight of public education in Texas, whatever mandates come from their oversight should be mandatory for ALL schools in the state, whether private, parochial, or public.” – Norman Turner
      

• “As a retired public educator, I think STAAR has a limited purpose for accountability in public education. However, I do not believe that private schools should be required to administer a government assessment.” – April Silva
     

• “As someone who was hired for 12 years as a TAKS, TAAS, STAAR tutor, I was able to see firsthand how the scourge of this testing slowly was destroying the teaching profession in our school district.” – Karen Price
      
• “RINOs and globalists are trying to use school choice to line the pockets of their EdTech cronies by imposing the terrible TEA mandates and testing on private schools and homeschoolers. Conservatives must define school choice as ‘the money, but not the mandates, follows the child.’” – Spencer Siino
      
• “Private schools must keep the government out of their business.  Don’t let them creep in or the government will take over.” – Judith Martin-Tafoya
     
• “The State’s STAAR test is like having the fox create the security system for the hen house. You want to test kids? Have them make change from a cash register drawer without a computer. You’ll be depressed at what you see. Give them a simple personal checking account statement to reconcile. You could be real cruel and ask what the three branches of the federal government are.” – Robert Bruce
     
• “There was not a box for my preferred answer — abolish the State test altogether. As a retired educator, I can tell you the test is not a good measure of what kids know and sets them up early for feeling bad about themselves as too much emphasis is put on it.  Go back to Iowa blue book testing and be done.” – Debra Davis
      
• “The STAAR test has become the only thing being taught in school.” – Cathy Hess
      
• “Pass School Choice with no strings attached. No parental duty is more important than the education and upbringing of their children without outside/government  intrusion.” – Terry Harper
      
• “How about a third option? Do away with individual state testing across the nation and go back to the Iowa Test of Basic Skills that was used nationwide in the past. All the individual, customized state tests are just another way to launder taxpayer money into greedy pockets.” – Randy Davidson
      
• “I think private schools should administer the STAAR test.  It will show how well private schools perform over the public schools and raise the standard.” – Marta Hollowell
      
• “The STAAR should not be allowed in any school, private or public. Since its inception, the test by ‘any’ name has proven nothing but a total waste of taxpayer money.” – Ann Shoecraft
      
• “For all those pushing school choice and trying to tell us there will be no strings for private schools, I'd say they just got their answer. It's just a matter of time. It's always just a matter of time.” – Julie McCarty
      
• “The main reason people turn to private education is because of the miserable failure of the public education system!  How is it that these morons think assessing private education with the same testing standards--that are a proven failure in public education--is a good idea?  We need to get government OUT of education.” – Roger Taylor
       
• “All schools should be graded with the same State test. However, private school teachers should be equally represented on the State testing board.” – Dan Sieczkowski
      
• “STAAR testing needs to be eliminated from ALL schools, both public and private. The tests do not benefit students and have actually caused more strain and stress on students as well as schools.” – Cindy Kelley
      
• “Private schools are already so far ahead in what the state schools are teaching their kids that the STAAR system is not needed to judge what has been taught.” – Carroll Knight
      
• “As a retired teacher, I am against the STAAR test for everyone. However, I voted ‘yes’ only because I feel strongly that if private schools begin receiving state funds under the school choice move that Governor Abbott is pushing, they should be required to follow all of the same regulations that public schools have to follow. This includes the STAAR test and accepting all students who apply.” – Eileen Walcik
      
• “The STAAR is not going anywhere. As long as it is required by the TEA for public school students, any student receiving state funds should have to abide by state requirements, including having certified, highly qualified teachers. Any school receiving state dollars should have to follow state laws.” – Nancy Lingle
   
• “I think it's important to know how private schools are doing as well as public schools, and how they compare with each other.” – Charles Daigle
   
• “This is not a system of education. It is criminal brainwashing. The perp-o-traitors belong in jail-not in classrooms full of innocent kids.” – Jim Lowry
     
• “Leave the private schools alone. Parents choose these schools to get their children out of public schools away from legislated requirements detrimental to good education.” – Joann Albus
     
• “Private schools and homeschooling so outperform our public schools it’s not funny. Leave them alone. They’re doing a much better job than public schools.” – Sam Bridges
     
• “If STAAR is forced on public school, then it should be forced on anyone outside that arena if you want to have a recognized and accepted high school diploma.  We can argue whether STAAR should exist at all…” – Mathew Howard
     
• “Private schools should not administer STAAR. Public schools should not administer STAAR. In fact, public schools should be operating by the same rules as private schools.  And both the STAAR and TEA should be swept into the dustbin of political bad ideas.” – Jason Kerr
     
• “Requiring home-schooled children and those enrolled in private schools to pass grade-level tests like STAAR can ensure that children who do not attend public schools are able to perform at the same levels as those who do.” – Charles Fink
     
• “When my kids were in school, it seemed as if the kids did nothing all year except study for a flawed, meaningless test.” – Jeffrey G. Bane
     
• “I am a Texas teacher, both public (20 yrs) and private (7 yrs). Private schools should not be forced under the government mantle of testing. This is an attempt to destroy their better performance than public schools.” – Greg Reinhart

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