• Finance
  Support legislation which will lead to a more equitable funding system for all students and districts across the state of Texas.  To this end, the legislature should:
  • Return to a formula-based funding system with enough flexibility for local boards to set taxes rate such that revenue streams will comfortably pay for required services and successful daily operations; or increase minimum target revenue (base amount) to the state average of $5,076 per WADA and adjust for future inflation.
  • Allow for weighted ADA funding for high school career/technical courses taken by students prior to ninth grade
  • Allow the district (not the state) to receive the benefits of taxes and state aid earned via increasing taxable value growth within the local district.
  • Enact all funding increases to the basic allotment, allowing local board’s indirect control of those funds rather than some increases being specifically directed to certain allotments.

Support legislation to include all instructionally-related expenditures as part of the 65% rule, including costs of school library/media, school guidance and counseling, teacher and instructional assistant training and development, daily school maintenance, and student transportation.

• Accountability System
  Support legislation to reduce emphasis on high stake and single-shot testing, reduces the complexity of the accountability system, and provides a more comprehensive and constructive measure of school district accountability.
  To this end, the legislature should enact rules which:
  • Require valid and reliable assessment measures.
  • Allow inclusion of results of all test-takers, not solely first-time test-takers.
  • Allow sampling of both tests and other assessment measures.
  • Reduce the number of students assessed annually.
  • Align the state system and the federal system (NCLB).
  • Provide avenues for constructive measures before district sanctions.
  • Reward success for schools with traditionally challenging student populations.
  • Eliminate conflicts of interest of lobbyists in the current system.

Support legislation to adopt a more genuine representation of school district “completers” and school district “dropouts”.  To this end, the legislature should include earners of GED certificate as completers, eliminate rules which can consider any one student as a multiple dropout, and expand the number of years to assess completion.

• Curriculum/Instruction
  Support legislation, rules, and incentives for school districts to provide resources and flexibility to produce graduates with post-secondary readiness.  To this end, the legislature should:
  • Increase and expand concurrent, dual, and tech prep course options for student graduation.
  • Provide both facility and curriculum incentives for innovative programs providing for dropout prevention, increased completion rates, targeting minority students, students entering the school system with limited English proficiency, and economically disadvantaged students.
  • Provide additional and significant financial incentives for developing and delivering online, virtual, correspondence, and distance learning course options for students, and include these in the district’s attendance (ADA) formula.

Support legislation expanding the choice in required graduation courses for students under the 4X4 system, including math and science.  To this end, the legislature should adopt rules that include:
• Applied math and sciences courses to count toward the additional math and science requirements of 4X4.
• High school credit courses taken prior to ninth grade be credited toward either elective or subject requirements.
• Career/technical courses leading to license or certification in workforce fields to be credited toward applicable math/science.
• Two years of physical education credit toward physical education requirement and two additional years toward state elective requirements.
• Dual and concurrent courses become available in ninth grade and be funded at no cost to students.

• Legislative Mandates
  Support legislation under the current system to permit districts to hold authorization elections, rather than rollback elections to obtain voter approval of additional pennies on the tax rate.  To this end the legislature should enact rules which:
  • Allow elections in the four months preceding budget adoption and setting of tax rate.
  • Allow successful election to authorize the local board to levy any portion of voter approved amount for future assessment of remaining M&O tax rate.
  • Allow districts to adopt tax rates based upon certified property value estimates currently released in June.

Support legislation to require any program, services, cost, rule, regulation, or law to be fully funded by legislature for its duration.  To this end, the legislature should allow districts to opt out of unfunded mandates and provide standing notice to constituents of all future under-funded mandates of when such funding will expire.

Support legislation restoring local school board control of its school calendar, including repealing statute on school start date.