[CSPS] 79th Legislature--vouchers etc. top the agenda

[Katherine Kelly]

Dear CSPS Folks:

I forward this informational email from the Texas Freedom Network, which 
monitors the legislature's moves on education.
Please read carefully and act as you see fit.

Kate
CSPS
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79th LEGISLATURE OPENS; ACTION NEEDED NOW TO DEFEND PUBLIC SCHOOLS
**********************TFN Action Alert***********************
- PRO-VOUCHER LAWMAKERS TARGET PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS 2005 LEGISLATIVE SESSION OPENS
- TAKE ACTION!
- CHILDREN’S ISSUES, MARRIAGE, GAY AND LESBIAN FAMILIES AND MEDICAL 
RESEARCH TOP FAR-RIGHT LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
- TAKE ACTION!
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PRO-VOUCHER LAWMAKERS TARGET PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS 2005 LEGISLATIVE SESSION OPENS
Even before lawmakers gathered in Austin to open the 79th Legislature 
today, voucher supporters made clear that they were preparing a new and 
potentially rapid assault on the state’s public schools.
Last week, even before the legislative session began, House Speaker Tom 
Craddick chose to highlight vouchers as one of only a handful of issues he 
discussed in an interview with the Forth Worth Star-Telegram. Craddick 
claimed enough legislative support to pass a publicly funded private school 
voucher program. Vouchers, which drain money from public schools to pay for 
tuition at private and religious schools, have long been the darling of 
far-right donors and legislators.
"I think it'll be some sort of pilot program like [George W.] Bush proposed 
when he was governor," Craddick told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I think 
the idea is taking three or four or five of the largest school districts, 
and then doing pilot programs with at-risk children." 
(http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/legislature/10579469.htm)
The danger that the voucher lobby will press its agenda very early in the 
session increased on Monday when Gov. Perry designated changing the way 
Texas pays for public education an emergency item for the new legislative 
session. Legislation passed and signed by the governor under that 
designation takes effect immediately instead of this fall and can move 
through the legislative process on a “fast track.” Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst 
also announced that he expects the Senate will reach a consensus on a new 
school finance plan within 48 hours of the opening of the session.
These comments in the past few days have shown that the state’s three most 
powerful elected officials are ready to advance their public education 
agenda quickly, beginning today. Their comments reaffirm what we have long 
known: their agenda puts radical-right ideology before the needs of Texas 
children, and they are willing to push that agenda with force and swiftness.
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TAKE ACTION!
Voucher supporters are poised to act quickly in this legislative session, 
especially with the strong encouragement they have received from 
legislative leadership. Our voices must be stronger and our numbers larger 
if we are to defeat vouchers and other legislation that would weaken our 
neighborhood schools. Contact your state representative and state senator 
NOW and tell them that you oppose efforts to pass ANY private school 
voucher program. Go to http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm to 
identify your legislators. When you contact them, tell them why vouchers 
are bad for Texas:
- Private school vouchers will drain dollars from public schools.
- Our schools are already in desperate need of funding and that is the 
priority for your community. To drain funds from already financially 
strapped neighborhood schools at a time like this would deny your 
community’s values and hurt Texas schoolchildren.
- A pilot voucher program targeted at large urban school districts like
Houston and Dallas would do nothing to help cash-strapped schools in small
towns and rural areas. In fact, it could make things worse by shrinking the 
total pool of state funds available for all schools.
- The state should focus on providing ALL Texas teachers and students the
resources they need to succeed. Diverting money from schools that serve all
children to aid a few students who might be accepted to private schools is
simply bad public policy.
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EDUCATION, CHILDRENS ISSUES, MARRIAGE, AND MEDICAL RESEARCH TOP FAR-RIGHT 
LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
The far right’s aggressive 2005 legislative agenda – already evident in 
legislation prefiled before the start of the session – includes many 
threats to mainstream Texas values. The right’s extremist agenda would:
-Weaken public education by passing a voucher program, let school districts 
ignore quality education standards like small-class sizes and teacher 
certification through measures like “home rule” and expand a charter school 
system already plagued by fiscal mismanagement and poor student performance;
-Threaten the wall of separation between church and state by allowing 
religious organizations to use public dollars to proselytize when providing 
social services;
- Endanger children by failing to reverse steep budget cuts in the 
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and weakening the ability of 
Child Protective Services to protect abused children;
- Use marriage as a political weapon by passing an unnecessary 
constitutional amendment that bars legal recognition for same-sex and 
unmarried opposite-sex couples; and
- Handicap medical research by restricting promising stem-cell research 
that could someday lead to treatments for serious and life-threatening 
illnesses like Parkinson’s disease.
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TAKE ACTION!
TFN will be forming targeted Action Teams soon that will provide a rapid 
response to the radical right’s extremist legislative agenda and will 
promote the values of mainstream Texans. Help us stop efforts that would 
weaken public schools, erode the separation of church and state, deny civil 
and equal liberties, and put our kids at risk. Start by calling your 
legislators TODAY and watch your mail and e-mail for further opportunities 
to have a dramatic impact this legislative session.
To find out more about TFN Action Teams, contact Heather at heather at tfn.org 
or 512-322-0545.
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