Last January, in a campaign press release, I proposed abolishing the Texas Education Agency. Maybe it was hyperbole during a tough campaign season to get voter’s attention, but major reform of this bloated bureaucracy should be a goal of every fiscally conservative, pro-education legislator in Texas.
Under Gov. Greg Abbott, the TEA is experiencing explosive growth in personnel and programs that will continue to increase regulations and mandates, demoralize teachers and exacerbate the mass exodus of educators at every level, including some of our absolute best.
While conservatives seek to eliminate the federal Department of Education, we must look to our own state with the same critical eye.
Aledo ISD Board President Forrest Collins recently stated, “Abolishing the [federal] Department of Education doesn’t change the fact that Texas has far more mandates and requires more standardized testing than the federal government.”
Since Abbott took office, TEA employment has grown 53%, from 832 full-time employees to a staggering 1,270. Last session, the Legislature passed bills, many at TEA’s behest, giving TEA 30 new vehicles and over 110 new full-time employees. This biennium, TEA is asking for 28 new employees.
Unlike in many other states, the head of Texas’ education department is appointed by the governor, rather than elected, making the commissioner less accountable to parents, community leaders and teachers.
The TEA is responsible for administering an unpopular, inconsistent, arbitrary and misused standardized test: the STAAR. TEA’s budget for assessment and accountability has grown 43% since Abbott took office. It could grow even more if the Legislature approves a plan for multiple “mini STAAR” tests throughout the school year. It is doubtful students and teachers will appreciate taking STAAR tests all year long.
Recently TEA moved STAAR testing online, even for 8-year-olds taking their first STAAR reading assessment. So much for “back to the basics.”
While conservative lawmakers and parents raise concerns over screen time along with predatory AI and tech companies targeting children and their data, the TEA’s online testing forces young children to spend more time on electronic devices and less time reading hard copy, classical literature. We now even have test grading by AI.
And the stakes are high. The agency applies its A-F rating system for elementary and middle school campuses based solely on STAAR results.
One of the most egregious and demoralizing acts from TEA has been to change the criteria for those ratings. While districts were aware some sort of a “refresh” was coming to the A-F rating system, the TEA drastically increased the scores needed to get an “A” without giving districts appropriate notice, given the substantial effect of the new rule. And the new rules were subsequently applied to the scores of students who had already graduated.
Overall reading scores of Texas students are disappointing; however, TEA’s pouring of taxpayer dollars into unelected bureaucrats and gimmicks like AI has not worked and will not likely work in the future. Schools need the resources to hire more great teachers, unencumbered by red tape, to work directly with kids and spend more valuable time teaching.
Accountability is important, but the focus needs to be on facilitating teaching excellence, not on test preparation. The argument that there are too many administrators is valid, but countless administrators have been added to satisfy TEA requirements and grant program specifics.
Too many TEA employees (including Commissioner Mike Morath) have no experience in actual classroom settings. Case in point: Morath stated in a September Senate hearing that we could pay teachers more if we follow in California’s footsteps and increase class sizes. Spoken like a true non-educator.
Rather than following these “experts,” maybe we should listen to parents first, followed by teachers and locally elected officials, who are in a much better position to determine the educational needs of local students. It seems “Independent” has been removed from Independent School Districts. It needs to be returned.
Conservative solutions for the problems facing public education are in order. Rather than create another enormously expensive entitlement program (vouchers), why not focus more on reining in the bloated bureaucracy at the root of rising costs and the erosion of confidence in our Texas public schools?
We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com
