To the Administrator Addressed:
As you know, Governor Rick Perry decided this week that Texas will not apply for the federal Race to the Top education grant because of the strings attached to the money. I strongly support the Governor’s decision.
When I first heard about Race to the Top, I was cautiously optimistic. There were some reform ideas that we have already implemented in Texas including our efforts to turn around the lowest performing schools and using data systems to inform decision-making. Even when requirements such as national standards were mentioned, they were billed as voluntary. I shared my optimism with legislators and administrators alike.
And then, I received the details for the grant program. The application, plus over 200 pages of federal rules and guidance, contained provisions and assurances that would have required districts to adhere to federal strings long after the funding cliff that was certain to come.
One of the requirements of the grant application forced each local school district to sign an MOU that bound it to the requirements of the grant. Each MOU would have to be signed not only by the superintendent, but by the school board president and the local teacher union representative. These MOUs were to be sent in with the application, due January 19, 2010. Under the Texas Government Code, each district would have been required to hold a board meeting to review and approve the MOU because it would have legally bound the district to adhere to the state’s grant submission and to burdensome federal reporting requirements. In addition, each district would have been required to engage in a planning process during the middle of the school year aligning district educational priorities with those of Race to the Top.
The strings attached to the grant funds were intrusive and extensive. I know that hundreds of local district staff members, including many of you personally, have worked on the ARRA federal grants and the ever changing reporting requirements required by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The reporting requirements, the audits and the federal oversight of this grant would have superseded all previous federal grants. This federal reporting system would have affected nearly every district and would have lasted far longer than the funds received from the grant.
One performance reporting requirement that has raised many eyebrows is the requirement to report “the number of teachers and principals…who were removed for being ineffective” based on the qualifying evaluation systems (Section (D)(2)(iv)(d)). I believe that this policy would have shifted the responsibility for defining staffing policies from local school districts to the state and federal governments.
Another grant priority was the adoption of incomplete and unproven national standards and national tests. Texas’ surrender to these requirements would have given the federal government control over what Texas children should learn by drastically limiting Texas’ ability to have a curriculum that is rigorous, comprehensive and reflects our unique history and culture.
Additionally, the share that Texas might have received may sound like a lot of money – 350 to 700 million dollars. But when put into the context of a state the size of Texas, that amount of money would operate the Texas public school system for just two days. These funds would have been distributed through Title I formulas with districts receiving an average of $75 per student.
Although federal education law prohibits nationalized curriculum, assessments, and student databases, USDE is using the unfettered discretion given to them through the massive stimulus bill as a way to wire around current protections in law. When the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind comes around, officials at the USDE have been open about their plan to remove these protections and include national standards and national tests in the legislation.
The Governor’s decision was the correct decision for Texas students and preserves state and local control over public education. His decision to not apply will save the state and local school districts billions of dollars in ongoing but unfunded commitments that were required to receive this comparatively small amount of one-time federal funding.
Thank you for your service to the students of Texas. I would be happy to answer any questions that you might have regarding the issues that I have mentioned. Please do not hesitate to email me at commissioner@tea.state.tx.us.
Sincerely,
Robert Scott
Commissioner of Education
