Education Policy in Texas- A critical discussion of its Effectiveness
Many people believe the current educational gaps between Texas and the rest of the States in
the United States is because of a lack of funding and believe that throwing money at the
problem will solve it. The truth is most of the problems in the Texas educational system is from
the shifting demographics of its’ students and lack of school choice.
Currently, the Texas school system gets its funding from both the state government and the
local property taxes. The state gives each school a base amount of $5,140 per student but
increases that amount by 20% if the student is considered low-income or provides even more if
a student is disabled. Schools are increasingly being funded more by property taxes than the
state since the states amount doesn’t increase/change with inflation like property taxes do. To
solve the inequalities this funding caused, Texas passed legislation dubbed the “Robin Hood”
plan which sought to even the funding by taking from wealthier districts and providing for
poorer districts. Many people believe the Robin Hood plan hasn’t succeeded though because
“All those taxes aren’t going to poorer districts; the money goes to the state, which also uses it
to offset other parts of the budget” (Schnurman).
There are currently three major problems I can see with the educational system in Texas, the
most alarming one would be the decreasing academic performance. Texas was already quite
low in test scores compared to the other states, but “Texas is now ranked 43rd in the nation,
falling from 39th last year” (Anderson)”. Another concerning problem would be the inequality
between the schools districts, since the school districts are mostly funded by property taxes
meaning the wealthier and more affluent neighborhoods’ schools get more funding than the
poverty stricken neighborhoods’ which “leaves schools in the poorest regions of the state
lagging behind their neighboring districts” (Reyna) in terms of funding. The last major problem
Education Policy in Texas- A critical discussion of its Effectiveness
with the education system in Texas is the lack of ability to send a student to a school of the
parents’ choice, otherwise known as the lack of school choice. According to edweek, Texas has
“No Vouchers for low-income kids. No tax-credit scholarships for students in failing district
schools. No education savings accounts for students with disabilities.” (Prothero). If Texas had
school choice, then it would help solve the previous problem of inequality between schools by
allowing poorer students to attend more affluent schools which could improve the students’
education.
I believe the reason that the students’ test scores in Texas are so much lower than other states
is mostly because of the shifting demographics of Texas. Since Texas is so close to the border,
“Texas has the fastest-growing population in the U.S., with nine Hispanics relocating to the
