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The Senate Committee on Education met to take up interim charges: monitoring the federal E-rate program, expand high-quality education opportunities and virtual education in the 21st Century Classroom. This report covers discussions regarding virtual education in the 21st Century Classroom and expanding high-quality education opportunities.

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics the committee took up. This report is not a verbatim transcript of the hearing; it is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

Panel: Virtual Education in 21st century

Monica Martinez, TEA

  • Provides an overview of virtual school network transition
  • Reviews TxVSN school network enrollment – it started as a pilot but is no longer a pilot
  • Enrollment growth due to scholarships and reaching out to those impacted by Hurricane
  • Data on student performance reviewed
  • Taylor -asked for a comparison to brick and mortar classroom
    • Performance in brick and mortar is lower but not sure how much lower
    • Taylor – they are self-selecting the platform and doing well on it
  • Seliger – asked about predictions of enrollment
    • Not sure on projections of full-time enrollment, maybe some amount of leveling off
  • Seliger – what do you see over next 5 or so years?
    • There are restrictions on it, limit is that only schools had full-time program at time of bill passage will receive full funding – no longer can schools receive full funding (ADA)
    • Seliger – that seems to diminish the value of the program
  • Campbell – success illustrates parents know the best area to educate children in, should get rid of barriers for those things that are successful
    • There is a distinction between full-time programs and course catalog
    • Success numbers are on full-time students
  • Rider was decreased from $4 million to $400k for this program, which meant moving all the services back to TEA and putting certain things on hold such as
    • Ensure alignment with TEKS
    • Course review was suspended
    • Unable to resume reporting
    • Fee base review
    • Cost to operate is $1million, $400k of that would be for course review
    • Have authority to charge a fee but not spend the fee, so would need authority to use the money
  • Students may be denied enrollment if the district believes they have a similar course
    • Campbell – if better structure for a child is to focus at home as an individual but forced into a group setting, then it would keep a child out of instruction they feel best
    • Parents could enroll in a course at a cost (either $400 or cost to provide)
    • May need to rethink cost so that they are as reasonable as possible
  • Taylor – what is the cost for full-time program?
    • If a student enrolled in full time they must pass all content and enroll in next grade to receive funding
    • Funding is based upon successful completion
    • Taylor – its pay for performance
    • Taylor – asked about cost savings
    • In terms of the statewide course catalog, if district unable to hire full-time teacher for certain subjects they would still have the option to take this course and it would be significant cost savings at the district level
  • There is authority for private providers to offer courses
  • Taylor – seeing this as such as opportunity, why do we want to limit it?
    • There have been a variety of proposals around expanding the program, questions include the cost
  • Campbell – LBB gives us a number that sometimes holds us back, parents are best ones to decide which educational platform works for their children and we are limiting success based on a fear of a mass entrance into this program which will cost the state a bunch – why try to limit an opportunity for success?
  • Taylor – do we know how many declines there are for students trying to take a course?
    • No

 

Bryce Adams, Connections Academy

  • Provided slides for testimony and reviewed TxVSN and their partners with Alief ISD and Houston ISD
  • Out of 5 million in students only 14k attending is small number but life changing for those students
  • Want to collaborate on ways to offer new and improved courses, recommends course could be listed on a provisional process
  • Request relief until course review process is in place
  • Concerned public schools are turning down Texas families and thanked Campbell that military are now able to participate
  • Taylor – asked about the cost
    • LBB was projecting 25% of homeschooling families would rush into this but they don’t see that being the case
  • Hall – is opposition to expanding concern of exodus of public schools in light of Campbell’s remarks? Why not make it available to anyone who would choose the course?
    • Heard fewer concerns on outflow, more of an influx of students not previously in Texas Public School System
    • Experience is that not a huge population of homeschools move over
  • Concern on “substantially similar course” prevision – believes districts are blocking enrollment to TxVSN when comparing our enrollment numbers to other states
  • Bettencourt – made a great point that faster broadband is not just for YouTube, what do you think faster broadband is for?
    • A thousand different things can be done and some will be for TxVSN, but barriers allowed for districts to opt-out need to go away
  • Need more competition – more than 5 programs, open up programs
  • Concern on in person, time constraint funding model when really students should be able to work anywhere
  • Taylor – don’t get paid unless students pass the class so why is redundancy needed
  • Martinez – clarifies statewide course catalog does not require seat time but TxVSN does require successful completion but funding is done the same way as brick and mortar with attendance
  • Martinez – schools receive money through one of two ways: through completion and/or student attendance
    • Discussion continues
    • Campbell – what is funding for successful completion vs funding through ADA
    • Martinez walks through several examples
  • Huffines – do all grades have the opportunity to participate? What about K-2?
    • 3rd grade through HS
    • Course Catalog is HS
    • Do not have statutory authority to offer at K-2
  • Huffines – seems to be common sense to offer online education at every grade
  • Huffines – what is criticism for online courses?
    • In terms of accountability – online schools get same accountability as public schools
    • Have some that perform well and some that do not do well just like public schools
    • Taylor – only 5 so this should be easy to identify
  • Highlights courses they need a review on in order to offer
  • Taylor – asked more questions on barriers to developing certain courses
    • Course review process is not up
    • Taylor – this is popular and have thousands of parents that want to do this, how can we do this?
    • Martinez – TEA works with the district, they offer to district Commissioner ability to waive course review
    • Martinez – districts do have a mechanism to complete review themselves, so they can continue to offer courses they feel they need to offer
    • Taylor – Seems really important that courses are approved if we are going to offer this program
  • Campbell – with emergency dollars in education or what dollars for we have for Harvey, can we use these for this?
    • Martinez – need understanding of barriers for districts that may exist to approve a course
    • Campbell – can we have tentative approval for a course already approved?
    • Martinez – have fast-track approval, but need more information from a district on what barriers they have
  • Hall – asked witness how he sees this process working?
    • HISD has said on the 26 courses they don’t have the bandwidth, resources, etc to do this
    • Hoping statute allows for Commissioner to provide a unilateral list of courses approved until course review process with TEA is up

Amy McGrath, ASU Prep Digital

  • 65% of students entering primary school will be holding jobs not yet created
  • Innovative learning includes thinking of learning nodes vs full online course learning
  • Students were demanding to take online courses in Florida and schools had to get behind them
  • There are several good models
  • Florida is a performance-based state – paid upon completion
  • Believes 13k full time in Texas as noteworthy, argues that supplementary courses enrollment is too low
  • Taylor – would need 150k but only have 7k taking courses in Texas? That is pretty staggering, why not in Texas where they do in Florida?
    • Barriers are on the students
    • Believes barriers are in statute
  • Campbell – wonders if biggest barrier is that if the school offers the course and will not allow a student to take it so it cost the parent $400
    • Believes cost would be to the district
    • Campbell – but it’s the district that says no
  • Hall – what are other barriers? So there are layers?
    • Language around full course load in statute, looks for language
  • Hall – was performance-based funding just for online?
    • Just for online
  • Bettencourt – want to lay the groundwork for why statute change is needed, jobs of future will vary and wants to talk about holistically what witness is seeing regarding learning nodes and critical thinking?
    • Huge strides for digital learning, digital support mechanisms in place that teachers can leverage in the classroom
    • Technology allows for cognitive measures that teachers would not be able to tackle in front of the classroom
    • A teacher needs to be able to provide adaptive learning, so technology allows for individual learning multiple levels of instruction in just one class
    • Empower project-based learning that only technology can track the mastery of subjects
  • Provided different examples/models of various programs
  • Campbell – asked about different examples provided, are they aligned to state standards like TEKS?
    • Many are aligned to common core
    • Campbell – do they take out common core?
      • No
    • Martinez – this goes back to her comments on reciprocity

Tillie Elvrum, Public School Options

  • Alliance of parents and school choice supporters, motto is “I support parents”
  • Travel and speak all over on Importance of school choice and virtual school option
  • Barriers include
    • K, 1st and 2nd grade do not have the option for virtual education and Texas is the only state that had this barrier in place
    • Since 2013 Texas has had a moratorium on new full-time virtual schools
    • Texas only has 5 schools available to Texas Students compared to other states with many more schools
    • Public prior requirement – student needs to be in brick and mortar for a full year before enrolled in virtual school (gave a personal example of how this is a hindrance)

Panel Expanding High Quality Education Opportunities

Orlando Riddick, Midland ISD Superintendent

  • Lone Star Governance, question of stakeholders, etc
  • Earned empowerment structure
  • Reviews model, stakeholders they are working with, several opportunities put in place
  • Taylor – seems like trying to make options for great education opportunity, how do we promote what you are doing? Do we have barriers in place that would slow down what you are doing?
    • As a Ch. 41 need to be able to use dollars in the community
    • Support for long-term sustainability
  • Much of this work has been done in last 8 months
  • Seliger – asked about sustainability?
    • True ecosystem of partnership, risk of closing off what full body of education can look like in a community
    • Believes Sen. West will be talking about saturation
  • Seliger – what is saturation?
    • Provides examples of McDonalds, two are not next to each other
  • Seliger – what do people tell you when they decided not to come to Midland ISD?
    • People look for a homogeneous environment
    • As economic disadvantage grow, some people decided not to have that as part of their educational environment but believes this is true across the state not just Midland ISD
  • Bettencourt – hoped for an explosion of new ideas with the passage of SB 1882 and you did it in 8 months, spotlights programs and partnerships
    • Looking through lens at whole, parts, and small

 

Pedro Martinez, San Antonio ISD Superintendent

  • How to ensure students and families first in all decisions was lens they used
  • Joined TEA effort on systems of great schools
  • Now have 6 brand new models
    • All boys school – so popular it goes into high school grades, teachers specially trained in working with boys
    • Academy – get associates degree or bachelors or higher if they choose
    • New vision for career tech – have students who love culinary
  • We use this strategy as a way to turn around schools.
  • The percentage of out of district families applying to our schools is high
  • Our applications come from all over Texas
  • We don’t do our work alone. We have many strategic partners who share our passion.
  • Democracy Prep has 100% graduation, 80% of their graduates attend tier 1 schools
  • Parents say thank you for keeping our school open
  • The one challenge I’ve had with SB 1882 is that parents don’t know where their schools will be
  • Recommendations: create a process for low performing school and timing when get results of test and other ways to do school models not at such level as Democracy Prep or Relay
  • Taylor – complaints?
    • Complaints with Democracy Prep teachers not subject to contracts
    • Most districts have term contracts but continuous contract puts a burden on the district to prove teacher must be terminated
    • Taylor – really only want best on turnaround districts and if don’t have flexibility on contracts you are tying the hands of those trying to do it
    • First time has encountered very significant resistance, goal is to never fight with parents, try to partner with those that have similar values
  • Bettencourt – apologizes that district must spend time on this, needs it to be clear to unions listening that there is nothing wrong with a program if it works
  • Bettencourt – can waste time on political arguments that have no bearing whether or not children are being educated
  • Trinity partnership experience reviewed
  • Taylor – lower income is fastest growing demographic so need to do something, these examples provided today need to be expanded

 

Dr. Justin Louder, Texas Tech University

  • A deep commitment to online education and educating children wherever they are
  • Discussed program k-12, includes students taking supplemental classes, contract with districts if they lose a teacher for online course (CBE), and international students can take courses online
  • Receive no state funding for this program – all money from students and parents that take the classes, completely self-supported
  • Taylor – how is pay for teachers, how many students in the class
    • Varies, try to cap courses at 40 students per class
    • Students can start course whenever they need to and work through the course at own pace
    • Does not follow a traditional schedule
  • Taylor – really like self-paced, getting off the calendar
    • Have to take at least a month because they don’t want them to rush
    • They can take up to 6 months to complete, usually, take about 3
  • Taylor – what type of students?
    • Homeschool students
    • Students in the traditional school that decide it doesn’t work
    • Student bullied who need a semester off
    • Students who have been incarcerated
  • Taylor – instead of our current school in prison system perhaps they should look toward this

Matthew Hansen, YES Prep Public School

  • Operate a total of 4 partnership campuses – SKY Partnership
  • Committed to measuring holistic data
  • Collaboration with public schools – can now utilize electives and facilities
  • Campbell – what is the biggest impediment for charters?
    • Funding, facilities
  • Campbell – $60 million for charters last session, how is it being used?
    • Would need more funding to expand like they want
  • Campbell – if you had the greatest ask, have many on the waiting list, would be facilities funding?
    • Yes
  • Bettencourt – encourage continue of partnerships

 

Joe Siedlecki, Texas Education Agency 

  • Gave an overview of TEA support/grants/programs
  • Systems of great schools – 7 districts in initial cohort and will be adding 13 more
  • Texas Leadership Academy
  • Number of grant programs and have done best to align federal and charter funding
  • School redesign grants, ie ACE model
  • Replicating great options
  • SB 1882 – have built processes and supports to take advantage
  • Campbell – told grants are a problem for charters because there is staff who don’t like charters, is that a problem?
    • No
  • Campbell – there are 140k students on the waiting list, would hate to think anyone would hesitate opening up a school because of their own bias
    • Does not believe that is happening
  • Bettencourt – path for partners?
    • Depends on which partner – may require a multistep review to take over IR campus
  • Bettencourt – asked how ACE model does not apply for SB 1882?
    • It could

Monica Martinez, Texas Education Agency

  • P-TECH Academies overview
  • Have gone through redesign of blueprints to ensure designation is outcomes based as opposed based to certain inputs
  • Taylor – regarding transportation issue, asked for an update
    • Von Byer, TEA – in regards if a district can send buses to pick up students to bring them to their district minus an interlocal agreement, they cannot
    • Byer – other authorizations are in statutes but creates a certain tension
    • Taylor – so need to clarify this in the next session

Public Testimony

21st Century Panel

Lindsey Gustafson, Texas Classroom Teachers Association

  • Research says virtual schools continue to underperform academically
  • Research does not support that virtual schools are equal to public schools
  • Supportive of “protections” rather than calling them barriers such as requirements for teacher qualification, k-2, etc
  • Taylor – only state restricting k-2?
    • Yes, no evidence supporting expansion

 

Patty Quinzi, American Federation of Texas Teachers

  • States are cautioned regarding unfettered growth of virtual schools
  • Didn’t discuss students being prepared for college and career just passing ability
  • Research shows non-profits having significantly outpacing for-profit
  • Partnership between TEA and THEC to see if these courses will transfer
  • Thinks for-profit providers need to be prohibited, and class sizes can get up to 300
  • Taylor – should close up ones that are not doing a good job but allow more of them that are doing a good job
    • Need to only allow for non-profit
    • Taylor – only have 5 so should be able to identify which ones are not performing
    • Website with responses from parents taken down
    • Taylor – agrees they should be high performing, good opportunities across the platform
  • Bettencourt – is there no role for online learning?
    • There is a role for online and blended learning but refers back to earlier research
  • Bettencourt – would you oppose a good standard?
    • Good standard in Texas Tech model
    • Concern with for-profit vendors that have 300-1 ratios
  • Bettencourt – do not know average?
    • Across the nation 200-1 /300-1
  • Bettencourt – if you have a success model, profit motive will be somewhere caution tossing out those who have profit margin

Portia Bosse, Texas State Teachers Association

  • Study from RAND corporation found virtual schools in Ohio attracted most low performing and at-risk students, students were harmed more in this model according to the study
  • Taylor – looking at another study showing for-profits have great gains, there are all kind of studies but need to make sure there is good quality
  • Taylor – has a real story of a mom who has done it, can’t deny personal testimony
  • Taylor – all for making sure it is quality, the goal is to make sure every student is getting the quality platform and quality education
  • Taylor – may do a study that would include expansion of this platform, but agrees he wants quality

High Quality Education

Rachel Malone, Republican Party of Texas

  • Appreciates efforts on expanding school choice
  • Believes money should follow a child to parent’s choice of school
  • Tax credits or scholarship is preferred
  • School choice is about maximum freedom
  • Bettencourt – concept is that there is a stratified marketing, optimize choices for parents and kids to go to channel of choice to get the best education they can but not over-regulate environments but use best practices to achieve results
    • Give parents more of own money to use to follow in educational settings
  • Hall – expanding high-quality choice is critical
    • Parents right to choose the educational setting and high-quality education is important

 

Kristi Hassett, Lewisville ISD

  • Many groups that do educational research
  • TASA Midwinter, Texas Assoc of Secondary Principals, Regional Consortiums, in Lewisville have LISD Thrive
  • If try to tie any of these standards to STAAR it will be biased, gives too much weight to STAAR test and Commissioner because cut scores are determined at TEA
  • Not creating a new funding stream for vouchers rather taking money away from public schools
  • Need to fix school finance

 

Molly Weiner, Texas Aspires Foundation

  • Highlights several models of high performing programs where district/charter schools work to expand options for kids
  • Bettencourt – any specific recommendations for improving SB 1882?
    • Good job addressing governmental entities and non-profits involvement

Nathan Dupont, Advanced Learning Academies in San Antonio

  • Empowering students to make own choices about their education
  • In traditional school does not feel like students in his example would be given opportunities to be successful
  • Encourage committee to support collaborations between public and charter schools

Steve Swanson, Individual

  • Need assessment of TEA and Commissioner

Alexandra Spencer, Individual – Start School Later

  • Advocate for schools to return to healthy start times only 12% start school after 8:30am
  • Considers adolescent sleep deprivation is a health crisis
  • Taylor – thinks there is a lot of merit to it but thinks there would be a tremendous push back if the state started mandating start times, have you reached out to the districts?
    • Yes

Dr. Sweeny, Bullseye ISD Superintendent

  • 525 students and over 400 are transfers
  • District will shut down if not able to run buses into other districts, many rural districts existing being allowed to pick up students in other areas

Patty Quinzi, American Federation of Texas Teachers

  • Community Schools model spotlighted
  • Data shows improvement in academic performance and motivation
  • Taylor – can’t make the community jump in, not sure how to make it a default plan for a failing campus?
    • See it started through teachers and parents
    • Taylor – some of these districts and campuses should have been doing this 10 years ago, some campuses on IR for 8 years so why not doing this?
    • Taylor – talks about IR school and surveys of parents, parents gave 87% approval when it was IR so hard to mandate, parents want to be optimistic
    • Taylor – thinks it should be encouraged but can’t mandate, collaborations reviewed today are certainly worth the effort referring back to charter/public school collaborations
    • Quinzi – additional funding would help?
    • Taylor – how do you fund, should already be working for and promoting partnership just not sure state can mandate what Quinzi suggests