It’s Not Friday, But…

Since I’ll be away until Monday, there are three news’ stories that caught my eye this past week. All deserve comment.

First, The Texas Tribune ran an article titled “Texas Schools Have Leaned on Uncertified Teachers to Fill Vacancies. Lawmakers Want to Put a Stop To It.” The article begins with:

“Lawmakers want to turn the tide on the growing number of unprepared and uncertified teachers by restricting who can lead Texas classrooms. But school leaders worry those limits will leave them with fewer options to refill their teacher ranks.”

“Tucked inside the Texas House’s $7.6 billion school finance package is a provision that would ban uncertified teachers from instructing core classes in public schools. House Bill 2 gives districts until fall 2026 to certify their K-5 math and reading teachers and until fall 2027 to certify teachers in other academic classes.”

“Texas would help uncertified teachers pay for the cost of getting credentialed. Under HB2, those who participate in an in-school training and mentoring program would receive a one-time $10,000 payment and those who go through a traditional university or alternative certification program would get $3,000. Special education and emergent bilingual teachers would get their certification fees waived. Educator training experts say it could be the biggest financial investment Texas made in teacher preparation….”

“District leaders, once reluctant to hire uncertified teachers, now rely on them often to respond to the state’s growing teacher shortage. And while they agree with the spirit of the legislation, some worry the bill would ask too much too soon of districts and doesn’t offer a meaningful solution to replace uncertified teachers who leave the profession.”

…

It would be nice if every Texas classroom teacher was certified, but it’s not going to happen – especially in large districts like Houston and Dallas.

It’s not going to happen for a couple of reasons.

First, no state, especially Texas, pays their teachers enough so that there is an oversupply of qualified (certified) teachers for every public school classroom. Demand will always outweigh supply inside the current K-12 system, especially when it comes to special education and bilingual teachers.

Second, let’s face it, becoming and remaining a public school teacher just doesn’t offer the right amount of status in this country to attract the right people and more people to the job. Texas can try to solve this problem with pittances of money – that’s been tried before by the way – but until we can change the way young people in this country feel about teaching, the future looks dim when it comes to filling classrooms with certified teachers – Texas and everywhere else.

Last week, The 74 posted an opinion piece titled “Dismantling Ed Department Will Harm More Than 26 Million Kids – and America’s Future.” Yolie Flores, president and CEO of Families In Schools, writes:

“The layoffs of half of the employees of the U.S. Department of Education clearly demonstrate the Trump administration’s follow-through on one of the Project 2025’s mandates, which intends to eliminate the resources, protections and opportunities that millions of children and families across this nation rely on.”

“It is evident that the White House will not stop until it wipes out the most basic protections and supports for the American people, including the youngest children. The first step was the attempt to defund Head Start and Early Head Start, impacting 800,000 young children across the nation. This order was halted by a federal judge in Washington, thanks to the lawsuits filed by Democracy Forward and attorneys general from 23 states.”

“The mass layoffs will severely hamper the department’s ability to execute on its core responsibilities. This move is a direct assault on millions of students, teachers and families. It is clearly a precursor to dismantling the department without congressional consent, which would have an even more devastating impact. The department serves and protects the most vulnerable children and young adults, ensuring that they have equal access to education. This includes:

26 million students from low-income backgrounds – more than half of all K-12 students – who rely on the department for reasonable class sizes; school meals; tutoring; afterschool and summer programs; school supplies such as laptops and books; parent engagement programs; and, in some cases, transportation

9.8 million students enrolled in rural schools

7.4 million students with disabilities

5 million English learners

1. million students experiencing homelessness

87 million college students who receive Pell Grants and student loans”

The Trump administration claim all of these responsibilities will be moved to different departments operating inside Washington D.C. That remains to be seen.

My guess is that black, brown, and poor kids (and their families) will be hurt by these closures. Indeed, the main reason the U.S. Department of Education’s creation was due to the inability of states (especially those in the South) to protect the interests of these types of kids and their families.

And it seems that these types of kids have few cheerleaders inside the present presidential administration.

And finally, a story from Pennsylvania you knew was bound to happen. Today, The 74 posted an article focused on the Lancaster, Pennsylvania public school district and its inability to enroll immigrant families:

…

“It’s been nearly nine years since the School District of Lancaster was sued in federal court for denying or delaying enrollment for young refugees – or for sending them to an off-site, for-profit alternative school focused on behavior management. The case was settled in the immigrant students’ favor.”

“But families, staff and advocates say the district, which serves kids in an internationally recognized refugee hub, is once again erecting barriers that have left dozens of newcomer children idle in the past few years – some for months. A major contributing factor, they say, is Lancaster’s insistence on tuberculosis testing.”

“…State officials told The 74 schools ‘should not delay a student’s enrollment while TB test results are pending’ and that parents or guardians concerned about this issue should contact them.”

“Another holdup, newcomer families note, is the district’s need for birth certificates. They can be hard to obtain quickly, and, according to federal guidelines, their absence should not prevent a child’s enrollment. Proof of address, they say, has also been an obstacle as some families initially struggle to secure permanent housing.”

I’m guessing Lancaster isn’t the only district playing these games with immigrant families these days. In fact, when I was a school leader in Texas, I witnessed many of my principal colleagues blocking an immigrant child’s entrance to school for many of the same reasons. In our schools, though, we worked with individual families to make sure that testing like TB was completed before enrollment, even though the results might not have come back, birth certificates were in process, and address checks were scheduled.

But nothing prevented the young learner from being enrolled in our school – usually that day.

I’ll be away until Monday, March 24^th. Til then. SVB