Assignment:
The Issue: Texas public school financing is one of the most complex and controversial issues in Texas government. School finance describes the method in which Texas public schools are funded. Public elementary and secondary education in Texas is financed by a combination of state and local revenue. The local source of operating revenue for school districts is the property tax. This is what leads to wide disparities in education spending, as some districts with expensive commercial property have high tax bases, and other districts with low tax bases have to impose higher tax rates to raise less money. Over the years, poor Texas districts struggled to maintain minimal education programs, while rich districts built more classrooms, attracted better teachers and, in some cases, could build indoor football practice facilities (Texas Tribune, 2016).
The Format: Papers must have 5 pages of narrative, not 4 ½ pages. 12 point font, double-spaced, standard one inch margins, no extra spaces, between paragraphs. Your paper must have a cover page and reference page that is not included within the 5 pages. A paper's content is essential but please keep in mind that this is a college level paper and so ensure that the paper is free from spelling or grammatical errors.
The Citations: You must provide me with documentation and sources that you used in your paper. Documentation must follow the APA (American Psychological Association) guidelines. APA can be labor intensive, please allow yourself time to adhere to all APA guidelines. See the following resource: (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/). All of your sources can come from the internet but must be cited following APA guidelines. In addition, no Wikipedia, Abstract Required.
REQUIRED ELEMENTS:
1) Texas Constitution Article VII- Discuss Section I of the Texas Constitution which states that the TX Legislature is responsible to provide for "the general diffusion of knowledge, which should be suitable and efficient."
2) History of San Antonio v. Rodriguez (1973)-Discuss and explain the history of this case, court decisions and the implications of the case.
3) History of Edgewood v. Kirby (1984)-also known as Edgewood One because this case has been challenged and heard six times in court. Discuss the history, court decisions and implications of the case. You will also need to include the 2014 Texas District Court Decision by Judge John Dietz.
4) Analysis- Evaluate from your perspective the state of Texas funding for public schools. Does the state have responsibility to ensure that students have access to equally funded schools? Should parents who live in wealthier districts and who pay higher school taxes be able to offer their children the privilege of attending better school districts? Provide a complete breakdown of the 1993 Robin Hood to include the strengths and weaknesses and the latest discussion about RH. Last, include at least one of your solutions to this issue to include details of the implementation and a time frame.
5) The 86thh Texas Legislative Session- You will be examining one educational bill. Since the TX legislature meets every other year, this is an important time to explore what our TX legislators are introducing. You can find a bill by visiting the website: https://www.capitol.state.tx.us/. To see what bill(s) you may want to follow. Be sure you click the 86(R)-2019 and then see search: Word or phrase and put School Financing. There were 25 bills to explore. Your goal is to find the bill that from your perspective would be able to address some the issues that you found throughout your research. This website is a somewhat antiquated, so please reach out to me if you have questions.
a) Information about the specifics of the bill to include sponsor, co-sponsors, topic of the bill and the date it was filed. This should also include a brief background of the bill. Why do you think the legislator filed the bill? What circumstances prompted them to act?