School is out for the summer, but the future of Texas public education is front-of-mind for CISD Superintendent Dr. Jeff Turner and the 22 other school district representatives in the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium—especially after Gov. Perry’s veto of a critical bill, HB 2824, on Friday.

The governor wrote in opposition of the bill, which was approved unanimously by the Texas House and Senate, that its implementation would “compromise academic rigor” and “student outcomes.” In his official veto statement, Perry said the state's education commissioner is “developing a new accountability system that will allow districts to innovate without sacrificing important accountability.”

Turner and other Consortium members have been working toward education and testing reform since 2011, writing letters and making appearances imploring lawmakers to support the bill. If approved, HB 2824 would have allowed schools in the Consortium to conduct research on transforming the public school system and make recommendations to legislators on "the effective use of technology and digital learning strategies in the learning environment so that our students are well prepared for the ever-changing workforce needs of Texas."

The Consortium is self-funded and accepts in-kind donations for its development strategies and research. It was established two years ago when the governor signed into law SB 1557, which laid the groundwork for HB 2824. State Rep. Bennett Ratliff, who represents Coppell, filed the bill along with Rep. Dan Branch, representing Highland Park ISD and other areas of Dallas.

In response to Perry’s denial of the bill, Turner said the Consortium will continue to push for more digital learning opportunities and a more localized accountability system, rather than a statewide method of measuring college readiness.

“HB 2824 may have died. Our resolve to transform the system of public education for the benefit of children never will,” said Turner in a press release. 

Rep. Ratliff, who served on the Coppell ISD school board for nine years, tweeted the following after the governor refused to sign the bill last week:

Turner, Consortium district officials, and legislators say STAAR testing is excessive. A 2012 column by HPISD Superintendent Dr. Dawson Orr noted that high school students now spend 45 days on testing—25 percent of the entire school year. Despite the $100 million the state spends on mandatory assessments, Orr also said “countries that require far less standardized testing outperform our students on international measures” and that the current system prevents instructors from teaching meaningful material.

HB 5 addresses more specifically the number of tests high school students must take and affects every public high school, not just Consortium schools. The bill's passage, which will limit state-mandated STAAR exams required to be passed for high school graduation to five subjects instead of fifteen: English I and II (reading and writing combined into one test), Algebra I, Biology, and US History. The governor signed HB 5 into law June 10.

Concerned parents involved in the Coppell Parents for Authentic Student Assessment have hosted several meetings discussing ways to advocate for a better and more cost-efficient accountability system, even testifying in Austin before the Senate Education Committee to explain the implications of high stakes, excessive testing from a parental perspective earlier this year.

Perry’s block of HB 2824 might have been a step backward for the Coppell parent group, but Turner said he and other Consortium members won’t quit.

“It is indeed a disappointing day, but we have a moral imperative to create a new system with students at the center and that is focused on deep learning, using more meaningful assessments," he said.

For more information on the Texas High Performing Schools Consortium and the districts involved, click here.