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As his legislation expanding the state’s virtual school network reached the floor of the Texas House in early May, Rep. Ken King was focused on what it was not.
“This is not a voucher bill. This is not a vendor bill,” said King, R-Canadian. “I’m the last guy on this floor that’ll ever vote for a voucher.”
That did not reassure several of his colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, who objected to allowing profit-making companies to offer online courses to public school students.
The debate over King’s bill, which ultimately passed, put the dynamics that have frustrated efforts to pass education overhaul legislation this session on full display. It also demonstrated the influence a single education advocacy group has come to wield over policy decisions.
At one point during the House debate, state Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Corpus Christi, asked whether that group, Raise Your Hand Texas, a staunch opponent of vouchers, was opposed to the measure.
After being handed a phone by state Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, a Killeen Republican who is the chairman of the House Public Education Committee, Rep. Dan Huberty, a Humble Republican who supported bill, responded, “I have a text message right here that says they were for it as it came out of committee.”
The reference to the group was not the first made on the House floor — or in legislative hearings — and it shows the muscle Raise Your Hand has flexed in a legislative session in which many school choice advocates had high hopes for sweeping reforms.
Founded in 2006 by the San Antonio grocery mogul Charles Butt, Raise Your Hand Texas has become a seasoned lobbying force on education issues at the Capitol. It supports policies that advance high-performing public schools for all students, says its chief executive, David Anthony.
No. 1 on its list of legislative priorities is combating private school vouchers. In the current legislative session, much of the group’s efforts have been aimed at shaping charter school policy.
A measure broadly expanding the state’s charter school system became the primary legislation of new Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick, who with the backing of Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, made increasing school choice a chief goal of the legislative session. When Patrick, R-Houston, initially proposed it, Senate Bill 2 made wide reaching changes to the state’s charter school system, creating a separate state oversight board and eliminating entirely a state law that capped charter contracts at 215.
But the bill only cleared the Senate after Patrick agreed to put restrictions on the growth of the charter schools, in response to concerns raised by Raise Your Hand about the state’s ability to properly monitor such a rapid increase. It awaits consideration on the House floor, after the lower chamber’s public education committee put additional limits on the increase in state charter contracts.
Patrick said the organization’s suggestions had improved the final legislation.
“We may not always agree, but in the end they have been key players in everything that we’ve done, and I think it’s worked well for both sides,” he said.
Raise Your Hand’s influence in negotiations over the legislation has won it both respect and exasperation in education circles.
“I’ve seen Raise Your Hand play the role of cautious supporter and maybe even a little bit of concerned supporter,” said Mike Feinberg, a co-founder of the KIPP charter school network, who sits on Raise Your Hand’s board.
Feinberg said he supported the measure but was disappointed in changes made by the House committee.
The strongest criticism of Raise Your Hand has come from Texans for Education Reform, an advocacy organization that emerged at the beginning of the legislative session. The group, whose legislative package includes measures designed to encourage the growth of online education and charter schools, diverges philosophically from the more-established Raise Your Hand. Continue reading “In Texas Education Reform Debate, One Group Stands Out”