Demand Suspension of STAAR Testing, Proper COVID-19 Safety Measures, and Fully-Funded Schools
Parents, teachers, and students from at least six Houston area school districts are demanding that the Governor and state legislature cancel STAAR testing, implement adequate safety measures to stop COVID deaths, and fully fund public schools. The districts include Houston ISD, Aldine ISD, Pasadena ISD, Spring Branch ISD, Alvin ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, and others.
The vigil comes the day before a December 15 national teacher sick-out calling for safer conditions in schools and an end to standardized testing across the country.
Traci Latson, a Houston ISD teacher said, “We are holding a vigil today to tell the Governor Abbott that his policies are putting the lives of children, teachers, and our families at risk. It is shocking that the Governor told school districts that he would only fund schools at 50% if they returned solely to virtual instruction after Thanksgiving. We have only now started to see the deadly results of his decision.”
Jeremy Eugene, an Aldine ISD teacher, said, “The Governor’s safety protocols have not been enough to stop the spread of COVID in my community. Hospitals are nearing capacity again and community members are dying, including in our schools. Elected officials need to stop with the political games and ensure that we can finally be safe.”
Josephine Lee, an HISD teacher, said, “We put our lives at risk everyday when we come into the classroom. Now, under HISD’s new COVID policy, the district is sending us the message that when we do get sick, we are on our own. Teachers will now be forced to use our own sick days if we contract COVID at school. And if we are exposed to COVID but are not sick, we will not be allowed to teach virtually from home but, instead, will be required to use up our own sick days during quarantine.”
On Thursday, Texas Education Agency (TEA) commissioner Mike Morath announced that TEA will not rate schools this year, but students will still be required to take the STAAR tests in the spring if they are in school for face-to-face instruction. While this is a good step, it does not go nearly far enough. Parents and teachers are also demanding that the governor suspend STAAR for Texas students this year.
Maria Fernandez, an HISD parent and former school board trustee in another district, said, “Under our current circumstances STAAR data is neither valid nor credible and you cannot, in good conscience, compare this year’s data with last year’s or the next year’s.”
Kendra Yarbrough Camarena, a Houston ISD teacher and parent, said, “Our state and school districts are acting as if it is business as usual, not recognizing the added pressure we are putting on students with the STAAR exam. My students are overwhelmed with the loss of family members, taking care of younger siblings, and/or working. To force kids to take STAAR and all of the test prep for the sake of having data that is not even credible- — this is not putting students first.”
HISD parent Claudia de Leon said, “The TEA should focus taxpayer funds on actually improving student learning and not waste money on unnecessary, time-consuming and harmful standardized testing. I am for meaningful assessments like tests written by my kids’ teachers. But giving STAAR in the middle of a pandemic is heartless.”
Rather than focus on STAAR, the governor and the legislature must make public school funding a priority in 2021. Texas has long been criticized for underfunding public education, and schools have never recovered from the $5 billion in education funding cuts in 2011.
Michelle Palmer, an Aldine ISD teacher and former candidate for Texas’s State Board of Education, said, “Texas has over $10 billion in the so-called rainy day fund. It must be used to help the most vulnerable among us, the children, by supporting Texas Public Education in the upcoming biennial budget.”
Sarah Rivlin, a Houston ISD teacher, said, “Schools need funding now. In a year with unprecedented mental health challenges, my school was forced to cut a counselor position due to budget cuts. We try to avoid using substitutes when teachers are absent because we don’t have the funds. Some of my strongest students are failing or have dropped off the map because they don’t have reliable internet. HISD stopped providing or replacing hot spots back in early September.”
On top of these deep budget cuts, Governor Abbott has threatened to withhold funding from school districts that choose virtual education due to COVID outbreaks in their communities. Districts are incentivized to stay open and hide their true COVID infection rates from the public.
Emily Pap, a Spring Branch ISD teacher, said, “There is a lack of transparency and consistency in COVID-19 case reporting across school districts. The governor and some school districts seem to be more concerned with containing panic than containing a virus. I want to be able to do what I love: teaching. That can’t be done when my students, my colleagues, and their families are getting sick and dying.”
