Gov. Perry Vetoes HB 2824
Statement from Governor Rick Perry regarding the veto of this bill:
Education is changing, and Texas must remain at the forefront of innovation as the digital age evolves. That is why I signed legislation during the 82nd regular session to create the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium. The 23 participating districts are responsible for informing policymakers about methods to improve student learning through digital learning strategies and improved standards and assessments, while relying more on local control of the educational process.
House Bill 2824 would exempt consortium districts, which have shown a range of performance levels on the most recent STAAR assessments, from the Texas accountability system and many of the assessments required of other public schools throughout the state. Flexibility and innovation are important, but we will not compromise academic rigor or student outcomes.
The Texas Commissioner of Education, guided by input from stakeholders and changes in statute by House Bill 5, is developing a new accountability system that will allow districts to innovate without sacrificing important accountability.
The following is why HB 2824 was bad and needed to be vetoed (from Bob Hall Posted at Red Hot Conservative):
HB 2824 - Lets a consortium of so-called “high performing” (mostly mediocre) school districts off the hook in terms of testing and accountability, thus freeing them up to do teaching and learning to whatever goals (E.G. CSCOPE, I-CLOUD or Obama’s Common Core Standards) and standards they choose.
