Texas Education Bills That Passed and Will Change The Classroom- From the Students to The Teachers
Hello SAISD Parents and San Antonio Community Members,
This week some new educational laws have passed in the House and Senate Committee. Let’s start with HB 900, which will ban certain books from our school libraries. The books that will be banned are the ones that our politicians consider to have “sexually explicit materials” or just consider them inappropriate. We will need to find out which books will be banned because the bill was written without defining what is considered appropriate or not appropriate. Many librarians testified against this bill because the books that will be banned will be up to our local school districts. If this happens, we could lose many books addressing historical issues, LGBTQIA+, and people of color and so much more. The process will not be up to the book vendors or school libraries; it could be up to a parent committee and could place some books requiring parental permission to be checked out.
We also have SB 11 that passed unanimously; this bill makes school safety a priority which means that all public schools and open-enrollment charter schools will have to ensure safety and security along with records on students with many absences. These schools must also conduct active shooter training for certain peace officers. Schools will have to establish a school safety and security committee, conduct emergency school drills and exercises, and address the deficiencies on all campuses through the security school safety review team. In addition, they are to guide the schools on any other school safety issues.
Next, SB 1515 passed; this bill will now require that as of next school year, all teachers in all grades must have a framed copy of the Ten Commandments in a 16×20 frame in every classroom. Now these frames can be bought by school funds or from private donors. In addition to the copy of the Ten Commandments, our school districts can vote to adopt a policy requiring every campus or school to provide a period of prayer and readings from the bible.
Then SB 17 & SB 18; will affect Higher Education and now band Tenure and abolishes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs on college campuses. These bills will also remove provisions that currently give professors a voice in the governance of colleges and universities. It’s important to know that Republicans passed both, and only one Democrat supported SB18. So, SB 17 will punish any staff or faculty promoting policies like diversity treatment related to race, sex, or ethnicity. The schools could face up to one million dollars in loss in funding for every violation they commit. Now that SB 18 passed, this could hurt Texas hiring new Professors because no new hire can obtain tenure, impairing our curtain research projects. Also, the Republicans feel that all schools should be color-blind when reviewing students’ applications. Others twisted Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech and implied that DEI offices instill a “reverse racism,” which we all know is not valid.
As I wrap up this week’s new Educational Laws, Senators passed some outrageous bills that could have negative consequences and affect all our children and future Texas generations. First, banning books is not a good idea because many books help explain where we came from as individuals and as a state. Then bringing prayer back is a good idea, but putting up the Ten Commandments could lead to more issues within the classroom, considering that some children don’t all believe in the same religion or understand the meaning behind these commandments. Then the idea that DEI is now against the law seems that we’re returning to the Jim Crow laws. Now the idea that our state can no longer offer an incoming professor tenure, is one that will leave our state without the resources to obtain research grants or funding that could lead to saving lives….makes no sense.
Lastly, parents, this upcoming week, there are a few bills that the House Committee will be reviewing, so if you would like to watch this live, you can do so at https://house.texas.gov/video-audio/. If anyone has concerns or questions please email me at lena.lopez@saobsever.com
Have a Blessed Week,
Lena Lopez
