It’s nearing the end of the legislative session, which means we get to see various bureaucrats and politicians make massive decisions around education and educational funding. One of the more significant is the re-write of the No Child Left Behind bill. The current bi-partisan rewrite, now titled “Every Child Achieves Act,” is a step in a better direction although still not the right one. Public education is at the forefront of many political battles, especially here in Texas where we have several lawsuits pending against the state regarding school finance. It’s starting to feel a bit like public ed is a frog slowly boiling in a pot of water. Private schools and charters are gaining more favor in terms of public funding only without the same stringent accountability of its public counterparts. Those for more choices in education say it’ll add a layer of competitiveness that will somehow make public education “step up its game.” While the game of education may look the same, it’s not being played with the same rules. By removing accountability from non-public systems, it’s akin to playing the game of baseball with unlimited outs and shorter fences. If this country wants to truly help education, it shouldn’t start by rewriting antiquated laws but instead doing what smart companies do and invest in its research and development department (otherwise known as public education). — Carl Hooker, Director of Instructional Technology, Eanes Independent School District
