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Texas Education Law Earns “D” From National Reform Group

New report indicates that the Lone Star State’s charter school law is “poor”

WASHINGTON, DC - Texas’s charter school law is one of the nation's weakest, according to a study released today by the national nonprofit Center for Education Reform. In terms of providing children with access to great public schools, Texas ranks 25th in the country with a D grade, the report indicates. Thirteen states, in total, received Ds.

The Center’s 11th annual Charter Laws Across the States report serves as a blueprint for Texas’s families—as well as for lawmakers in Austin—who are interested in improving educational opportunity for children, providing teachers with the freedom and authority to do their jobs, and developing incentives for the creation of new and innovative public schools (called charter schools).

“Every state’s education law has certain legal components that play key roles in deciding whether that state does what its law’s title suggests—to provide all children with access to the highest-quality schooling opportunities possible,” said Jeanne Allen, president of The Center for Education Reform. "Some states have been pioneers in this effort, and others are far behind. Texas’s law is poor and should be overhauled.”

Charter Laws Across the States provides answers to basic questions that every parent will want to know. Does Texas treat all students fairly and give them an equal opportunity to receive a quality education? Is there room for more charter schools in Texas? Are teachers being given the freedom to help children learn?

This analysis is particularly important—especially now that the federal government is distributing $4.3 billion in extra education funding for states with strong reform policies. To read more about Texas’s laws, visit www.edreform.com

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The Center for Education Reform drives the creation of better educational opportunities for all children. CER changes laws, minds and cultures to allow good schools to flourish.