As the pandemic takes its toll, school choice is more important than ever - The Dallas Morning News

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Few people will feel the long-term negative impact of the global pandemic more than Texas children. With most schools opting for virtual learning, at least in the early days of COVID-19, our children are now in a position where they are at risk of being left behind. As The Dallas Morning News reported in November, “half of all Dallas ISD students experienced learning loss in math during disruptions caused by COVID-19, and nearly a third slipped in reading, according to the district’s analysis of start-of-year assessments given to students in September and October.”

This tracks with research done by two prominent researchers at Stanford University who concluded that the impact of school closures nationally is dramatic and long-lasting. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, “Lost study time for children during the pandemic has the potential to do lasting harm not just to their own long-term prospects but to American prosperity in general.”

The Journal also noted that “on average, children lost 116 days of reading time during the early stages of the pandemic last year and 215 days of math work — instruction that will be hard to regain.”

Far-reaching intervention and reform are imperative. Of course, getting kids back in classrooms is the top priority, but more must be done.

There is a proven method that will give children a chance at a brighter future: school choice. A recent study conducted by the University of Arkansas found that “higher levels of education freedom are significantly associated with higher NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) achievement levels and higher NAEP achievement gains in all our statistical models.”

Unfortunately, Texas is in a position it rarely finds itself in — playing catch up to other states. While states like Arizona, Florida and Minnesota realized the value school choice provides its students long ago, Texas has been slow on the uptake.

That same University of Arkansas study shows Texas being ranked in the lower tier among all states in providing educational choice to families. This includes being ranked 38th in public school choice options, 33rd in homeschool choice options, 17th in charter school choice options and tied for last in private school choice options.

This is the session to remedy this issue and legislators have already filed bills to give Texas families more educational freedom.

As a result of COVID-19, Gov. Greg Abbott, working with the Texas Education Agency, provided families with special needs children $1,500 grants to purchase services to help get additional support for children dramatically and painfully impacted by school closures. Called Supplemental Special Education Services (SSES) and paid with CARES Act funds, this program is touching thousands of families with demand for the program outstripping available funds. At a minimum, eligibility should be expanded this session with the state making a long-term commitment to aid special needs students in these very trying times after years of neglect.

Time and again, charter schools have been proven to provide children, especially minority students, with a better education that expands their options upon high school graduation. A 2019 study, also commissioned by the University of Arkansas, found that not only do charter schools outperform traditional public schools, but they also are more cost-effective. The Texas legislature should seek to remove regulatory barriers to the creation of additional charter schools by removing the veto power of the State of Board of Education on whether a charter school is created.

Learning pods were instrumental in helping students learn throughout the pandemic, and these pods should be protected from onerous local regulations that seek to stifle the education growth of children.

It should be an “all-hands on deck” effort to get our children back up to speed. Without making this a priority, a generation of Texas students will be left behind. The most effective way to do this, is to give Texas families the educational freedom they need to catch up, putting them in a position to succeed.

Mandy Drogin is the Texas State Director of the American Federation for Children (AFC) and Ron Simmons sits on the AFC Board.

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As the pandemic takes its toll, school choice is more important than ever - The Dallas Morning News
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