Topic 12 - Public Education Flashcards
police power
the broad power to make laws for the general welfare of their communities - the states have it
10th amendment
clarifies that certain powers are reserved to the states - states have primary authority in regulating (controlling) education
where does federal power in education come from?
- interstate commerce clause
- taxing & spending power
is education is a matter of national interest and import? how?
yes
narrowly: international competitiveness, ‘soft power’
broadly: link between education & a free society
what is the role of public schools for students?
each state has a different idea but general ones are…
- giving students general life skills
- gaining civic and critical capacities
- for them to be economic contributors
what are the types variation in public education?
- input: teachers salaries, qualifications, funding
- output: dropouts, grad rates, test scores
what are the roles of states in education?
- establishing schools and colleges
- determining curriculum
- determining enrollment & graduation requirements
- sharing responsibility for funding
what is the federal involvement in education?
- education linked to federalism
- things got more stricter and complex
- more ‘woke’ policies
- ex: giving healthier lunches
what are the controversies with federal involvement in education?
- people dont like it bc its not ‘one size fits all’
- who funds it? what happens when its underfunded?
- who has oversight? (standardized testing)
issues in public education
- accessing the quality of k-12 education
- funding & grad/dropout rates
- standardized testing
- traditional v alternative schools (charter v magnet)
- school funding - proformance-based funding: schools w higher marks get more
- vouchers: parents revice their students ‘share’ of public ed funding & spend on private schools
primary & secondary education funded by who?
- common schools are funded at tax payer expense
- establishing and funding these schools is mandated by tx constitution
what are the local school districts?
- they r the governing body to the schools
- limited by state constitution & laws
- governing bodes is the ‘board of trustees’ (school board)
school board election and term info?
- elected in non partisan elections
- length of term vary, elected at large from districts
what does the school board do?
- is the model for council-manager form
- board approves budget
- board hires superintendent
how to states have power over the districts?
- they have financial control over allocated funds
- bureaucratic oversight & monitoring
what is tx public education policy goals to protect people?
- desegregation
- equity in public school funding
- search for educational excellence
what is de jure vs de facto?
de jure - what is supposed to happen according to the laws ‘jury’
de facto - what actually happens ‘reality’ ‘fact’
what are signs of segregation in tx public schools?
- it was written into constitution
- black schools had fewer days and 1/3 less funding
- brown v board of edu
- ends ‘de jure’ segregation
- persistence of ‘de facto’ segregation after brown v board of edu - due to housing patterns
what are tx education funding problems?
- equality of funding is a major issue between ‘poor’ and ‘rich’ districts
- ‘tax bases’ varies across school districts - variation in amount of students
where does the funding for education come from?
- relies on property taxes
- differences in property taxes means difference in amount of funding
- nicer houses have a higher property tax so more money goes into the schools
san antonio ISD vs rodriguez (1973)
- questioned the TX school finance system
- resulted that it was not a violation of the us constitutions 14th amendment equal protection clause
edgewood ISD v kirby (1989)
ruled that existing funding system violated the TX constitution
what is wealth-sharing? (education)
- called ‘robin hood’
- taking money from the rich to give to the poor
- chapter 41 districts: redistributing money to…
- chapter 42 districts: keep local tax and receive additional ‘recaptured’ funds
- this is ‘wealth equalization’
higher education in the states
- primary and secondary is mainly ran by local gov
- higher edu like college or universities is ran by state gov
Morill act (two types)
morrill act (1862) - gave land to build colleges and universities meant to open educational opportunities for farmers and the working class
morrill act (1890) - gave colleges money/aid if they proved race was not considered in admissions or make a separate institution for black students
hatch act (1887)
- money given to schools to conduct research specifically in agriculture
the role of states in higher education
- tuition, financing, reporting
- research
- admissions (top 10% rule)
- curriculum requirements
- part of responsibility for funding
decrease support for higher education from the states (how is it shown)
- states have to pass a budget and higher education is ‘easier’ to cut than k-12 edu
- during recoveries states get their funding but ‘per student’ funding does not return
- the school can get their funding back but they use it for other stuff not on decreasing tuition
what are some drivers for rising costs of higher education?
- higher supply of federal student aid
(fasfa) - tuition inflation
- student demand for services and facilities
- declining state support (have to get their own money)
why r public universities becoming less public?
- tx has a revenue shortfall (less money)
- legislature wants a balance budget without raising taxes
- market sets the price not the states
- higher ups get mad when cost increases
what r the attempts to make college cheaper?
- performance based tuition
- tuition freezes or caps
