By State Representatives Diane Patrick & Donna Howard
4.5 million students may not have new reading instructional materials?
Under the Texas Constitution the state has the basic duty to provide free textbooks" for public school children. Right now the state has the chance to invest in our childrens futures by funding the most fundamental educational need: Reading.
However the draft budgets released recently by the Texas House and Senate include zero dollars for new reading textbooks and other existing obligations for instructional materials including enrollment growth and annual purchases of consumable materials such as elementary math workbooks.
Supplying our schoolchildren with instructional reading materials should not be a choice.
All instructional materials are included as a nearly $900 million contingency in the budget to be purchased only if the Available School Fund the constitutionally dedicated funding source receives $1.4 billion in market earnings. Given the current economy these gains are unlikely and probably not foreseeable within the current 140-day legislative session.
However there are sufficient other dollars in the fund including some real estate proceeds and motor fuel taxes to cover the costs.
If the Legislature fails to fund instructional materials this biennium more than 1 million elementary students will not have math instructional materials when schools open in fall 2009.
In the following year more than 4.5 million students will not have the new reading materials needed to help them learn new state requirements.
Reading materials are a fundamental purchase. With the states first new reading materials in 10 years Texas is facing its most important textbook purchase.
For only 11 cents per day Texas can fulfill its current obligations and supply new reading instructional materials to tens of millions of Texas students and teachers over the next decade.
The new reading adoption will include the following materials essential to a students future success:
-- New college readiness standards
-- Technical tools such for professional development for teachers
-- Teaching English to the states rapidly growing population of English Learners
-- Electronic tutoring for struggling students
Our public school children cannot afford to wait.
Diane Patrick is state representative from District 94 in Arlington and Donna Howard represents District 48 in Austin
