The Education Of The Texas Education Code

More young americans nowadays are being raised in homes speaking non-English, but these students are falling behind in schools where there is not a bilingual program available. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in schools without a bilingual education program, 71% of English speakers are at or above the basic requirements for fourth grade reading while merely 30% of non-English speakers reach this level. 35% of English and 8% of non-English speakers reach proficient reading levels while only 9% of English and 1% of non-English speakers perform at advanced levels. It’s evident that the availability of a bilingual program is crucial to the success of an individual who needs the resources that can be given to them through the use of bilingual education. The percentages of the non-English speaking students previously mentioned could undoubtedly be comparable to those percentages of the English speaking students if the education they were being provided with was cohesive to their comfortability, and the material being taught was in a language they could better understand.

Education development has been an important matter in Texas for decades. Texas has been known for their improvements and reformation in public schools since their first attempt of a public school system. Within these improvements, came issues that escalated to create our public education system today. The issues that helped arrange the system are desegregation, equity in funding, and education policy.

The primary goal of any school district’s English Language Learner policy should be to ensure that all students receive equitable access to the curriculum. The Office of Civil Rights memorandum (May 25, 1970) requires school districts to take affirmative steps to provide equal access to instructional program for students with limited English proficiency. The Illinois Constitution guarantees every child from kindergarten through grade 12, access to a free public education; which means, regardless of a child’s home language, he/she deserves a free and appropriate education (Illinois State Board of Education, 1998).

The current state of the Texas education policy is very complex and its roots can be traced all the way back to times were there was no equality in the public school system, we can even say it can be traced as far back to the state’s split from Mexico. This was a very problematic situation that began to be reformed heavily starting in 1954. The legislations that passed to resolve this problem have morphed the Texas Public education policy into what it is today.

The role of Legislators and courts have played in the Texas Education System has been miserably unsuccessful. Citizens have been concerned about the education of their young for years. The reason is that it has failed to establish any public system of education that is equal to all students, which seems to be redundant and keeps rearing its ugly head in Texas history. Public education has to meet the needs of Texas students. Public education in the Texas will play a major role in shaping of our state in the future. The schools in low income have often assumed the position of unjust, while children in better schools enjoy the luxury of a solid education. This relationship of education to the views of Texas is prevalent throughout the low income.

Section 305(a)(2) states that “school districts and county offices of education shall, at a minimum, provide English learners with a structured English immersion program.”(CSU, 2017, p. 554). The immersion program designed with English learning students in mind will allow the use of the students home language for clarifications and to check for understanding(Buenrostro. 2017, p.2). The

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires all public school districts and charter schools to submit a technology plan that aligns with the district’s improvement plan and the both Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 (LRPT). Each year teachers and campuses evaluate their progress in meeting the goals of the LRPT by completing the Texas School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Chart. The goal is for all STaR chart objectives to be at target level.

Federal and state laws both govern the educational system in the United States, this includes laws regarding how English Language Learners (ELLs) are instructed. The federal law, No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), allows schools to decide the method to use for teaching ELLs, but it does not provide federal support for bilingual education programs, (Peregoy & Boyle (2016). Reading, Writing and Learning in ESL. page 29) . Bilingual education, is an “instructional approach that teaches at least some academic content (e.g., reading or science) in the native language in addition to teaching students academic content in English (Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English language learners: What the research does – and does not – say. American Educator,

The role legislators and courts have played in the Texas Education System is sadly poor. Citizens have been concerned about the education of our young people for many years, “failure to establish any public system of education, although possession of almost boundless resources,” Public education has gotten a myriad of policy changes, amendments, revisions, and laws altered to meet the needs of Texas students. How has the Texas education system replaced? Public education in the Texas has played a major role in shaping society. The schools and parents in low income areas have often assumed the position of social fears. This relationship of education to the views of Texas society is prevalent throughout the low income areas, thoughtful, and complex. One principle that Texas have had problems coping with, it is the concept of equality. Equality of opportunity means that no one should be denied equal access to education. Some of the most serious attempts to correct the inherit conflicts, have occurred in the schools. Judicial mandates are some of the notable efforts employed in recent years to equalize educational resources, practices, and opportunities. The part of individuals and agencies in the society are inadequate and incapable of effecting the kind of change that is so often articulated and desperately needed. A pro-active stance in defining, clarifying, and applying the concept of equality. The Constitution was very clear concerning equality. Our nation’s success as a

The problem with both bilingual education and English-as-a-second language instruction in the United States lies in our unwillingness to treat English for non-speakers as an academic subject (Haas, 2007). While the bilingual programs in California are thought to be mostly for people who speak Spanish, there are also Asian students that need to be taught proper English before continuing their education. As one anonymous teacher points out: "I have had 32 different languages spoken in my classroom over a 25-year period. Eighty-four languages are spoken in our district."(Anon 1998 & Haas 2007). Which for most teachers mean that it is both educationally and economically impossible to teach every student in their own native language.

Through the years, education has been an immense portion of the expenses and importance in Texas. Education comes from school; therefore, the public should have access to a substantial quality of education. The schools are also substantial businesses in Texas, which is what the state represents. Texas’ school districts receive mixed funds for the students’ education. It consists of state, local, and federal funds. However, the majority of the funds for schools come from local property tax. This is taken from the Texas education code, which state how the schools will be funded, curriculum requirements, and etc. It may seem like schools allocate a fair sum of money for its students; however, there are many conflicts related to the inflation of requirements needed for education. The major issues consist of expenditure per student, intradistrict funding policies, high percentage of

“Successful program models for promoting the academic achievement of language minority students are those that enable these students to develop academic skills while learning English. The best program organization is one that is tailored to meet the linguistic, academic, and emotional needs of students; provides language minority students with the instruction necessary to allow them to progress through school at a rate commensurate with their native-English-speaking peers; and makes the best use of district and community resources.” (Colorin Colorado, 2014)

The State Board of Education (SBOE) sets the policies and standards for Texas public schools. In Texas the Texas Education Agency (TEA) oversees primary and secondary education of students. The TEA helps provides the resources, guidance and leadership to help schools meet the educational needs of all students, according to the TEA. The SBOE is composed of three committees; committee on instruction, committee on school finance and a committee on school initiatives. The SBOE has adopted curriculum standards called the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The TEKS describe what students should know and be able to do, in each grade and subject area.

Many things are happening in Texas that is not entirely for the benefit of the citizens. The education system is terrible, driving on the wrong side of the freeways, and the environment is in desperate need of cleansing. However a major problem going on right now is the education system. Although the need for a better environment to live in and prosper and driving correctly is a crucial factor in being safe and happy; the education that the new generation is receiving must be not only updated but a priority.

Educators and politicians have long questioned the quality and effectiveness of the techniques used in bilingual education programs. William J. Tikunoff (1985), in the Significant Bilingual Instructional Features study identified five specific bilingual instructional features that are favored by educators in their effort to ensure that limited English language proficient (LEP) students acquire the basic academic and language skills necessary to succeed in school and beyond. All of these features and techniques are also incorporated in the components of the Sheltered Instruction Observational Protocol (SIOP) standards for bilingual and second language instructional excellence (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short 2012). Sheltered instruction is a