365 DAYS OF CHAOS

As I approach the one-year anniversary of having a large portion of my students participating in school online, I still struggle to find the words to make sense of these unprecedented times. “The only thing that seems normal right now is the fact that things are always changing” were the only words I could find in an attempt to explain the once-in-a-century ice storm that threw the state, its teachers, and most importantly its students, into yet another “what do we do now” moment.

Within just a few weeks following the nation’s revelation that perhaps the coronavirus was something to be taken seriously, students and teachers were expected to completely transition from traditional to virtual schooling. Students struggled to stay focused while sitting in front of their screens for 8 hours a day, or to find a place with stable WiFi, or to ensure their younger siblings were up and ready for their classes in the next room. Some had to take up another job to help the family when their parents were released indefinitely from the income that held their family together. On the other hand, master teachers with demonstrated success in the classroom scurried to find ways to teach effectively in this new virtual frontier.

And just as teachers were getting the hang of teaching online, the new hybrid transition would prove to be just as challenging for teachers and students alike. I’m not sure I can aptly describe what it’s like to have a portion of your students in class with you and a portion of your students at home. The three to eight students in front of you often look bored as they sit in mostly-empty rooms socially-distanced, not able to interact with their friends the way they want to. You try to stay 6 feet away from everyone, while also trying to make them feel seen and heard. And for my online students, they’ve been stuck at home in front of their computers for nearly a year. How much of your school experience was tied to your friends and social interactions? How would you feel if you were starting high school where your only social interaction was in the context of a zoom classroom?

THE 87TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE IS (NOT) HERE TO HELP!

I plan to write in more depth about my on-the-ground experience as our district has transitioned from traditional to virtual to hybrid school within the span of a year, but what concerns me and should concern you is the long term impact on our students of color. Specifically, black students are faring worse than others and the disruptions caused by the coronavirus, multiple teaching and learning transitions, and ice storms has further widening the gap that I’m afraid we will contend with in years to come.

If these obstacles to black student development are not enough to warrant your concern, the Texas State Legislature is here to wake you up.

During a time where black students are facing the brunt of a pandemic, political partisanship and turmoil, climate disasters and learning loss, our Texas Governor Greg Abbott has made it clear that his priorities lay elsewhere. Of the five emergency items outlined by the governor for the 87th Legislative Session, the expansion of broadband access was the only goal not stained with political partisanship and directly impacted public education. It is truly disheartening to hear that the development of marginalized communities seems to be a can the governor wants to kick down the road rather than treating it with the urgency it deserves. There was no mention by the governor on ways to support the social and emotional strife that our students and teachers have endured over the past year. I struggle to see how a divestment in social-emotional learning and culturally responsive teaching during times like this will lead to anything other than the underdevelopment of our black students.

In addition, the Texas Senate’s proposed budget is billions of dollars more than what the Comptroller has estimated the State’s revenue will be. In Texas, we are constitutionally required to balance our budget, meaning lawmakers are only allowed to spend what they have. And when the revenue is severely impacted, as has been the case over the past year, cuts to public education seems inevitable. I worry that despite the gaps in learning loss our black students have endured, the long term effects of budget cuts in instructional materials and technology only add to the devastating consequences of the pandemic. We are not in a position to cut funding to a public education system that is already lackluster when compared to other states. In fact, the past year and the disparities in the quality of education our students have received should signal a much-needed increase in funding to our Texas schools.

The Governor doesn’t seem to see public education as a priority, the state budget requirement will likely lead to devastating budget cuts in public education...anything else? Oh yes, I haven’t mentioned how the new Senate rules dismisses the need for Democratic support on any of its bills. Now, Republican Senators can bring bills to the floor without any input from the Democratic lawmakers who have historically championed some of the reforms us educators see as necessary. Since any bill signed into law must pass through both the Texas House and the Texas Senate, this rule change means that Republican senators have more power to silence the Democratic minority than in previous sessions.

Public input in the legislative process has also been restricted, which especially concerns those of us who feel the need to ensure that our voices and our students' voices are central to creating good public policy. Lawmakers are allowed to do their jobs virtually, but virtual public testimony has been heavily restricted in both chambers? How can we create good policy that responds to the realities of the pandemic without teacher- and student-voice at the table? Citizens with disabilities whose experiences have been heavily influenced by the pandemic are likely not willing or able to go to the Capitol and provide in-person testimony on issues directly affecting them. I was optimistic that the legislature would build a reliable infrastructure that would allow community members to have a stake in their government this session, but the rules of public testimony have made me skeptical that the right voices will be heard in the lawmaking process.

So what does this mean for us educational advocates and our students? Budget cuts, limited testimony, institutional rule changes cementing the power of the Republican majority, and a lack of focus on our students has created new obstacles that we must be aware of if we want to mitigate the long-term consequences on black students. From my understanding of the 87th Legislative session, black student development is a can that is being kicked down the road and if we allow that to happen, we may see an entire generation of black students who are unprepared to compete in a rapidly changing world. Certain issues cannot wait until the next session, and it is up to us to put the pressure on lawmakers to take action now.

I have compiled a list of current bills that are crucial to ensuring black students are not kicked down the road. This list is not exhaustive and I hope to go into more depth on how these bills are critical to black student development in publications to come: List of Texas Bills Impacting Black Students

Don’t Let the Texas Legislature Kick Black Students Down the Road