TYLER, Texas (KETK) – Gov. Greg Abbott is set to attend a parent empowerment night at Grace Community School in Tyler on Thursday, March 9. The event, hosted by the Parent Empowerment Coalition, starts at 5 p.m. and is free for all to attend.
According to an Eventbrite page, Abbott will be discussing “the growing need and desire for parent empowerment.”
“We must reform curriculum, get kids back to the basics of learning and we must empower parents to be more involved in the education of their children,” Abbot said at a similar event in Corpus Christi.
The Texas Tribune pointed out that parents already have extensive rights enshrined in Texas’ education code.
Here’s a list of just some rights that Texan parents have when it comes to education:
- Parents can remove your child from class if it conflicts with your religious beliefs
- Parents have the right to review any and all instructional materials
- Parents have guaranteed access to school records and administrators
- School boards are required to have a way to consider parents complaints
Parents also have the ability to choose schools, transfer to a different school district or to send their children to a private school.
School choice incentives like vouchers or an education savings account are controversial and some rural school leaders worry that they’ll lose funding if policies like those are implemented, according to the Texas Tribune.
To further empower parents, Abbott recommends that campus report cards be published that rank schools A through F by financial efficiency and parental preferences, according to Abbott’s Educating Texans Plan. The plan also recommends shortening the amount of time required with an F rating before parents can petition Commissioner of Education to change campus management.
