AUSTIN, Texas — Temple ISD Superintendent Dr. Bobby Ott provided testimony at the Senate Bill 8 or "School Choice" Bill hearing on Monday, May 15 at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas.
Senate Bill 8, if passed, would essentially grant families taxpayer money to send their children to schools outside of the state's public education system.
In the past, Ott has come out against this proposed bill as he believes it would separate and segregate children and our future.
On Monday, Ott spoke at a hearing over the bill and said that he opposed a new version of it as he cited and addressed three major questions:
- Should parents be the ones to decide their child's education?
- Should students remain in low-performing schools?
- Are school districts meeting the needs of special-education students?
In a transcript of his testimony, Ott explains that parents would have the same amount of discretion over where their child goes to school regardless if the bill passed or not. Ultimately, he describes how it is up to a non-public school's discretion on whether or not to accept the child based on certain factors including transportation and space.
Ott also talks about how there is no transparency or an accountability system to determine whether or not a private school is a "good' school. This could upset taxpayers who don't have children in the school system as they would want to know where their money is going.
The superintendent then explains how the answer for fixing a failing school is not to offer a "parachute" for students, but to invest money into those schools and the programs around them.
Lastly, Ott says that special-education programs in the state are the most underfunded sections of public schools and that increased funding would reflect a greater impact than the proposed bill.
Despite his stance on the bill, Ott is not in agreement with Gov. Greg Abbott's threat to veto a restricted version of the bill as he states, "I was disappointed in the statement that the Governor released last night ahead of the public hearing as it was unfair to the democratic process."
"The Texas Constitution has checks and balances to allow voices to be heard and for legislators to make fully informed decisions in the event that the majority of Texans support policy decisions over one elected official’s priorities," Ott added.
Ott also provided feedback to the governor on Twitter:
6 News will continue to report any developments on Senate Bill 8 as they become available.
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