Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Texas Gov. Rick Perry might be feeling the call to run for president, but an appalling picture of public education in his state is beginning emerge.
According to a report in the New York Times, an astronomical 60% of Texas middle and high school students have been suspended at least once before graduation. One in seven students faced suspension eleven times for infractions.
The study was conducted by the Justice Center at the Council of State Governments, a nonpartisan group, examined one million student records.
Texas ranks near the bottom in education funding per pupil at 44th nationally. By contrast, New Jersey and New York rank first and second respectively in education funding per student.
It will be very interesting watching Rick Perry defend the troubling record of public education in his state under his leadership.
From the Left 
Education costs money. It isn’t cheap.
Texas, with a huge population of 24 million, has no state income tax to properly fund anything. From schools to public health to roads. Texas is a true southern state and is falling further behind the rest of the country each decade. At some point, their state constitution will have to be amended to permit a state income tax or statewide gambling and gaming.
When I was in high school (the late 1970’s) very few students were suspended. It was a rare event to see or hear of anyone kicked out of school. It’s a different world now and sadly, not a better one for young people trying to get an education and make their way.
Texas is a shithole.
Perry can’t defend Texas’ education rankings.
His state is near Alabama and Mississippi. Nothing to be proud of. Yet, he keeps getting elected? I don’t pretend to understand Texas. I wish it would just get on with it and secede. No one will miss the state that gave us George W. Bush.
The sad thing is that Texas, in its self-proclaimed “fight against religious persecution”, had done exactly what it claims to defend against. Texas has taken true science out of its classrooms, and replaced it with the religious beliefs of one group. All non-fundamentalist Christian religions have lost their religious freedom in a public setting because Texas legistature decided to teach religious propaganda in place of science. How completely un-American!
Texas revamped their school books recently to teach creationism as co-equal to evolution. No wonder 60% of high school students are suspended before they graduate. The sane kids in Texas must feel like their heads are exploding from the bullshit they’re force-taught.