September 1, 2015 - The Texas Attorney General’s Office today delivered oral arguments in Williams v. Calhoun County ISD, et al, addressing the school finance system in Texas. Solicitor General Scott Keller and Assistant Solicitors General Rance Craft and Beth Klusmann argued on behalf of the state.
“For more than three decades, school finance in Texas has been mired in lawsuit after lawsuit, filed by those attempting to use the courts to accomplish what they couldn’t accomplish through the legislature,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton. “In fact, a child who started kindergarten in 1984, the year this rash of lawsuits began, would be 36 years old today – 18 full years out of high school. Throughout it all, one thing has remained true: this issue is best dealt with by the legislature, the elected representatives of the people of Texas, and not by the courts. Texas education must be about properly educating students, not endlessly battling in court.”
“Rather than issuing orders defunding Texas’ public school system to pressure the legislature to change the law, the Court should end this perpetual cycle of school-finance litigation,” said Solicitor General Scott Keller.
Public education spending accounts for more than one-third of general revenue and general-revenue dedicated funds, and the Texas Legislature has steadily addressed and revised public education, allotting resources and strengthening education policy.
Texas continues to make strides in better educating our children. Overall, Texas has the second-highest graduation rate in the nation, and ranks the best nationally in graduation rates among Hispanic and African-American students. The Class of 2014 posted an all-time state record by graduating on time at a rate of more than 88 percent. Texas students are taking the ACT college entrance exam at rates more than 22 percent higher than in 2011. Most students are passing the five STAAR end-of-course exams on their first try, with more than 8 out of 10 students successfully finishing these exams before they even begin their senior year.
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