History of Texas Education

I found the history of educational history evolving in Texas to be amazing. I have a new found respect for education as it relates to our state's forefathers. Although there were several contributing factors in history for education in Texas, there were three I found most important. The first factor being the Constitution of 1869. This constitution established compensatory education for students ages eight through fourteen. A poll tax to establish support for education and an ad valorem tax for education was created. The second most important act was the establishment of the Permanent and Available School Funds. This was established by the adoption of the new 1876 Texas Constitution. It was then mandated that 25% of the state's general revenues be dedicated to education. The new constitution set the foundation for school finance dealing with equity, adequacy, and efficiency in the state of Texas. The third most important event affecting education in Texas was the Gilmer-Aiken Laws that were passed during the 51st Legislative Session. These laws developed and organized approach to the way the state supplemented local taxes to fund public education. These three historical events were a great beginning to the development of education in Texas. For some reason, education does not appear to be a priority to our current legislatures. As educators, we have to force our legislatures to take a closer look at the injustices they are now forcing on our students.