News & Commentary

ACLU of Texas Executive Director Terri Burke testifies before the Texas State Board of Education

We are not defeated, however. With a number of legislators outraged at these shenanigans – dentists and real estate salesmen pretending to be historians – and the criticisms of one former and the current U.S. Secretary of Education, there is steam for pushing the engines of change. And, with the current economic situation in Texas, a projected $18 to $20 billion state budget deficit, it is unlikely this curriculum will see a textbook any time soon. So, in fact, we may have lost only a skirmish. November holds out the possibility of new faces for the board. McLeroy and Miller won’t be returning to the board as they were defeated in their respective primaries in March by people who seem to understand the appropriate role of the SBOE. Neither face Democratic opposition in November. Cynthia Dunbar did not run for re-election and both the Republican and Democratic candidates for her seat appear to be more sensible and Ken “I’m so maligned” Mercer faces a strong opponent.

In the meantime, working with our coalition partners, we will move forward to push a number of legislative options for revamping the mission and responsibilities of the board. And an editorial in Wednesday’s Dallas Morning News (one of the state’s more conservative newspapers), although demeaning the ACLU, suggested yet another twist: demand that the new board revise the standards when they take office next year. See the recommendations we included in our report, “The Texas State Board of Education: A Case of Abuse of Power.”

Read our letter (PDF) to the Texas Department of Public Safety regarding the DRP. The Driver’s Responsibility Program (DRP) established by the legislature in 2003 was designed, in part, to fund trauma care. Under this program, fees (in addition to fines) imposed for driving-related offenses are supposed to go to trauma centers, emergency medical centers and the state’s general revenue fund. Instead, the DRP has become a virtual debtor’s prison. Two-thirds of all fees remain uncollected because, for example, many traffic offenders can’t work since their driver’s licenses were suspended for failure to pay. In other cases, fees are simply too costly for low income Texans to pay. The DRP causes unlicensed and uninsured drivers, while a huge percentage of the trauma care dollars remain uncollected. The system isn’t supposed to work this way It is time for reform that makes it possible for even indigent traffic offenders to pay their fees and fines and keep their licenses so they can continue to work and pay their fees and fines, assuming their offenses are not serious enough for suspension of driver’s licenses. Public transportation is an option in some cities but in much of small town and rural Texas, driving to work is a necessity for employment. A waiver for indigence (scheduled for next year) should be implemented immediately. The ongoing recession has contributed to loss of jobs all the while diminishing and exhausting some drivers’ already greatly reduced ability to pay. They are caught in a hopeless situation. To keep people employed so they can pay their fines, the program should offer greater reduction in fees scaled to income as well as payment plans. Traffic tickets shouldn’t lead to debtor’s prison.