In 2013 the Texas Legislature passed sweeping changes to Texas high school curriculum.  In response, the Consortium and others scrambled to examine the capacity of Texas public schools to implement the bill, including issues like the availability of counselors to explain changes to students and parents.  The Ray Marshall Center Report commissioned in 2014 by the Consortium had tremendous impact on policy and informed the passage of House Bill 18, a piece of legislation that provides millions of dollars to support counselor training, in 2015.  Research on how districts are actually implementing the changes remains to be done.

The Consortium is not the only entity interested in examining the implementation of House Bill 5 from 2013.  The Texas Education Agency, Texas Workforce Commission, and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recently contracted for a survey of school district endorsement availability and graduation requirements.  The Consortium competed for and was awarded a Capstone project from the George H.W. Bush School at Texas A&M University.  The Bush School will provide the Consortium with support to supplement the state's research with qualitative analysis, case studies, and policy recommendations.

Proposed Research Questions:  The Consortium will work with the Bush School to produce credible research that explores how Texas school districts are implementing HB 5 in individual districts across the state. The research will include policy recommendations to prepare for the 2017 Texas Legislative Session. Key research questions may include:

• Are there regions of the state experiencing a lack of endorsement offerings? What are the attributes of a district that offers all five endorsements? 
• How many districts are "opting in" to the distinguished/college-ready plan?  What challenges and obstacles are districts experiencing?
• What are some examples of districts exhibiting best practices in endorsement offerings and capacity? What are the key factors for a district to consider when replicating best practices?  What are the obstacles?  What supports are needed?

The passage of House Bill 4 in 2015 marked a turning point for early childhood education in Texas.  Governor Greg Abbott promised to address the quality of Texas pre-k during his campaign and followed through on that pledge.  Significant changes to data collection and the restoration of $118 million in funding will improve the quality of pre-kindergarten in Texas. 

Research commissioned by the Consortium informed the debate around pre-k at the Texas Capitol in 2015.   For the first time school districts are now required to report many of the basic indicators of pre-k quality, including class size, staff to student ratio, half-day or full-day, and assessments administered.  A foundation now exists for school districts and their partners to make real comparisons about pre-k quality across Texas. 

Now, the real work begins.  Because the restored pre-k funding will be distributed as a grant, local school districts will need to apply for new funding.   The Texas Education Agency is responsible for setting the rules by which funding is distributed.  School districts are not required to apply and the state is not required to fund all school districts that do choose to apply.

In 2017, both legislators and education stakeholders will want to know how House Bill 4 is being implemented. They will want to know which districts applied for the restored funding and which were selected to receive funding.  They will want to know if patterns emerged in the types of districts volunteering to accept the legislation's required quality enhancements.  Before any further expansion of pre-kindergarten access or quality will be approved, House Bill 4 must prove itself.  House Bill 4 demands more transparency and higher quality.  The Consortium can fill the data gap concerning which districts applied for funding and which did not and the reasons behind that decision.

 
Proposed Research Questions: 

• Which Texas school districts applied for funding under House Bill 4?  Which school districts did not apply for funding and what were the reasons behind that choice?  Do patterns emerge among the school districts that chose to apply for pre-kindergarten funds?  Did school districts in all regions of the state (on the Texas/Mexico border, in urban areas, and in rural communities) apply for funds?  Are available funds sufficient to meet demand from school districts? 
• How specifically are districts that successfully applied for funding using pre-kindergarten dollars?
• What role does teacher availability play in districts' decision-making about applying for pre-k funds?  What options are available to increase the supply and quality of pre-kindergarten teachers?

The single most important variable in student achievement is the teacher in his or her classroom. While Texas has a variety of district and state initiatives focusing on teacher recruitment, training, development and retention, there is room to improve. Knowing how important each individual teacher is, it is critical that we consider how teachers are prepared to lead classroom instruction.

Educate Texas will inaugurate and convene the Texas Teacher Preparation Collaborative for 2015-2017 working with school districts and higher education institutions to share and scale research about supporting the Texas teacher corps. The Collaborative will provide a platform for practitioners and policy makers to focus on teacher preparation and highlight the best practices and policies that Texas can adopt to make real change for current and future Texas teachers.

The Collaborative will be chaired by Jim Nelson, former Commissioner of Education and will meet from the fall of 2015 through the fall of 2016 in order to examine the best practices and policies at the district, higher education, state and national levels; review the research on effective teacher preparation practices; share the shifts programs have made to their teacher preparation practices and policies; and make recommendations that can be implemented for both policy and practice of teacher preparation.

While the Collaborative is doing its work, the Consortium's Teacher Preparation Policy Work Group will engage a diverse array of voices including the faith community, teachers' associations, education reformers, and others to create consensus and develop shared messaging around the Collaborative's policy recommendations.