This dissertation examines the impact a Tax Ratification Election has on student achievement in Texas. Texas schools continue to struggle with shrinking budgets and increasing standards of student achievement (Equity Center, 2011). This study will provide greater insight into whether school districts that have completed a TRE have created a…

Conventional programs are under consideration in Texas, as the legislature debates the proper way to "equalize" the school financing system. Taxing real property is outdated, because much of the state's wealth is in intellectual property. Despite committing billions of dollars, the state legislature has not made any meaningful change in…

Part of a series on state educational finances, this manual aims to help Texas educators, legislators, and citizens understand school finance reforms by providing them with an overview of their state's public elementary and secondary education financing plan and by exploring selected issues in school finance. An introductory chapter traces the…

This paper analyzes Texas Senate Bill 351 that reforms public school funding. The bill provides for additional state funding and significant increases in local property taxes. The bill creates county education taxing units to neutralize the enormous property wealth differences found among the state's 1,056 school districts. It also provides a…

This study of the fiscal, legal, and political dimensions of reform in American school finance responds to the challenge of San Antonio Independent School District vs. Rodriguez. The book focuses specifically on the State of Texas and the way in which injustices were analyzed for the landmark Rodriguez case. The book goes on to describe the role…

In "Edgewood Independent School District v. Kirby," the Texas Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state's school financial system violated the "efficiency" provision of the Texas Constitution. The court gave the legislature until May 1, 1990, to come forward with a constitutional school finance plan. (MLF)

This book chronicles the history of school finance reform in Texas between 1968 and 1995. Specifically, the book focuses on the substantial changes in the method of funding Texas public schools, aimed at creating a more equitable system of educational opportunity. The author, Dr. Jose A. Cardenas, founded the Intercultural Development Research…