| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Neutral | Neutral | Negative | Negative | Negative |
Relating to requiring the parent of a student enrolled in a school
district to provide and update a student’s contact information.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
SB 746 would require the
parent of a student enrolled in a school district to provide in
writing to the district,
the student’s address, phone number, and e-mail address. If the student’s contact information changes
during the school year, the student’s updated information would be required to be provided within two weeks of the change.
Texas Action opposes SB 746 because it violates the principles of limited government, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. This bill represents a government entity circumnavigating parental involvement in their child's education by requiring parents provide the school district their child's contact information when the district is already required to have the parent's contact information as part of the enrollment process which is updated at the beginning of each school year.
According to the author's statement of intent "Reports show that up to 75 percent of public school districts across the state saw a decrease in enrollment during the 2020-2021 school year. Attendance and enrollment affects the amount of funding each school receives, and when students are uncounted for, public schools are unable to provide accurate information."
We would point out that significant numbers of Texas parents unenrolled their children from public schools in the wake of the COVID-19 disaster due to the way the disaster response affected the education system. The adjustments made in the wake of COVID-19 simply did not work for a tremendous number of parents and school children who subsequently left traditional public education for a variety of other education options including homeschool, private school, and coops or pods in association with other families. If public schools want to get these students back they will have to compete for them by improving the quality of education they provide.
School districts do not need to have direct contact information for students. If there are questions about why a student left a particular school, administrators may contact the parents using contact information included on the enrollment forms.
Texas Action opposes SB 746.