A Governor who believes local control is important – what a novel concept!
Gov. Rick Perry is expressing his support for letting school districts themselves choose whether to implement a rule that requires new state assessments to count for 15 percent of high school students’ final grades.
In a written statement Thursday — the first time the governor has publicly weighed in on the issue — Perry praised legislation filed by state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, that would leave the decision up to local school districts. He also asked Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams to defer the state’s rollout of the rule until the next school year.
“While we must continue to adhere to our state’s accountability system, we must also recognize the importance of local control,” Perry said in the letter to Williams. “That is why I am asking you to defer until the 2013-14 school year the requirement that an end-of-course assessment count as 15 percent of a student’s final course grade.”