Groups counter ed leader's challenge
AUSTIN (KXAN) - The response to Education Commissioner Robert Scott’s call for the business community to stop hiring dropouts has gotten a swift response from both the Texas Association of Business and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The dust-up comes as a response to an article in the Dallas Morning News today. In the article, TAB President Bill Hammond calls for more accurate dropout figures. Scott defended the agency’s dropout numbers and suggested the business community could address the dropout problem by voluntarily stopping the hiring of dropouts, forcing those students to go back to school or pursue online courses to finish a diploma.
Scott’s strategy is not entirely unique. Some urban districts in the Houston area have urged employers to turn away teen-agers who don’t have a diploma and ask them to return to school.
Scott’s point, however, did not go over well with TAB and ACLU, odd allies on the dropout question. The ACLU pointed out even the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Education Agency can’t agree on the same numbers. The most recent report out of the Texas Education Agency pegs the dropout rate at 12 percent.
“According to the Texas Higher Education Board, 39 percent of Texas seventh graders do not make it to high school graduation,” said ACLU policy director Rebecca Bernhardt. “All Texas education leaders should be asking why we are losing almost 40 percent of our young people between 7th and 12th grades. As a state, as an economy, as a free people, we cannot afford it.”
Hammond said, in his statement, that it would be irresponsible for the business community to turn its back on dropouts and dramatically increase the unemployment rate.
“A job can be the instrument of change necessary to get kids back into the classroom or on track to receiving a GED. As the largest business association in Texas, TAB knows the challenges facing the employers to find an educated workforce,” Hammond said. “The Association has long been an advocate for an honest assessment of the dropout ratings and a transparent accountability system so we can identify the challenges that obstruct our children from receiving a first-class education system.”
Hammond called on Scott to “retract his anti-business challenge today. While Scott’s intentions might be good, closing the door on dropouts would not be.”
“We must work together for real solutions to the obstacles we face,” Hammond said. “Taking a cue from Washington, I’d be happy to sit down with Commissioner Scott for a cold beer anytime to discuss how to best meet the needs of our children and the job-creators of Texas.”
