Intersect Ed

Jan 31 2025 25 ep. 18 mins 15

Intersect Ed Podcast artwork

Where the stories of Texas public education policy and practice meet.

Society & Culture Government Business

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

The 89th Texas Legislative Session: Issues & Insights

Jan 31 2025 42 mins

This episode of Intersect Ed was taped on the morning of Thursday, Jan 30, just a few blocks from the Capitol, where the 89th Texas Legislative Session is already underway. Experts who meet with staffers, legislators, and advocates throughout the state and regularly report on the issues that matter most to public education shared their top insights with a live audience. Together, t

Teacher Trouble: How Texas' Teacher Shortage is Hurting Our Kids

Jan 09 2025 14 mins

In this episode we discuss how Texas state leaders can start the 89th Texas Legislative Session ready to act on essential education policy items and focus on one area you’re likely to hear a lot about as the Session gets underway — how teacher workforce issues, including a shortage of certified teachers, are affecting Texas students.

Special Session: School Finance & Vouchers

Oct 13 2023 15 mins

We’re talking about the special legislative session that began Oct. 9, and the intense financial pressure facing Texas public schools. Gov. Greg Abbott has called state lawmakers back to Austin with strict orders to complete some unfinished business from the regular legislative session that ended back in May. And if you listened to our legislative recap episode, you know there’

Rulemaking: How Agencies Change the Rules of the Game

Sep 06 2023 12 mins

Today, we’re talking about a big change that’s about to wallop Texas school districts. At the end of September, as lawmakers approach an anticipated special session this fall on private school vouchers, about one out of every four public school campuses will see the letter grade that marks their performance in the state’s A-F accountability system drop. What’s happening now

Rethinking the STAAR Test

Aug 07 2023 17 mins

Accountability, and the transparency it brings, is essential. We need to make sure the 5.4 million students in Texas public schools are provided with the tools they need to eventually enter the workforce, and that taxpayer money is being put to good use. This episode brings a superintendent, a school board member, a former teacher, a CEO, and an advocacy leader together to discuss

Recap of the 88th Texas Legislative Session: A Session Out of Balance

Jun 30 2023 20 mins

The 2023 legislative session started with a lot of promise. Lawmakers had a historic $33 billion dollar budget surplus, and there was energy and consensus to address a number of public education issues. Instead, lawmakers failed to give Texas public schools enough funding to even keep up with inflation, much less provide teacher pay raises to help stop the exodus of educators from

Mentoring Teachers to Create High-Quality Classrooms

May 18 2023 13 mins

The formalized practice of having more experienced teachers coach those newer in the profession has the potential to help with a major challenge facing Texas public schools — teacher shortages. It also benefits everyone involved, from the experienced teachers acting as mentors who now have a chance to learn new skills, to the newer teachers they are supporting, and to the student

Teacher Pay: Texas Teachers Deserve a Real Pay Raise

May 08 2023 20 mins

With just a few weeks left in the 88th Legislative Session, lawmakers are deciding how to spend a record-breaking $33 billion surplus, with tens of billions more in estimated growth in revenue over the next two years. And, as the hours creep closer and closer to the last day of the 2023 legislative session, they are not deciding to spend it on teachers. You may have seen headlines

The School Voucher Debate: Texas Rural Communities

Apr 27 2023 21 mins

We're taking on a topic that has become a marquee fight of the 88th Legislature: private school vouchers, which are also known as education savings accounts. On one side, we have our state's two most powerful elected officials, Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who say every parent should get the freedom to decide how to use taxpayer money in educating their

How Much Is Your Student Worth to Texas?

Apr 06 2023 20 mins

What is the amount of money Texas pays to educate a student in public schools? What's known as the basic allotment is the per-student sum the state uses as the foundational building block to determine how much money it will pay to educate a student. Learn why it should be increased in the 88th Texas Legislative Session.