Lorie Barzano’s testimony in Texas on parent trigger
TX House Public Education Committee Hearing
Public Testimony of Lorie Barzano
Good afternoon/Evening, Committee members, guests. My name is Lorie Barzano, a public school parent, taxpayer and Chair of the Coalition to Strengthen Austin Urban Schools (SAUS), a local affiliate of Parents Across America. We are a parent led group committed to quality, accessible Public Education for all children. As parents, we actively work to support our neighborhood schools and make a concerted effort to educate ourselves about education issues and policies affecting the public education system.
We have come to recognize that “trigger” laws masquerading as parent empowerment bills actually enable the elimination of local public schools and silence the voice of parents in
governing the charter schools established in their wake. In this light, I speak on behalf of Coalition SAUS parents to urge you to oppose HB300 & HB2976.
governing the charter schools established in their wake. In this light, I speak on behalf of Coalition SAUS parents to urge you to oppose HB300 & HB2976.
As parents, we recognize these bills as classic cases of bait-and-switch. Marketed under a guise of family empowerment and parental choice, once implemented, they actually handover our
neighborhood public schools to the control of private charter operators, which afford families fewer choices
neighborhood public schools to the control of private charter operators, which afford families fewer choices