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osodtexas.bsky.social
Our Schools Our Democracy
@osodtexas.bsky.social
80 followers 110 following 150 posts
Our Schools Our Democracy is a Texas-based nonpartisan and independent nonprofit dedicated to supporting Texas public schools & making charter schools more transparent & accountable to the public.

Join us: bit.ly/OSODsignup
Learn more: linktr.ee/osodtexas
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osodtexas.bsky.social
Did you miss our November newsletter? Catch up on our latest news and updates now at bit.ly/OSODNewsletter, and make sure to sign up for our monthly newsletters!
The header reads October Highlights and is bolded to the right of an orange cartoon pumpkin. The bullets read We updated our voucher webpage to share regular updates on the latest news, key facts, and a timeline to track implementation. Along with concerned Fort Worth parents and community members, we raised the alarm about the government takeover of Fort Worth ISD - despite the recent closure of a low scoring TEA-approved charter school. We’ve been out in the community talking with Texans about education privatization and the fight for our public schools. At the bottom is the link to learn more: bit.ly/OSODNewsletter. The background of the post is a semi-transparent collage of OSOD staff in action at community presentations and events.
November 3, 2025 at 4:30 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
The state takeover of Fort Worth ISD comes despite the recent closure of a TEA-approved charter school which was the lowest scoring Fort Worth ISD elementary school within 3 miles of its campuses.

#txed
The text reads "Commissioner Morath’s handpicked charter school, Rocketship Public Schools, closed in June with F ratings three years in a row. Rocketship had the lowest STAAR scores of all the Fort Worth ISD elementary schools within 3 miles of its campuses...If Commissioner Morath can’t manage to oversee his own charter in Fort Worth, how can he hope to oversee an entire school district almost 100 times as large? This takeover doesn’t make sense." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between light blue lines.
October 27, 2025 at 11:15 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
❓ How do our state $$ flow from the Legislature to private schools?
🧐 What's a certified educational assistance organization & why are they getting $26m?
🔍 Who decides if a student will be admitted to private school (hint: not parents)?

osod.org/take-action-...

#txed
The text reads: Who Controls What. Learn how voucher money and decision-making power flows through: Texas Legislature Texas Comptroller Certified Educational Assistance Organizations Texas Education Agency Private Schools Education Service Providers and Vendors of Education Products There is a popout box that reads: Parents, policymakers, and the public deserve transparency with the $1 billion-plus of state funds being spent on this program. But the voucher law does not require public audits. The word "public" is underlined for emphasis. At the bottom is the Our Schools Our Democracy logo. The background is faded tiled screenshots of Texans testifying against the voucher bill. On a cream colored box there is the Our Schools Our Democracy logo above the text Learn more and get involved above a red box with the link to OSOD's voucher resource: https://osod.org/take-action-against-vouchers/ The background is faded tiled screenshots of Texans testifying against the voucher bill.
October 25, 2025 at 6:01 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Texans deserve transparency into the $1b+ voucher program to prevent questionable spending like:
🧱 $1m on Legos (AZ)
🎢 State funds spent on Disney & Sea World passes (FL)

Learn more & get involved: osod.org/take-action-...

#txed
The text reads: Taxpayer Alert. The voucher will not cover tuition and fees at many private schools. A private school participating in the voucher program cannot be held subject to federal and state laws that protect the rights of students with disabilities in public schools. Up to 3% of the budget can be spent on Comptroller administrative costs (up to $30 million in the first two years). New York-based company Odyssey will receive $26 million in state funds to administer the program for the first two years, with ~$1.2 million subcontracted to market vouchers. At the bottom is the Our Schools Our Democracy logo. The background is faded tiled screenshots of Texans testifying against the voucher bill. On a cream colored box there is the Our Schools Our Democracy logo above the text Learn more and get involved above a red box with the link to OSOD's voucher resource: https://osod.org/take-action-against-vouchers/ The background is faded tiled screenshots of Texans testifying against the voucher bill.
October 23, 2025 at 11:03 AM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Did you miss last spring's hearing where Texans stayed at the Capitol for 22 hours to testify against vouchers? Need to catch up on the years of data on voucher failures in other states?

Our Schools Our Democracy has you covered: osod.org/take-action-...

#txed
The text reads: Texas Vouchers 101. Start date: 2026-27 school year. Eligibility: All Texas children who are eligible to attend public schools can apply for a voucher if they provide proof that they are a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawfully admitted to the U.S. Priority: The program establishes priority categories based on disability status and income. No upper income limit: Despite prioritization, families of all income levels will be able to take advantage of vouchers if there are not enough applicants in priority categories. Cost: $10,330+ per private school student; $2,000 per homeschool student; up to $30,000 per student with disabilities. At the bottom is the Our Schools Our Democracy logo. The background is faded tiled screenshots of Texans testifying against the voucher bill. On a cream colored box there is the Our Schools Our Democracy logo above the text Learn more and get involved above a red box with the link to OSOD's voucher resource: https://osod.org/take-action-against-vouchers/ The background is faded tiled screenshots of Texans testifying against the voucher bill.
October 21, 2025 at 12:00 AM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Vouchers may be law but Texans haven't stopped fighting for our public schools 💪

Our Schools Our Democracy has created a new online resource to help you track the voucher rollout: osod.org/take-action-against-vouchers/

#txed
On a cream colored box there is the Our Schools Our Democracy logo above the text Learn more and get involved above a red box with the link to OSOD's voucher resource: https://osod.org/take-action-against-vouchers/ The background is faded tiled screenshots of Texans testifying against the voucher bill.
October 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
The Comptroller has chosen Odyssey to run TX’s voucher program.

But check receipts (& not just the up to $50m in state funds that we could pay Odyssey just in the next 2 yrs).

Odyssey has an alarming record of mismanagement, delayed payments, & inflated costs in multiple states.

buff.ly/BuV0D4w
The text reads "Given Odyssey’s track record of operational mismanagement and misuse of state funds in much smaller voucher programs, Texans should sound the alarm about the Comptroller’s decision to entrust Odyssey with $1 billion of our taxpayer dollars and the educational outcomes of our children." The text is centered between two oversized red quotation marks. At the top is a red Texas centered between light blue lines. At the bottom is an attribution for the text from Maggie Stern, OSOD's Director of Community Engagement.
October 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Did you miss our October newsletter? Catch up on our latest news and updates now at bit.ly/OSODNewsletter, and make sure to sign up at our website for our monthly newsletters!

#txed
The background is a half-transparent collage of photos of OSOD testifying and at community events. In the center is text on a cream-colored background that reads "September highlights" next a red apple graphic and then bullet points that read: We testified to the State Board of Education about poor performance among new charter campuses. Ten of the 39 charters approved from 2013 to 2023 have already closed – leading to disruption and instability for thousands of Texas families. We called for public transparency at the recent hearing on proposed rules for the voucher program. We partnered with Northside ISD, Northside AFT, and San Antonio Councilman Ric Galvan for a public education forum to share the good work happening in Northside’s public schools. At the bottom is red text that reads Learn more: bit.ly/OSODNewsletter.
October 2, 2025 at 4:45 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
In June, the Commissioner named TEA’s filter for recommending new charters: “Is this gonna be an A- or a B-campus when it runs? It’s got to be good. Period.”

See the track record among newer campuses approved by the Commissioner: osod.org/osod-testifi...
A chart of charters approved by TEA Commissioner/SBOE between 2013-2023. The header summarizes that "newer charter schools earned 35 Fs and 16 Ds out of 87 A-F academic accountability ratings (59% Ds and Fs). More than half of these charter schools were rated D or F in 2025 alone." The chart shows 10 of the 39 charters highlighted in yellow, meaning that they are already closed.
September 11, 2025 at 8:32 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
This week, Our Schools Our Democracy testified to the State Board of Education on alarming trends among newer Texas charter campuses: underperformance, under-enrollment, and high rates of closure.

#txed
September 11, 2025 at 8:32 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
🚨 Action Alert! A Congressional House Subcommittee is meeting TODAY to consider the Trump admin's proposed $12 billion cuts to public schools, including Title I and IDEA funds. Email now to demand no cuts for students and full funding for our schools: buff.ly/XrmVNoc @npeaction.bsky.social
The header reads "Action Alert" to the right of a megaphone icon. The text reads "The Trump administration is pushing a budget for 2026 that cuts $12 billion from public schools and funnels more money to the federal charter school program. Raise your voice for our students today as a Congressional House Subcommittee meets to discuss the budget.
September 2, 2025 at 6:35 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
🔎 Find out how much funding your district could lose under proposed federal budget cuts at edlawcenter.org/research/tru...

🗣️ Then call your Members of Congress and tell them to stop the cuts and fund our schools!
A graphic entitled Reclaim the Schools. Stop the Cuts. It describes how the federal government is trying to cut $12 billion from public education and lists all the programs that could be cut, including six special education grants, teacher recruitment and training, and community schools. The background colors are bright pink and orange with text in cream colored boxes.
August 29, 2025 at 4:45 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Congress can protect our students and stop proposed budget cuts to public education. Tell your Members of Congress: Let our kids learn! No cuts to public schools!

bit.ly/loveschools
The graphic is a set of red boxes showing the amount of money that the Trump Administration is proposing to cut from a series of programs. The list of programs: programs that support English Language Learners ($890 million cut), teacher recruitment training ($220 million cut), college access and preparation ($1.6 billion), community schools ($150 million), migrant education ($428 million), and civil rights enforcement ($49 million).
August 19, 2025 at 8:31 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
💪 Strong schools = strong communities 💪

But the proposed federal budget cuts $12b from public school programs like afterschool & summer programs, arts & technology classes, emergency preparedness, and more.

Find out how much your district could lose: edlawcenter.org/research/tru...
A graphic showing how much funding Texas would lose under the proposed federal K12 budget cuts in 2026. Texas will lose $1,763,695,078 in federal funding, which is the equivalent of 1,184 first year teachers, 176,110 Chromebooks, and 26,603 afterschool slots. This information is provided by the Education Law Center and the Education Justice Research and Organizing Collaborative. Using the link in the post, community members can find out how much their district or state will lose under these proposed cuts.
August 14, 2025 at 4:45 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
🔎 Increasing charter school accountability and oversight
🛡️ Protecting Texas public schools from privatization
⚖️ Ending different rules for charter schools

Read our full legislative & SBOE recap at bit.ly/OSODRecapReport
A list of major accomplishments categorized by increasing charter school accountability and oversight, protecting Texas public schools from privatization, and ending different rules for charter schools. The background is a light blue rectangle with rounded edges, with a red shadow.
July 30, 2025 at 4:45 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Public district schools serve every student - including the many students who leave or are pushed out of charters.
A line graph titled IDEA Public Schools in El Paso enrollment in its first three graduating classes. It shows the classes of 2025, 2026, and 2027 charted from 2018-2019 to 2024-2025. All three classes have a gradual rise in enrollment over the first one to two years followed by a dropoff every following year.
July 24, 2025 at 2:53 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Have you signed up for our upcoming recap webinar yet? Join us on Tuesday July 29th to learn more about changes to Texas charter schools after the 89th Legislative Session and the latest charter school application cycle! Sign up at bit.ly/OSODrecap.

#txed #txlege
The background is a faded photo of the Texas Capitol looking up at the dome from the ground. At the right of the photo is a bright red box with white text reading: "Join Our Schools Our Democracy for a webinar on Tuesday, July 29th at 6p to learn about: our landmark report on 30 years of failed charter policy, our advocacy to increase charter accountability during the 89th legislative session, our organizing against school privatization during the charter application cycle." At the bottom of the red box is a dark purple oval with white text with the event registration link: bit.ly/OSODrecap. At the bottom of the page is a dark purple rectangle stretching across the bottom of the photo with the OSOD logo, webpage, and social handles in white.
July 22, 2025 at 8:31 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Join Our Schools Our Democracy on Tuesday, July 29th at 6p for a webinar to learn about changes to Texas charter schools after the 89th Legislative Session and the latest charter school application cycle.

🔗 bit.ly/OSODrecap

#txed #txlege
The background is a faded photo of the Texas Capitol looking up at the dome from the ground. At the left of the photo is a dark purple box with white text reading: "Join Our Schools Our Democracy on Tuesday, July 29th at 6p to learn about changes to Texas charter schools in the recent legislative session and charter application cycle." At the bottom of the purple box is a bright red oval with white text with the event registration link: bit.ly/OSODrecap. At the bottom of the page is a red rectangle stretching across the bottom of the photo with the OSOD logo, webpage, and social handles.
July 15, 2025 at 3:51 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
TX Teacher of the Year Christine Mihealsick spoke to the State Board of Education about the certified teacher crisis in our schools.

Did you know that Texas charter schools lag far behind public school districts, employing 49% uncertified teachers?

#txed
July 8, 2025 at 8:32 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
New Texas charter schools approved by the Texas Education Agency and the State Board of Education consistently overpromise and underdeliver for Texas students and families.

#txed
A chart titled Consistent underperformance among new Texas charter schools. There are 21 charter schools listed that were approved between 2016-2021. 17 of them were D- or F-rated (highlighted in red) in 2023. At the bottom is the note that four charter schools closed in 2025.
June 29, 2025 at 8:31 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Our Schools Our Democracy testified this week about concerns with the unproven educational quality & lack of public transparency of new charter school applicants. Watch our full testimony and find our full statement at osod.org/the-texas-st...

#txed
June 27, 2025 at 8:32 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Read our full press release at osod.org/as-texas-cha... and then take action at our SBOE Action Center: bit.ly/OurSchoolsSBOE
The Our Schools Our Democracy logo is at the top of the page above a headline that reads "As Texas charter schools continue to underperform, Texas considers approving new charter applicants." Below the headline is a black Texas outline with 6 red flags where new charter schools plan to locate. The background of the image is ombre red. The quote reads "New Texas charter schools consistently over-promise and under-deliver for Texas students and their families. Over a third of Texas charters approved since 1995 have closed – yet the Texas Education Agency routinely approves new charter operators without fully investigating the need. The resulting instability disrupts Texas students and families while stripping vital resources from our neighborhood public schools." It is centered in the page between two oversize red quotation marks.
June 19, 2025 at 4:45 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Next week the TX State Board of Education will vote on 6 new charter school applicants - despite 30 yrs of data showing that Texas families have paid a steep price for an inefficient second education system. Check out bit.ly/OurSchoolsSBOE to contact your SBOE member.
June 18, 2025 at 8:32 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Watch Senator West call out the inequity of the teacher poaching allotment in the Senate version of HB 2.

#txlege #txed
May 19, 2025 at 8:33 PM
osodtexas.bsky.social
Also under HB 2, charters STILL wouldn't be required to hire certified teachers! We know that a well trained teacher improves student outcomes - so why aren't charter schools held to the same standard?

Thank you to Sen. @menendez4texas.bsky.social for raising this question!

#txlege #txed
May 19, 2025 at 4:59 PM