Three governors’ races, three tests for education reform
With the midterms days away, all signs point toward Democrats carrying one, if not both, houses of Congress, an outcome that would be good for civic health and hygiene but could complicate education reform at the federal level. The stakes may be even greater in states, where the lion’s share of education policy is made and most education dollars are spent. Governors wield outsized influence, appointing key leaders, shaping policy agendas, and coaxing reluctant legislatures to act. Of the 36 governors’ races on tap, three will be particularly consequential for ed reform: Texas, Ohio, and Oregon. Each state has experienced extended periods of one-party control. The elections could send their education systems in sharply different directions.
Texas
Nowhere is the divide over education policy starker than in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott is seeking a fourth four-year term and Democrats haven’t won a statewide office in more than 30 years. Abbott is locked in a surprisingly tight race with State Representative Gina Hinojosa, a former Austin ISD school board president. A skeptic of standardized testing, school choice, and state takeovers, Hinojosa has pledged to fire Texas’s long-serving and effective education commissioner, Mike Morath, on “day one.” Her proposals for what would replace the current approach are less developed, but Hinojosa’s stated priorities point toward a sharp break with Abbott and Morath: a retreat from the current testing and accountability regime, an end to the state’s nascent education savings account (ESA) program, and more deference to local districts. She would, however, face stiff headwinds from a Republican-controlled legislature.
