FORT WORTH, Texas — Public school leaders across Texas are waiting to learn more about what will happen to legislation supporting school vouchers.
The legislation would open doors for parents of students attending public schools giving them a choice to switch to a private school using taxpayer funds.
Not everyone agrees with Gov. Greg Abbott's school choice plan, including the superintendent at Fort Worth ISD.
"We desperately ask one thing and one thing only to fully fund our schools," said FWISD Superintendent Angelica Ramsey said.
Ramsey and her team serve nearly 75,000 students on 140 campuses with the help of state funding. So, she said she's not too happy about the school voucher bill on the special session agenda right now.
During her one-on-one interview, Ramsey shared what she would say to lawmakers in Austin who have voted or are scheduled to vote on the voucher bill during special session.
"I'd remind them that the state of Texas is in the bottom 10 in funding for public education," said Ramsey, "What we've never been able to get is full funding, and our children deserve that. Our staff deserve that."
During the Texas Legislature special session, the Senate already passed its version of school vouchers. It's in danger of failing in the house.
Abbott has traveled across Texas promoting school choice. He is also sharing on social media how much parent support he has for the voucher program. The school voucher choice would give parents up to $8,000 in taxpayer money, which they could use at a private school to pay for uniforms, textbooks, tutoring, and even transportation.
"We're looking at diverting public funds into private schools, and that isn't what the Texas Constitution says," Ramsey said.
Ramsey said she believes in school choice but not at the cost of public schools, which offer far more to students.
"There isn't another school district, charter or private that provides free breakfast and lunch and free after school for our students and free transportation and hundreds of programs to choose from," Ramsey said.
Ramsey said she is proud of some of the brags they have a school district.
"This last Spring, we had almost 19,000 students taking an advanced academic's course with about 500 students receive their associate degree before their high school diploma'" Ramsey. "I don't care really what the state has to say about how we're doing."
Ramsey also talked about the future of the number of school buildings, school safety and why she believes FWISD test scores may not reflect the district accurately when it comes to their learning curve and how they stack up against other districts locally, statewide and nationwide.
"I would love us to reframe our conversations around standardized testing. We serve a very different demographic. More than 40% of our students in Fort Worth are bilingual. At the secondary level, it goes up to almost 70%," said Ramsey, "That means that our students are learning a second language, acquiring a second language and the content. So sometimes when we test all in English, we get one data point."
Right now, there are no plans on the state level to change standardized testing to accommodate students based on first and second language.
FWISD is currently going through an inclusive master facility plan and a strategic planning process. Right now, there is no plan to close any of their campuses. However, based on city growth, the district hopes to plan what it would need building wise for grade levels and populations numbers.
Ramsey said she prioritizes school safety at the top of her list for teachers, staff and students.
"Safety is always the number-one priority, and we continue to work on safety as we work through the strategic plan," she said.