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From Joey Cardenas Subject: State Commissioner of Education Robert Scott Announces Resignation: Texas AFT Legislative Hotline

TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2012 * State Commissioner of Education Robert Scott Announces Resignation * Doubling Student-Loan Rates, Hindering College Access: Have Your Say State Commissioner of Education Resigns: Robert Scott, the Rick Perry appointee who has presided over the Texas Education Agency and has administered state pre-K/12 education policy for the past five years, on Tuesday announced his resignation, effective July 2. There's no word yet from Gov. Perry on a successor. Commissioner Scott has been a loyal lieutenant of the governor, but lately he has made headlines by denouncing the current excessive emphasis on standardized tests as a "perversion" of the original intent. Scott also has linked testing excesses to the development of an educational equivalent of the "military-industrial" complex; in effect, he was contending that private entities with a vested interest in continuing current testing excesses have been gaining undue influence over education policy. Scott also recently used his authority from the legislature to postpone counting results of the new state end-of-course exams as part of the student's course grade. For this deviation from Texas testing orthodoxy Scott earned a denunciation from Texas Association of Business chieftain Bill Hammond, a self-anointed guardian of state standards, who called Scott a "cheerleader for mediocrity."

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Have Your Say on Threat of Student-Loan Rate Hike: College students are graduating in a rising sea of debt, with interest rates for federal student loans set to double from 3.4 to 6.8 percent on July 1 if no action is taken by Congress. The effect will be felt beyond current students and those about to enter college. It also will hurt families struggling to find a way to help these students gain access to higher education. AFT is collecting stories about what keeping college affordable means for you, your family, and those you educate and serve. Will you share your story? A high-quality public education is the gateway to the middle class, and preserving the American dream means keeping college affordable and accessible. Share your story: How would doubling interest rates for student loans affect you, your family or those you serve? You also can write to your two U.S. senators about the threat of a doubling of student-loan interest rates. Just click here: http://action.aft.org/c/44/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=4291.

Texas AFT represents more than 65,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, support personnel, and higher-education employees across the state. Texas AFT is affiliated with the 1.5-million-member American Federation of Teachers.

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