AUSTIN, Texas(AP) _ Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott says Washington has “painted a target on Texas.”
He’s talking about a U.S. House measure approved this week that cuts state education officials out of the decision making that will determine how more than $800 million in federal aid to schools will be spent in Texas.
If the measure is approved in the Senate, a special caveat just for Texas means the money will bypass state officials and go straight to school districts.
Democrats in Congress said they cut state officials out of the decision making because of the way Texas lawmakers spent $3.2 billion in federal stimulus dollars last year.
But Scott says he believes Washington is punishing Texas for refusing to participate in some key Obama administration education initiatives.