Abby McCloskey, October 18, 2023

I love politics. I’ve devoted my career to public policy change, especially changes to benefit children and families (and yes, I believe this requires more public funding for kids, full stop). But this note made me sad and, as a parent, yet again frustrated.

Here’s why: DISD is the second-largest school district in Texas. The families it serves are an incredibly diverse population, ethnically, racially, financially and, one presumes, politically. I disagree with many things Gov. Greg Abbott does and says. But the partisan undertones in this email are alienating to families who aren’t lockstep progressives. So too is the tone. “They’ve scheduled this special session during the school year in hopes that we’ll be too busy teaching children to speak up for them.”