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BRIEF: Education spending in Texas has been cut by $1.4 billion this session. In response, the GOP is proposing new legislation that teachers predict will erode many of their rights at work. Representative Kent Grusendorf, chairman of the House Public Education Committee, has authored a proposal to create Texas' first publicly funded school vouchers, which would divert taxpayer money to private schools. This bill has united educators in opposition; most of whom argue it is irresponsible to fund private schools at the expense of public ones during such budget cuts. A similar bill, defeated in the House today, would have provided state funding to Universities and colleges to operate "virtual charter schools." In practice, this would have subsidized student purchases of computer equipment so students could be educated at home by using the Internet. Additional educational proposals to be debated in the coming weeks include legislation that would undermine standardized regulations by no longer making them obligatory. Regulations being deliberated include traditional requirements for teacher certification, and procedures for firing educators. House Bill 859, for example, would permit voters to exempt their districts from many state laws regarding certification, salaries, educator's rights and class-size limits. Proponents of the package, including Governor Rick Perry, defend these measures as increasing local control. Donna New Haschke, of the Texas State Teachers Association, points out what local control means in practice, however. Along with many teacher groups, Haschke believes that without state regulations, many teachers' rights and benefits will disappear, including those mandating state salary schedules, class-size limits and scheduled paid time for class preparation. Teachers groups who are working to prevent the new legislation hope that even if the package passes in the House, it will fail in the Senate. Charles Snider, KPFT News, Houston. E-mail Charles Snider at charles@77002.com . This story was broadcast on April 23, 2003.