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Connecting today’s news with the research & opinion you need.

Back to School

 

What to Know: The Dallas Morning News editorial board is praising DeSoto ISD for envisioning new ways to do school—working harder to meet the needs of individual students.

 

The TPPF Take: DeSoto ISD is rethinking how we view schools and education—and that’s good for students.

 

“Kids don’t learn merely by sitting at a desk in a classroom,” says TPPF’s Stephanie Matthews. “We have seen extraordinary results from kids who are learning in more flexible environments, where those who struggle with a task or concept can spend more time on it, while kids who master it can move on to the next challenge. As the Dallas Morning News points out, ‘With more than half of Texas third graders unable to read on grade level, it’s time to change what’s normal.’”
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COLLEGE COSTS

 

What to Know: As colleges move online, parents and students are demanding price cuts and refunds, and ask whether higher education is being reduced to a “glorified Skype.”

 

The TPPF Take: Colleges were already raising tuition far beyond the value received by students.

 

“Years before COVID-19 happened, tuition hyperinflation and historically high student-loan debt had reached crisis levels,” says TPPF’s Tom Lindsay. “The advent of the pandemic has only heightened the urgency of the need to come to grips with making college affordable once again. Will Texas public universities follow Purdue’s example of freezing tuition for the upcoming fall?”
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A Parent’s Rights

 

What to Know: A Texas father won a victory for all parents at the Texas Supreme Court recently. TPPF filed an amicus brief in support and joined in the arguments at the Texas Supreme Court.


The TPPF Take: Chris Clay’s case reaffirms that parental rights are constitutionally protected.

 

“A lower court said that Chris—a father whose fitness has never been in question—would have to share custody of his young daughter with an unrelated man,” says TPPF’s Robert Henneke. “The Texas Supreme Court correctly ruled that parents should have the presumptive fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children.”