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

Countdown to Policy Orientation 2020

What to Know: Democratic presidential candidates are divided on the value of public charter schools, even in areas where traditional schools are failing.

The TPPF Take: District and charter schools working together is the topic of a break-out session at the upcoming Policy Orientation, slated for Jan. 22-24.

“In these partnerships, charter schools are given autonomy in exchange for academic results and innovative programming,” says TPPF’s Emily Sass. “Overall, charters help provide a crucial influence on education in Texas—competition. Competition drives growth, encourages innovation, and improves results across the board.”
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Makes Sense

What to Know: A former Obama official says poor families shouldn’t pay higher energy prices to pay for electric vehicle charging stations—which mostly benefit the wealthy.

The TPPF Take: Like most other “Green New Deal” policies, subsidies and surcharges for green technologies will harm the poor.

“Higher energy prices disproportionately affect middle- and lower-income families, who pay a higher percentage of their income for electricity and gasoline,” says TPPF’s Jason Isaac. “The Green New Deal is a bad deal for Texas, and the skyrocketing costs and lost jobs aren’t worth the multibillion-dollar expense.”

Let Them Speak

What to Know: Some local officials don’t like a new state law “allowing people to speak at their meetings.” One county attorney even complained to the Texas Attorney General that: “One member of the public wanted to comment on 17 of the 21 items.”

The TPPF Take: The public should have a say about everything its government does.

“Some local elected officials want to limit public input. That is anti-democratic,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “If cities, counties, and school districts dislike the public being able to comment on so much, then they should limit their activities so that fewer items are on the agenda.”