The step from demagoguery to enacting real policy change can be remarkably short, and a prime example of this is on full display in Texas right now. In 2003 state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, had this to say about the state’s obligation to provide public education for its citizens: “Where did this idea come from […]
Education
TX Special Session: Public Education at Risk
*UPDATE: Moments after TFN posted this entry on Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, filed a massive private school voucher proposal, which goes by the Orwellian title of “taxpayer savings grants.” The bill number is HB 33 in the newly reordered nomenclature of the special legislative session, but it is not a new idea. It […]
Texas SBOE Redistricting Map Now Law
Yesterday Texas Gov. Rick Perry allowed a new redistricting map for the State Board of Education to become law without his signature — and far-right activists are enraged. The Legislature is trying to “destroy the conservatives” on the state board, one right-wing blogger has bizarrely shrieked. Board conservatives are being “targeted for extinction,” right-wing gadfly […]
Budget ‘Mess’ Delays Texas House Action
The Texas House of Representatives has now delayed consideration of important fiscal legislation until Thursday morning — action that also delays consideration of possible amendments on private school vouchers and sex education. The reason for the delay, apparently, is deep disagreement between the House and Senate on budget matters and among Republicans over hundreds of […]
Texas House Could Vote on Sex Ed Today
Today responsible, evidence-based sex education could get a vote on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives. State Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, has filed his Education Works! bill, HB 1624, as an amendment to important fiscal legislation pending in the House. The amendment, which the Texas Freedom Network supports, would direct school districts […]
