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 […]
vouchers
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 […]
Voucher Lobby Targets Texas Public Schools
Update: The voucher amendment was authored by state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, and will be offered as part of Senate Bill 1811. The text of the amendment can be found here. *** We have just learned that voucher advocates plan to seek a vote in the Texas House of Representatives tomorrow (Wednesday, May 18) on […]
Poll: Texans Fed Up with Education Wars
Today the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund released results from a statewide survey of what Texans think about the intersection of politics and religion with public schools. We released results from two questions back in May. One showed overwhelming support for putting teachers and scholars, instead of politicians on the State Board of Education, in […]
Voucher Lobby: Still Misleading Texans
Empower Texans (ET), a relatively new and aggressive pro-vouchers group, is continuing the far right’s campaign to undermine confidence in Texas public schools. In May, ET president Michael Quinn Sullivan made statements focused on school spending and the ratio of teachers to non-teachers that are, at best, deliberately misleading. Example: Sullivan noted that there are […]
