Testimony of Ricky Dobbs, PhD, before the SBOE

Ban Foreign Funding in Ballot Propositions

Despite federal laws prohibiting foreign funding of candidate elections, foreign individuals and entities are still able to fund campaigns related to state and local ballot initiatives in multiple jurisdictions, creating a loophole that hostile foreign actors can exploit to influence American elections. Key points: Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to candidate campaigns or...

Hijacked: How the Bond Process is Being Used Against Taxpayers

School bonds are one of the main instruments contributing to Texas’s local government debt, which is currently over half a trillion dollars. Key points: As of 2026, school bond debt in Texas is over $236 billion. In May of 2023, Texas passed 79% of the 245 bond proposals put on the ballot, costing taxpayers $22.9...

High Demand Shows Texas Families Want More Educational Freedom

The rollout of Texas’ Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) has already become a major success. When state officials opened applications on February 4, demand poured in at an unprecedented rate, with tens of thousands of families rushing to apply. Early figures show the scale of that demand. Within just hours of launch, more than 20,000 applications...