The Texas Public Policy Foundation recently hosted a panel on charter schools entitled “Innovation, Educational Excellence, and the Role of Charters.” Panelists included Senator Florence Shapiro, Chair of the Senate Education Committee; Linda Bridges, President of the Texas Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers; Tom Torkelson; CEO and Founder of IDEA public schools; and Paul Vallas; Superintendent of the Louisiana Recovery School District. This document lists the main points of each panelist.
K-12 Education
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...
February 12, 2026