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.
Higher Education
Student-Athletes Are Not Employees
College athletics is approaching a crossroads. After years of rapid, sweeping change in student-athlete compensation practices that have left a patchwork of state regulation in its wake, some in Congress now propose to reclassify collegiate student‑athletes across the country as employees of their universities. While we sympathize with the desire to provide certainty and uniformity to student-athletes and universities, and although we see the need for some revenue-sharing framework, workplace regulation...
May 19, 2026