Charter schools, established in Texas in 1995, compose a small but influential sector of Texas public education. Now in existence over 25 years, open-enrollment charter schools served approximately 336,900 students (or roughly 6% of Texas public education students) in 2019-20. Tens of thousands of students are on charter school waitlists across the state, according to early state reports.
Higher Education
Who Teaches the Teachers?
Every state requires public school teachers to be “certified,” and most of that certification runs through a university school of education. New research by TPPF’s Kate Bierly asks a simple question: is that credential actually worth anything? The answer, backed by decades of data, is no. Teacher training used to happen in “normal schools.” The practical, two-year...
July 23, 2026