Education tax credit and tax deduction programs help parents afford the education option of their choice (public, private, or homeschool). This paper explains how education tax credits and deductions work, examines constitutional issues, provides state case studies of other successful programs, and recommends that Texas lawmakers create an education tax credit scholarship program.
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...