Black Families Want School Choice
What to know: “Black voters have repeatedly expressed support for school choice, with nearly 80% endorsing policies like education savings accounts and vouchers,” the Wall Street Journal notes.
The TPPF take: White Democrats are the only segment of Americans without majority support for school choice.
“School choice is the civil rights movement of our time,” says TPPF’s Richard Johnson. “Few things matter more to parents than ensuring their children have a high-quality education that equips them with the tools and experiences necessary to succeed. It is time for Texas to give poor and working class families the assistance they need to send their children to the school of their choice.”
For more on school choice, click here.
Bird Watching
What to know: The endangered status of the Golden-cheeked Warbler was the topic of a federal hearing last week. TPPF attorneys represented the Texas General Land Office.
The TPPF take: The bird’s status was supposed to be reevaluated nearly a decade ago, by order of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to do so. In response to a lawsuit filed by TPPF, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Service to proceed without delay, providing instructions regarding how to evaluate the status of the bird under the Endangered Species Act, which the Service failed to follow.
“The Fish and Wildlife Service’s refusal to comply with the Fifth Circuit’s order is inexplicable and is hands-down illegal,” says TPPF’s Ted Hadzi-Antich. “The Service has to comply with the law just like the rest of us, and this lawsuit will show the Service that it cannot with impunity thumb its nose at federal court orders.”
For more on the Golden-cheeked Warbler, click here.
Sermon on the What?
What to know: A television news report on Texas’ new high quality instructional materials (HQIM) cites Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mound” as a concern. It was actually the Sermon on the Mount.
The TPPF take: That mistake shows a level of cultural illiteracy that demonstrates the need for HQIM.
“Did they miss it because they don’t know that the Sermon on the Mount is widely considered to be the most famous sermon ever delivered?” asks TPPF’s Sherry Sylvester. “If so, that is precisely the reason the new public school curriculum is necessary. To give the Sermon on the Mount a modern cohort, it was the ‘I have a dream’ speech of its time.”
For more on high-quality instructional materials, click here.