Reining In Emergency Powers
What to know: An important (but imperfect) bill before the Texas Legislature would codify and rein in the emergency powers of state, county and local governments.
The TPPF take: While the bill still needs work, it’s a viable vehicle for ensuring that future emergencies are handled appropriately.
“Texans deserve stronger protections that make clear what powers governments have and do not have during disastrous times. That’s what House Bill 3, the Texas Pandemic Response Act (TPRA), aims to accomplish,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “Let’s state the obvious upfront: the TPRA is not a perfect bill. But without a viable legislative vehicle for reform, no changes will be made to pandemic powers and Texans will be stuck with the confusion and overreach of the past twelve months for the next eighteen.”
For more on emergency powers, click here.
Canceling Culture—and Education
What to know: The San Francisco school district has now canceled even Abraham Lincoln.
The TPPF take: The canceling is just getting started.
“San Francisco schools have until next month to suggest still more names to erase,” says TPPF’s Tom Lindsay. “In the meantime, we might want to reflect on what this country will look like once all the ‘bad’ names, statues, paintings and whatever else have been purged to make history as clean as a whistle—and as factually clear as mud.”
For more on cancel culture, click here.
Online Learning
What to know: Is online instruction the future of education? Not without better policy and some good old-fashioned planning.
The TPPF take: Virtual education programs must shift from emergency response to creating a more sustainable, quality product that will meet the needs of Texas students.
“Within a matter of months, ‘virtual education’ vaulted in 2020 from a niche educational offering used by less than 1% of Texas students to a widespread instructional model offered to students during continuing school closures,” says TPPF’s Emily Sass. “This explosive growth in demand met a supply intentionally constricted through state policy.”
To read a TPPF report on how to improve online learning, click here.