Empowering Parents
What to Know: Voters have once again made it clear they want to empower parents. They consistently chose candidates who support education transparency and choice in the run-offs.
The TPPF Take: We saw that in the spring primary election in Texas. That was true in every part of Texas.
“While some paint education choice as an enemy of rural Texas, voters in those areas do not buy it: the average support for education choice in over 200 counties that have less than 100,000 Texans is still 88%,” says TPPF’s Michael Barba. “These rural voters likely approve their local schools and are also conservatives who see that competition is good for schools and believe that parents should have the most say in their child’s education.”
For more on parent empowerment, click here.
Another ISD Caught Red-Handed?
What to Know: Yet another Texas ISD appears to have engaged in electioneering. Newly uncovered documents suggest the Belton ISD superintendent emailed all principals telling them to “have a strong push with staff and parents for early voting tomorrow and for election day” and disclosed how many staff had already voted.
The controversy is eerily similar to one in Northside ISD, which is currently being investigated by the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Attorney General’s office.
The TPPF Take: Far too many school districts are using deceptive and illicit means to promote the passage of bonds.
“Texans expect their school district leaders to tell the truth and obey the law; but increasingly, it appears as though many are falling short of those basic expectations. The growing number of ISDs suspected of engaging in school bond electioneering means that we need strong, new state laws to punish bad behavior and promote public confidence. Texans deserve better,” says TPPF’s James Quintero.
For more on bonds and electioneering, click here.
We Called It
What to Know: A bill that would allow for “safe” and legal drug injection sites has been approved by the California assembly and will soon head to the Governor’s desk.
The TPPF Take: Experimenting with safe injection sites in CA when her major cities are in complete peril is an invitation to further peril.
“Who is served by safe injection sites? Drug dealers who want easy access to the highly motivated customer base is the only population that benefits,” says TPPF’s Michele Steeb. “Dealers congregate near the safe injection site in Vancouver, the controversial program after which these are modeled.”
For more on injection sites, click here.