Here They Come Again

Here They Come Again

What to know: The city of Plano is, again, considering raising taxes to pay for “additional spending needs.” The last time city officials deliberated on setting a tax rate, the average homesteader’s tax bill jumped by 13.4%.

The TPPF take: City Hall taxes too much.

“The city of Plano has long shaken down taxpayers. From 2015 to 2024, the city’s property tax levy grew by 65%. Yet over the same period, its population increased just 8%. There’s a big discrepancy here,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “Where is the fiscal discipline?”

For more on local taxes, click here.

Knowledge and Skills

What to know: The Texas State Board of Education will meet today to vote on the new Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards for Social Studies in Texas public schools.

The TPPF take: The current Social Studies TEKS are profoundly inadequate.

“The SBOE has endorsed a framework with a radical idea: actually teaching history,” says TPPF’s Matthew McCormick. “The new K-8 framework places a greater emphasis on foundational knowledge building in Texas, U.S., and World History. In 3rd through 7th grades, students learn World, U.S., and Texas history as a comprehensive narrative. Eighth grade is a Texas Capstone course that synthesizes the knowledge students learned in previous years to see how various influences combined to form this great state.”

For more on TEKs, click here.

High Demand

What to know: The Dallas Morning News reports that demand for the new Texas Education Freedom Accounts school choice program has far outstripped funding put in place by the Legislature.

The TPPF take: Texas’ new school choice program is a huge success.

“This overwhelming response is not just a policy win, it is a powerful signal that parents are eager for options,” says TPPF’s Brian Phillips. “They want the ability to choose schools that best meet their children’s unique needs, whether academic, cultural, or philosophical. Texas has taken a bold step in empowering families, but it must not stop here.”

For more on educational freedom, click here.