Higher Taxes on the Horizon
What to know: The State Board of Education will soon meet to adopt new social studies standards, amid pushback from leftist groups.
The TPPF take: The new standards will improve education in Texas.
“This revision a major reform to how history is taught to Texas students, replacing a model where Texas, American, and World history were presented as isolated subjects and out of chronological order,” says TPPF’s Matthew McCormick. “The new framework teaches historical events in the order in which they occurred, enabling students to create a mental model of history, understand cause and effect, and analyze how historical themes built on each other over time.”
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Education Gains
What to know: Even talk show host Bill Mahr is talking about the “Mississippi Miracle,” the state’s dramatic improvement in reading scores.
The TPPF take: The Mississippi Miracle is really just a return to science-based reading education.
“In Texas, fourth-grade reading outcomes have stagnated over the past decade, and a significant share of students advance beyond third grade without mastering foundational reading skills,” says TPPF’s Cameron Abrams. “While Texas has implemented important reforms including science-of-reading training through Reading Academies, the state still lacks a coherent structure that aligns standards, accountability, instructional capacity, and funding around a clear and enforceable expectations.”
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Texas Against Extremism
What to Know: Modern threats do not always arrive from abroad; they can take root within our own communities and institutions.
The TPPF take: TPPF has announced a major new policy initiative aimed at combating Islamist radicalization, hostile foreign influence, and extremist networks operating within the State of Texas.
“Texas has both the right and the responsibility to protect its citizens, institutions, and constitutional order from hostile foreign influence,” says TPPF’s Selene Rodriguez. “Texas should aggressively identify and combat organized efforts to undermine our laws, radicalize vulnerable populations, or import foreign ideological conflicts into Texas communities.”
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