Homeschooling
What to know: Homeschooling has exploded in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The TPPF take: Homeschooling is just one educational option that would benefit from parental empowerment.
“Educational savings accounts (ESAs) will increase homeschool freedom,” says TPPF’s Michael Barba. “Families who choose to use them will have broader access to education providers and services. ESAs also acknowledge that parents, not preassigned state schools, should be the ones deciding how children are educated and how Texas education dollars are spent.”
For more on homeschooling, click here.
Social Media
What to know: Author Molly Hemingway warns parents to keep their children off social media.
The TPPF take: A mounting body of evidence indicates social media is a big factor in skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression among children and adolescents.
“We must treat Big Tech the way we dealt with Big Tobacco at the end of the last century — as an industry whose access to a vulnerable population, our teens, must be curtailed,” says TPPF’s Zach Whiting. “Because Congress has not passed new legislation to address this mounting mental-health challenge, red states such as Utah, Texas, and now Florida are moving to step in.”
For more on protecting children online, click here.
Price Transparency
What to know: Texas’ hospital price transparency law that was passed last year is now in effect, and violators could face steep fines.
The TPPF take: Health care price transparency is good for patients—and providers.
“Most Americans want hospitals to show their prices,” says TPPF’s David Balat. “According to a recent Harvard-Harris poll, nearly 90% are in favor of an initiative by the government to mandate disclosure of negotiated prices by hospitals, insurers, and other medical professionals.”
For more on price transparency, click here.