Reading, Writing and Rioting?
What to know: The student walkouts continue in Austin and elsewhere, as education leaders allow students to leave class to protest ICE. Often, school officials accompany them.
The TPPF take: Students shouldn’t be collateral in adults’ political disputes.
“Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura attempted to clean up the mess, but only created more questions,” says TPPF’s Brian Phillips. “The district cannot simultaneously claim that students are its responsibility during the school day while asserting that no action will be taken if students simply decide to leave campus. Parents understandably have a far stricter definition of ‘responsibility.’”
For more on student walkouts, click here.
Strengthening Families
What to know: One of Republican Glenn Youngkin’s last acts as governor of Virginia was an initiative to strengthen families.
The TPPF take: Closer to home, TPPF has launched a Lone Star State initiative to strengthen families.
“Despite the family’s central role in instilling personal and social responsibility, no other institution has been faced with so many challenges that make a family seem unattainable or even undesirable,” said policy analyst Noah Torres. “If Texans want to ensure a bright future not only for their children, but for all Texans, the state must face these challenges and strengthen the family by eliminating barriers to family formation, protecting families from exploitation by Big Tech, ensuring social programs adequately support families, and ensuring parents remain their children’s first teachers.”
For more on families, click here.
Don’t Fence Me In
What to know: Even as Texas gains more than 1,000 new residents per day, rural Texas continues to lose population.
The TPPF take: Many people leave rural areas in search of opportunity.
“What Lianne Halpern learned about rural Texas is that opportunities abound—if you keep an open mind and a willingness to work hard,” says TPPF’s Roy Maynard. “Little comes easily in the Texas Panhandle, but that’s always been true. And like generations of Texans before her, Lianne had the grit and gumption to pursue her dreams in this starkly beautiful landscape. Being in rural Texas doesn’t mean being disconnected.”
For more on rural Texas and opportunity, click here.