Special Session Special Edition!
It’s the Movement’s Moment!
What to know: A poll from the University of Texas shows that Texans strongly support parent empowerment and school choice.
The TPPF take: Writing for The Cannon Online, pastor Dana Carson says minority parents in particular want more options for their children.
“The underperforming schools have created a school-to-prison pipeline, which continues to wreak havoc on the Black community,” Pastor Carson says. “Seventy percent of the inmates in our prison system are reading below the fourth-grade level. And this is a fact: we can trace these students back to the zip codes of communities in poverty and their failing schools. But we can reverse this course.”
For more on popular support for school choice, click here.
Empowering Parents
What to know: School choice is sweeping the nation, with a message of parent empowerment. Moms and dads can now be the real decision makers in their own child’s education—something not available to Texas parents yet.
The TPPF take: Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) mean that parents will be able to customize their child’s educational experience.
“Parent empowerment itself can be a significant driver of economic development,” says TPPF’s Roy Maynard. “Parent empowerment includes increasing access to quality STEM education, trade schools or—what’s even more promising—apprenticeships and certifications.”
For more on parent empowerment, click here.
More Harm than Reduction
What to know: Parent empowerment and school choice improve educational outcomes—and not just for the students participating in it.
The TPPF take: Empowering parents to make the key decisions on their children’s educations benefits everyone involved.
“Once parents are empowered with real choices, schools respond with new programs, improved curriculum, and a renewed focus on the quality of the education they are providing students,” says TPPF’s Mandy Drogin. “School choice is the catalyst that encourages everyone to become better and more efficient.”
For more on parent empowerment, click here.