AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Effective Justice will host a policy panel entitled “Keeping Kids in School and Off the Streets” at the 12th Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature on Thursday, January 9 at 11:10 a.m. at the Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol. TPPF invites registrants and members of the media to join us as this panel discusses ways that schools, families and other support networks can address issues of school discipline without the involvement of police officers, prosecutors, and courts.

“The link between school discipline problems like truancy and entry into the juvenile justice system is undeniable,” said Marc Levin, Director of the Center for Effective Justice. “Schools need to find ways to handle these problems that don’t involve exposing juveniles to the criminal justice system and initiating years of delinquency.” 

Panelists include:

  • Marc Levin (TPPF moderator) is the director of the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Levin is an attorney and an accomplished author on legal and public policy issues and has served as a law clerk to Judge Will Garwood on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Staff Attorney at the Texas Supreme Court.

  • Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa represents District 20 of the Texas State Senate, which includes the counties of Brooks, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, and Nueces.

  • Senator John Whitmire represents the 15th Senatorial District comprised of north Houston and parts of Harris County. He was elected to the Texas Senate in 1982 after serving 10 years in the Texas House of Representatives.

  • Representative James White represents the citizens of House District 19 and is also the Vice Chair of the Texas House Corrections Committee. 

  • The Honorable Steve Teske is Chief Judge of the Juvenile Court of Clayton County, GA. He was Chief Parole Officer in Atlanta, Deputy Director of Field Services for the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and Trial attorney in the law firm of Boswell & Teske LLP. He also served as Special Assistant Attorney General prosecuting child abuse and neglect cases and representing state employees and agencies in state and federal cases.

For twelve years, the Foundation’s Policy Orientation has been one of the nation’s top policy conferences, selling out each year while bringing together lawmakers, policy experts, and engaged citizens from across the political spectrum to discuss critical issues facing the Lone Star State and America. Last year’s Policy Orientation attracted approximately 1,100 attendees including 100 state legislators and hundreds of legislative staff from both sides of the aisle. 

This year’s program includes more than 25 panel discussions and debates on the major issues affecting Texas’ future.  The program will be updated with additional events and speakers in the coming weeks. Members of the public and media who wish to attend may register and view the agenda here: http://bit.ly/TVGJeN.

 

Marc Levin is the Director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Effective Justice.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.

 

Primary website: www.TexasPolicy.com

Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/TexasPublicPolicyFoundation

Twitter feed: www.Twitter.com/TPPF

 

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