May 31, 2024
Week in Review: May 31, 2024
Kansas Policy Institute exposed the Kansas Department of Education’s attempt to circumvent newly passed student achievement accountability by implementing a new state assessment test.
Liberty Justice Center issued a statement on the announcement of California Assembly Bill 1955, legislation that aims to ban parental notification policies.
Palmetto Promise welcomed two new summer fellows to their team: Charlotte Cross (Clemson) and Jennifer Buckley (UCLA).
Texas Public Policy Foundation hosted The Parent Empowerment Coalition, an online event which brought together former MLB player Mark Teixeira, Federation for Children’s Corey DeAngelis, and the Foundation’s own Mandy Drogin to discuss the incredible success of the Parent Empowerment movement in Texas and the continued fight to bring education choice for every child in America.
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty announced that it will host a virtual townhall with Robert Pondiscio which will focus on the imperative shift in teaching methods for literacy, highlighting the need for a departure from outdated practices.
The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal and request for oral arguments in Flannery v. D.C. Department of Health with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The Buckeye Institute is challenging D.C. Council’s and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s unconstitutional pandemic-era emergency acts and orders, which D.C. used to force the closure of The Big Board, a neighborhood bar and grill, owned by Buckeye’s client Eric Flannery.
Liberty Justice Center launched a new lawsuit to challenge Illinois’ dragnet surveillance of every citizen who drives a car or truck in the state—without a warrant or even the barest suspicion of criminal activity. The Center’s Jeffrey Schwab also discussed Levine v. Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, a new Janus-related case with potentially sweeping ramifications.
California: In a significant win for parental rights, the Jurupa Unified School Board agreed to pay California teacher Jessica Tapia $360,000 to settle her lawsuit for wrongful termination. The case has drawn national attention to the plight of teachers being illegally directed by California education officials to keep secrets from parents (California Policy Center).
Colorado: The governor signed S.B. 24-129, the Personal Privacy Protection Act (PPPA), which protects Americans from doxing and harassment when supporting nonprofit causes. The PPPA is now law in 20 states (People United for Privacy).
Louisiana: Governor Jeff Landry signed the Welcome Home Act, landmark legislation to universally recognize out-of-state occupational licenses for new workers in the Pelican State – an innovative reform will bring clarity and consistency to Louisiana’s licensing processes (Goldwater Institute).
Empire Center published briefs that reveal that a “cost-saving measure” in the newly enacted Medicaid budget might lead to higher expenses in the long run by promoting the unionization of home care aides and analyze the efforts of New York state legislators to block changes to retiree health coverage for state and local public employees.
Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy released a brief which argues that policy makers are best served in allowing the market to increase the housing supply – a move which will then allow housing prices to stabilize.
Mountain States Policy Center released briefs that outline a path for adopting policies that would improve government transparency and highlight the need for a policy trifecta of high-quality services, low taxes and few regulations that has led to population growth in the Mountain States.
Palmetto Promise published a brief that shows how South Carolina is behind the times on free speech protections and calls for the legislature to consider enacting an anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) law in the state.
Show-Me Institute released a brief critiquing the policy of requiring food truck workers to wear an ID badge with a passport-quality photo on it – an example of a law that is bad for business owners but great for government workers.
Texas Public Policy Foundation posted a brief which analyzes the Texas Education Agency’s new instructional materials which promise to significantly improve educational outcomes and provide tremendous support for teachers.
Washington Policy Center issued a brief that reviews new data showing the costs of long-term care are increasing, highlighting how the WA Cares program wouldn’t cover even one year of care with these increasing prices.
Louisiana: SB 313, the groundbreaking GATOR ESA program, is heading to the Governor’s desk for signature (Pelican Institute).
Missouri: The state legislature sent a bill to the governor that would increase protection against electric vehicle (EV) mandates for churches and non-profits – protection that ought be extended to all businesses in the state (Show-Me Institute).
New York: SCOTUS held that a lawsuit against New York bureaucrats may proceed – a positive step in efforts to curtail the pervasive regulatory state that enables bureaucrats to pressure private businesses in ways that violate the Constitution.
Oklahoma: Legislation that would prohibit Oklahoma teachers from using the discredited “three cueing” method to teach reading is now just one vote away from Gov. Kevin Stitt’s desk – if passed the legislation could help change the concerning trajectory of declining student reading scores in the state (Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs).
Topics:
AB 1955’s Assault on Parental Rights and Local School Boards
California Policy Center
How Our Neighbor to the South Is Expected to Save Millions Through School Choice
Center of the American Experiment
Harrisburg Democrats Should Push Past Partisanship and Approve Lifeline Scholarships
Commonwealth Foundation
What Does Education Freedom Look Like in Montana?
Frontier Institute
ESA Scholarships Educate Students, Rich or Poor, Cheaper than Public Schools Can
Goldwater Institute
N.C. Public School Administrative Positions Skyrocketed While Enrollment Remained Mostly Flat
John Locke Foundation
So How Did School Districts Spend Federal Covid Dollars?
John Locke Foundation
How to Make School Choice Happen in Mississippi
Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Shawnee Schools Target Child-Abuse Whistleblowers
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Too Little Transparency or Parent Engagement?
Sutherland Institute
Great Teachers Need Great Materials, and Texas is Stepping Up
Texas Public Policy Foundation
New Education Curriculum Will Improve Student Achievement
Texas Public Policy Foundation
FERC: High Summer Electricity Demand Driven by Weather, Data Centers
Center of the American Experiment
FERC Transmission Order ‘Gift’ to Solar and Wind
Center of the American Experiment
Is a Bad Hurricane Season Because of Man-Made Climate Change? No
John Locke Foundation
The Problem with Solar
MacIver Institute
Fossil Fuel Closures Will Hollow Out the Grid
Mackinac Center
Gov. Mills’ Deceptive Energy Report on GHRT
Maine Policy Institute
California Soaked in EVs
Pacific Research Institute
Business Roundtable Does a 180 on Stakeholder Capitalism in ExxonMobil Lawsuit
Texas Public Policy Foundation
From Rigs to Regulations: A Look at Wyoming’s Oil Sector
Wyoming Liberty Group
Failure to Unwind: Erroneous Medicaid Payments Continue After Pandemic, Wasting Billions
Center of the American Experiment
Lawmakers Seek to Revive a $10 Fee for Prescriptions Dropped by DFS
Empire Center
DFL Passes Bill to Make Affordable Housing More Expensive
Center of the American Experiment
Surprise: When Housing Supply Meets Demand, Prices Stabilize
Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy
We Must Build More Homes – The Emerging Political Consensus
Libertas Institute
Net Neutrality: A Costly Solution in Search of a Problem
Beacon Center of Tennessee
DFL Bill Will Reduce Youth Employment
Center of the American Experiment
New Law Expands Prison Work Release Programs
Empower Mississippi
Montana Blockchain Innovator: Alex Shefrin
Frontier Institute
BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life: Giving Georgians a Path to Find Purpose and Possibility in Work
Georgia Center for Opportunity
Globalism for All
Indiana Policy Review Foundation
Suggestions for Michigan’s Licensing Agency
Mackinac Center
Thoughts on Outmigration and Competitiveness
Pioneer Institute
SF’s ‘Grand Central Station’ More Like a Mausoleum
Pacific Research Institute
Commerce Clause vs. California Progressive Agenda
Pacific Research Institute
Why Exactly Do Food Truck Workers Need a Passport Photo?
Show-Me Institute
Wisconsin’s $78.65 Million Charging-Station Giveaway
Badger Institute
Paying Twice for Oregon’s Roads
Cascade Policy Institute
Welfare the Fastest-Growing Expenditure in State Budget
Center of the American Experiment
Targeting Scapegoats Affects Us All
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Illinois’ New Budget Ends Statewide Grocery Tax
Illinois Policy
Illinois General Assembly Oks $1.1B in Tax Hikes for Record $53.1B Spending
Illinois Policy
Repealing North Carolina’s Franchise Tax
John Locke Foundation
Rerun on Film Subsidies Remains Ineffective, Expensive
Mackinac Center
Pension Benefits Not Reliable Way to Attract, Retain Employees
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Missouri Court Rules in Favor of Remote Workers Against St. Louis Earnings Tax
Show-Me Institute
Think Twice before Supporting a New Tax
Show-Me Institute
Government Infrastructure Costs Are Out of Control
Show-Me Institute
Rhode Island: Captive-Audience Meetings for Me, But Not for Thee
Freedom Foundation
Big Labor’s Desperation: Pressuring Gov. Lamont Over Sham Bill for Striking Workers
Yankee Institute
The Legislature, the Courts, and the Constitution – Part II
Frontier Institute
Greet Them Ever with Grateful Hearts
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
Honor the Eternal Legacy of Our Fallen Heroes
Goldwater Institute
The Great John Marshall, Part 2
Independence Institute
The Draw of Small Towns
Indiana Policy Review Foundation
Memorial Day 2024
Show-Me Institute
Connecticut and the Second World War
Yankee Institute
At Cleveland.com, The Buckeye Institute encourages Ohio lawmakers to update the state’s antiquated and anti-competitive alcohol franchise law, which is responsible for lopsided restrictions that unfairly favor large wholesale distributors over small craft brewers.
At Fox News Online, the John Locke Foundation‘s Donald Bryson compares the fiscal policies of North Carolina and California.
In The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Commonwealth Foundation‘s David Hardy notes Harrisburg Democrats should push past partisanship and approve Lifeline Scholarships.
In his recent column, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation‘s Kyle Wingfield highlights a victory for nonpartisanship in Georgia.
At AZ Central, the Goldwater Institute‘s Matt Beienburg notes ESA scholarships educate students, rich or poor, cheaper than public schools can.
In The Center Square, the Illinois Policy Institute‘s Hillary Gowins highlights how Illinois public schools have lost 127,000 students since the pandemic.
In the Washington Examiner, the John Locke Foundation‘s Robert Luebke points out how school funding is distributed is as important as how much schools are funded.
In The Dispatch, the Liberty Justice Center’s Reilly Stephens discusses the recent “flag controversy” concerning Supreme Court Justice Alito, critiquing the New York Times’ narrow misrepresentation of historic American symbols.
In the Daily Caller, the Liberty Justice Center’s Buck Dougherty and Chris Burger argue that the First Amendment protects Morgan Wallen’s Nashville bar sign.
In The Detroit News, the Mackinac Center‘s Mike Reitz encourages participants of the Mackinac Policy Conference to champion ideas that voters will celebrate.
In his recent column, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs‘ Jonathan Small notes OU should end race-based discrimination.
In Arkansas Money & Politics, Opportunity Arkansas’ Nic Horton continued to educate Arkansans on the union-backed effort to thwart education freedom in his state.
In The Spokesman-Review, the Washington Policy Center‘s Chris Corry highlights the wrongs of forcing electrification on consumers with no choice.
