NOTE: TPPF Education Research Director Chris Patterson will testify before the State Board of Education on Thursday, November 8, 2001. An advance copy of her testimony is available. AUSTIN – Textbook publishers should be congratulated for their efforts to improve middle school science texts by working with the public to correct errors in fact,...
Press Release November 8, 2001AUSTIN – Steadily increasing traffic will only worsen in the next 20 years, with big-rig trucks expected to increase 100 percent on Texas’ urban roadways. A new study of transportation issues finds the answer to the problem runs counter to conventional wisdom while providing a more cost-effective way to reduce pollution: increasing the use of...
Press Release October 31, 2001Austin, Texas – The Texas Public Policy Foundation today released a 94 page analysis of middle school textbooks under consideration by the State Board of Education for use in Texas public schools. The analysis reveals that the textbooks generally focus on social and political issues, contain factual inaccuracies or insufficient scientific facts, fail to distinguish...
Press Release September 6, 2001Austin, Texas A study conducted by Texas A&M economists and commissioned by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) finds that at-risk charter schools in Texas equal and even surpass traditional public school academic and financial performance. The Texas Legislature is currently considering additional regulation of charter schools as a result of several highly publicized financial...
Press Release May 17, 2001San Antonio – At a press conference attended by Senate State Affairs Committee Chairman Florence Shapiro, the Texas Public Policy Foundation today released a transportation study entitled, The Road Ahead: Innovations for Better Transportation in Texas. The study documents the cause of inadequate funding for transportation infrastructure needs in Texas and indicates several alternative and...
Press Release February 27, 2001San Antonio – A study released by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) shows Texas has received a disproportionately small amount of federal funding for border infrastructure needs while NAFTA fueled traffic congestion and air pollution has skyrocketed along Texas border cities. In relation to traffic volume, Texas has received 1/34th what New Mexico has...
Press Release February 27, 2001Austin – With mounting concern over urban sprawl, the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a free market state research institute, has endorsed the Lone Mountain Compact which defines principles for preserving freedom and livability in America’s Cities and Suburbs and which is critical of so-called “smart growth” land use regulations. Signed by more than 100...
Press Release January 4, 2001Austin – A new survey of Texas teachers conducted by Dr. John Pisciotta, Associate Professor of Economics at Baylor University and released by the Texas Public Policy Foundation indicates that the problem of teacher recruitment and retention in Texas will not be solved by addressing pay or benefits. When considering declining teacher morale, pay and...
Press Release December 7, 2000Austin – An analysis released today on the light rail proposal of Capital Metropolitan Transit of Austin indicates that Austin’s traffic congestion problems of the future could be eliminated with bus alternatives to light rail. The report entitled Options Ignored, Opportunities Lost: An Analysis of Affordable Transportation Options for Austin points out that Capital Metro...
Press Release October 13, 2000p>The Texas Public Policy Foundation announced today the opening of its new Austin office, giving it a permanent presence in the state capital. The office will be staffed by TPPF's new Communications Director Lee Adams, currently Chief of Staff for State Representative Elvira Reyna ( R – Mesquite) (District 101- Dallas (part)). The new TPPF...
Press Release October 9, 2000Austin — The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) today released an analysis of the Capital Metropolitan Transit Agency light rail proposal. Key findings: Capital Metro and CAMPO projections indicate that light rail will carry, at most, 0.5% of travel in the Austin area in 2025. This very small share of travel is in contrast to...
Press Release September 27, 2000Based upon Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Texas Transportation Institute data, it is estimated that the existing light rail lines are removing approximately 0.1 percent of traffic volume in the Dallas area (not Dallas-Fort Worth). This represents 2.3 percent of the 1995-7 average daily increase in vehicle miles (latest data available). This means that...
Press Release August 15, 2000