The Right Idea

Brian Phillips and Derek Cohen are joined by TPPF’s K-12 Education Policy Director, Jorge Borrego, to discuss Texas' proposed Education Savings Account legislation and dispel the common myths around it.

1:19 Hot Take: Should the State of the Union return to merely a written letter to Congress?
7:40 ESAs - What are they and how do they work?
18:05 How will ESAs be prioritized?
24:05 Myth busting - School choice will kill Friday Night Lights
26:43 Myth busting - School choice will defund public schools
31:03 Myth busting - School choice = no testing nor accountability
42:25 Survey Says: Overwhelming support for ESAs
47:32 Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics - Parental Choice & Black Empowerment
52:10 What’re you watching?

Creators and Guests

Host
Brian Phillips
Brian Phillips is the Chief Communications Officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. For over a decade, Brian has helped policymakers and political candidates develop effective messages and communication strategies. Phillips is a veteran of presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial campaigns, and has extensive experience working in the United States Congress and public policy think tanks.
Host
Derek M. Cohen
Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D, is the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Chief Policy & Research Officer and Right on Crime Senior Fellow. Previously the Vice President of Policy and director of Right on Crime, the Foundation’s criminal justice reform initiative, Cohen was instrumental in the passage of the First Step Act, federal legislation that borrowed from successful changes to prisons and sentencing that he had helped pass in conservative states. In addition to leading the Foundation’s work on criminal justice, he is also the lead researcher of firearms policy.

What is The Right Idea?

The Right Idea: The Texas Public Policy Foundation's weekly look at the people, policy, and politics that drive Texas.