The Jefferson Journal
Commentary
Forty million Americans — a million right here in Virginia — have such low reading skills that they are fundamentally illiterate. Can we upgrade the skills of our workforce and imporve the efficiency and effectiveness of Virginia’s investment in public education? Yes, we can, says this new report. In Virginia...
Senator Walter Stosch has introduced SB 1419, a bill providing Tuition Assistance Grants for Students With Disabilities. Because both the bill and Senator Stosch have been the subject of ad hominem attacks and distortions from those who oppose this additional educational opportunity for children with disabilities, this set of Serious...
The recommendations of Governor Kaine’s Start Strong Council include some with merit, such as establishment of a pilot program and collection of data. But there are missing pieces to each that should be included before they are funded by the General Assembly. More important is the fundamental flaw in the...
Last year the Thomas Jefferson Institute proved that the reputation it has achieved helped bring positive change to public policy in Virginia, based on our Mission Statement in support of limited government, free enterprise and individual responsibility … and we continue to bring innovative ideas to the public policy debate....
Disagreements over the Commonwealth’s budget may be grabbing the headlines, but under the radar of news reporting ideas are percolating throughout Virginia’s government that could have a much larger impact on the future.
... Can public policy studies make a difference? It appears Jefferson Institute studies do. Former Governor Mark Warner has credited the Thomas Jefferson Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council with offering the ideas behind what he says are improvements in state government accomplished during his administration. Warner noted, “Your work...
The Chesapeake Bay is one of the greatest natural resources in Virginia, but it suffers from modern environmental hazards. We need a concerted effort to clean it up, but it doesn’t need to cost the billions the state and federal government want to spend. This report says there is an...
Three proposals for funding transportation are now under consideration by the General Assembly. Each of the proposals — one offered by Governor Tim Kaine, one approved by the State Senate and one approved by the House of Delegates — would have a different impact on state revenue, job creation, and...
The House-Senate Budget Conference is currently considering a proposal to provide a small Tuition Assistance Grant to students with disabilities, offering them an opportunity to use an alternative educational placement when their parents are unable to obtain the best education for their child within a traditional public school setting. In...
A new Governor and a new House of Delegates deserve new ideas. The next four years will be challenging ones, and in this “Blueprint”, the Thomas Jefferson Institute and its independent researchers offer ideas for facing those challenges — in Transportation, Education, Government Reform, the Environment, Technology-Based Economic Development, and...