GOVT 2306: Chapter 12- Public Policy in Texas

After the Affordable Care Act encouraged states to expand their Medicaid programs, with financial support from the federal government, Governor Perry announced that

Texas would not participate in this Medicaid expansion.

After the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program was passed, the number of people on welfare

declined.

Desegregation of Texas schools

occurred in the 1960s, though de facto segregation, especially in urban areas with large minority populations, remained a problem.

During the ___________ stage of making public policy, strategies for dealing with specifically defined problems are created.

policy formulation

Education reforms instituted in the 1980s and 1990s

have been mixed, with improvements in dropout rates and scores on the state's assessment text, but below-national-average performance in graduation rates and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores.

In the case of Edgewood ISD v. Kirby, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that

glaring disparities in the funding system for rich and poor school districts violated the Texas constitution.

Medicaid expenses in Texas

are increasing and threaten to overwhelm the state budget.

People who advocate greater use of vouchers and charter schools argue that these would give

parents greater flexibility and choice regarding their children's education, particularly where public schools had been performing poorly.

The "no pass, no play" rule, which keeps students who fail a course from participating in extracurricular activities such as sports, was implemented

in the 1980s, at the recommendation of the State Committee on Public Education (SCOPE), chaired by businessman Ross Perot.

The Children's Health Insurance Program

provides coverage for children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid.

The act that merged various water-rights doctrines into a unified water permit system, expanding the ability of the state to control and manage surface water, was the

Water Rights Adjudication Act.

The federal block grant program for welfare was

created in the 1990s and called the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

The percentage of Texas residents with health insurance is

lower than in any other state.

The political impact of the Texas Supreme Court's ruling in Edgewood ISD v. Kirby

created a political firestorm that swept through Texas politics throughout the early 1990s.

The poverty rate for children under 18 in Texas is __________, while it is __________ in the United States as a whole.

24.8 percent; 20.8 percent

Water consumption is expected to __________ over the next half-century; existing water supplies are expected to __________.

increase by 82 percent; decrease by 10 percent

What effect has economic growth in Texas had on the state's poverty rates?

surprisingly little

When we talk about __________ in the context of public policy, we mean that we have clearly identified goals, and we seek to meet those goals in the most efficient manner possible.

rationality

Which sector in Texas uses the most water?

irrigation

While a majority of the Medicaid population is __________, a majority of the funds are spent on __________.

children; the elderly and people with disabilities disabled