What would be the appropriate punishment for a 7th grader talking unreasonably loudly in the middle of class? Perhaps it would be writing an essay on classroom manners, going to the principal's office, or a call to his or her parents. Would a $500 Class C misdemeanor ticket and a trip to municipal court for the 7th grader and his or her parents seem appropriate? Believe it or not, Texas schools hand out tens of thousands of Class C misdemeanor tickets to students for misbehavior each every year. That is expensive and ineffective in curbing misbehavior or discipline issues. It grows government unnecessarily. And it is completely devoid of common sense. This week, the Texas Legislature turned its focus toward restraining this governmental overreach in a Senate Jurisprudence committee hearing. In August of last year, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released research dealing iwth just how ineffective these types of policies, which all feature overreliance on the justice...(Read Full Post)