John Locke Updates

Learning loss from pandemic-driven loss of in-person instruction in public schools is a serious problem, and its impacts vary by race, income, and geography. Education Savings Accounts offer an alternative that may be better for many families because they give parents the ability to address their children's specific educational needs.

During the 2020 election, early voting observers reported a glaring example of improper voting “assistance” Election observers and officials often do not know who is going into the voting booth…

In the end, Gov. Cooper’s supplemental budget recommendations signal his affinity for the education establishment, disregarding long-standing infrastructure needs and supporting antiquated employee compensation practices that do little to improve the overall quality of education in North Carolina.

Regulatory dark matter are "rules" we don't know are rules — policies, guidelines, interpretive statements, etc. that state agencies enforce against people as if they were rules. There's no telling how much regulatory dark matter there is in North Carolina. Legislators should require agencies to identify regulatory dark matter and either repeal or formally adopt them, and they already have the language to do so.

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher was told to have middle-school students complete a "Privilege Self-Assessment." Not only are such assignments outside of state standards, but also they may well violate a 1978 law that requires parental consent to collect personal information from families.

North Carolinians should know that many of the energy policies Gov. Roy Cooper has advocated for here in North Carolina follow the mistakes identified as the cause of California's blackouts. As in California, these missteps will leave North Carolina unprepared for our energy future and will ultimately lead to blackouts here. North Carolina should not repeat California’s mistakes.

Cooper has continued to ignore research on the long-term severe health consequences from lockdowns. New research from professors at Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard Medical School warns that the death toll from the economic impact of lockdowns and other government COVID containment measures could far exceed that of the virus itself.

Barring any new emergencies, look for the 2021 General Assembly session to consist of three phases: (1) immediate Covid-19 response and recovery, (2) the state budget in later spring with…

Each government agency and program is created to do a job. Legislators should regularly review those jobs and how programs perform them. Regulatory sunset reviews provide a good model to emulate.

There is already a host of constitutional, statutory, and judicial criteria in place that restrict how the General Assembly can draw districts. Additional reforms can assure equitable redistricting without a redistricting commission.