February 2012 Update

TANS Email Update-February 2012

New Service for Our Members
In our ongoing effort to connect our members and other accredited private schools together, TANS is offering a new service.

If your member school hosts a not-for-profit (i.e., not intended to add to your school's revenue) event for faculty or staff development, we'd like to help you promote it. Of all of the professional development opportunities out there, many of the most effective come right from the teachers and administrators who serve our schools and their students everyday.

Send us a PDF promotion that is less than 10 megabytes in size not less than 60 days before your training, and we'll help you to include other private school teachers and staff.
The first such school-sponsored event is Hill Country Christian School of Austin's Differentiation Conference, on March 27, 2012. Download conference and registration information from our website.

Legislative Update
The 82nd Texas Legislature was one of the most active in TANS' 40-year history. Despite the preoccupation with budget deficits and re-districting, a number of proposals favorable to private schools and families were put forward.

At the top of our list of priorities were two bills creating an Educational Scholarship Tax Credit program, similar to successful programs in states like Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Florida. The programs would incentivize Texas companies to donate to private school scholarship organizations, regulated by the Texas Comptroller, in exchange for business tax credits.

The TANS staff and board have been meeting with our private school partners to develop plans to advance the Educational Scholarship Tax Credit agenda in the 2013 Legislative Session. We will keep you informed as these conversations progress.

Download the full 2011 82nd Legislature Report for more info on this and the other issues addressed by TANS during the session.

Check Out Our New Website
The TANS website has been upgraded. Check out the new look at www.abouttans.org.