White Hat Research and Policy Group

W hite Hat Research & Policy Group was launched with the goal of bringing high-quality research to policy debates around a set of intersecting issues that are important to the future of Arizona, including Civic Engagement, Criminal Justice, Economic Development, Human Services, Technology and Innovation, and Education. But as we have talked to people and organizations in the community, we couldn’t help but notice how education is at the top of everyone’s mind. While all of our core issues are important to Arizona’s future, many see education as the most critical and as essential solving any of the other major problems that face our state in the coming decades. It was for this reason that our first white paper examined the history and impact of the ESA voucher programs at the center of last November’s contentious Prop 305 vote. And of course, it was just a little over a year ago that tens of thousands of teachers descended on the capital and launched the #RedForEd movement. S

I t was a rude awakening. The results of November 9th, 2016 were not something most of us were expecting. It didn't help that I got a frantic call in the middle of the night from my then employer asking us all to come in early due to the election results. I had for the past 6 months been actively engaged for the first time in politics. I didn't like the direction things were going and wanted to do my part. I was still learning the ropes, getting to know how the process worked within the parties and becoming active with my legislative district. It was a whirlwind of information that shattered many of my previous assumptions about how politics worked. One of my first realizations was that everyone was a volunteer and that the little paid staff there was worked for the County and State boards. My second realization was that being a registered Democrat and voting wasn’t the end of it; it was just the beginning of our political engagement. I learned that the parties were made

Today’s political climate is highly charged and very divided. Even within parties there are differences that can be difficult to reconcile. In part, this is the human condition. We have always had bar room and dinner table conversations that are charged with more emotional responses and the occasional overstep that leads to apologies or long-term fractures in the relationship. But today we have a lot more voices that get a chance to be heard. A strong opinion can now start from a Tweet building momentum from an ever greater majority that retweets and comments until opposing ideas are pushed into a back corner. Legal and moral judgments come in a 280 character declaration providing a new mantra for those in agreement. If not for a judicial system, we might see public hangings and witch trials easily resume. It also threatens our societal fabric. Our social mores and democratic system are both exposed to the whims of technologies that can create digital riots with few or no