Policy Reformer | Ross Perot

Drug Policy Transformation

Enlisted by Republican Gov. Bill Clements in 1979, Mr. Perot led a successful drive to raise awareness about drug abuse and to strengthen Texas law enforcement efforts to deal with the issue.

Mr. Perot visited hospitals and prisons and consulted with police officers, lawyers and doctors. He spoke about the issue in schools, churches and political gatherings.

As chairman of the Texans’ War on Drugs Committee, he focused on overhauling state law to target major drug offenders and dealers. He also organized community action groups to spread the anti-drug message among the state’s youth.

"There is no way I can overstate the damage that drugs are doing to this country," he said.

Satisfying a Hunger for Change

In 1981, the Texas Legislature passed the committee’s proposals, including longer – and in some cases, mandatory – prison sentences for drug dealers, a forfeiture law to seize financial assets of dealers and a crackdown on certain shops that sold drug paraphernalia.

Many law officers praised the changes and anti-drug experts said the efforts served as a model that inspired similar movements in other states as well as former first lady Nancy Reagan’s "Just Say No" campaign in the mid-1980s.

In 1983, another governor, Democrat Mark White, asked him for help, this time with the poor educational performance of Texas schools. Test scores were falling, the dropout rate was rising and the state was last in spending on education as a share of per capita income.

Leading an advisory committee, he brought in education experts, galvanized business leaders and rallied opinion makers – all in a bid to find the best ways to help struggling schools.

"We in Texas have to decide: Do we want our kids to entertain us on Friday nights at football games, or do we want them to be winners for the rest of their lives?"

- Ross Perot

No Pass, No Play

"We’ve turned our schools from places dedicated to learning to places dedicated to play," Mr. Perot said. "We in Texas have to decide: Do we want our kids to entertain us on Friday nights at football games, or do we want them to be winners for the rest of their lives?"

In 1984, his panel recommended pay increases for teachers, preschool programs for disadvantaged 4-year-olds, tests to measure the performance of teachers and students and a system to award raises for merit, not seniority.

It also proposed modifying funding formulas to provide for more equitable distribution of state aid to property-poor school districts to ensure a better education for low-income students. It also called for a six-week ban on sports and extracurricular activities for students who failed any course – dubbed the "no pass, no play" rule.

He faced opposition from coaches, some teacher groups and others, but helped push the ideas through a special session of the Texas Legislature – and many of those signature measures still stand today.

Mr. Perot countered doubters with fiery speeches and a team of outspoken advocates. He said the state’s economy can only thrive with a better-educated workforce.

The basic purpose was to recover the school day for learning, create an environment in the classroom in which children could learn, get back to a base curriculum and get rid of things like motorcycle riding for high school credit.

A Catalyst of Reform

"The basic purpose was to recover the school day for learning, create an environment in the classroom in which children could learn, get back to a base curriculum and get rid of things like motorcycle riding for high school credit," he said.

An influential ally, former Democratic Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, said the Perot-inspired changes were long overdue. "He couldn't have done a more effective job," Mr. Hobby told a reporter. "The climate was there and he was, to an incredible degree the right person in the right place to do it."

Later, in 1990, Mr. Perot was one of the early funders of Teach for America, a Peace Corps-like operation that fast-tracks college graduates into roles teaching the disadvantaged students in inner-city and rural classrooms. "In the beginning, it was a desperate situation…but he was the catalyst," whose donation persuaded others to come on board, said the program founder, Wendy Kopp.

Now, that has grown into Teach For All, a global network of independent nonprofit organizations working to expand educational opportunity in their own countries.