Candidates aren't the only thing Texas voters will find on their ballots on February 18 when early voting starts for the 2020 Texas Republican and Democratic primary elections. Each party also puts forth a slate of ballot propositions for their voters to weigh in on.

In many elections ballot propositions pertain to bonds, referendums on local ordinances, or even constitutional amendments. But what are ballot propositions with regard to primary elections? Perhaps the best definition I've seen comes from the Republican Party of Texas website, which states as follows:

"Keep in mind that [ballot propositions are] an opinion poll of [primary] voters and not a policy referendum. When you vote YES or NO, you are telling us what you think should happen. You are not voting to make a law but merely saying you agree or disagree with the statement."

Each party, Republican and Democratic, has put forth a set of value statements and is asking those who vote in the party's primary to give their opinion on those statements. The Democrats have styled their ballot propositions as a "Texas Bill of Rights" containing 11 broad statements covering many policy areas. The Republicans have offered up 10 more narrowly tailored ballot propositions to their voters.

This year, each party's slate of ballot propositions includes one or more statements related directly or indirectly to public education. The Texas Republican ballot for 2020 includes three such statements:

• Republican Party Ballot Proposition #1: "Texas should not restrict or prohibit prayer in public schools."
• Republican Party Ballot Proposition #3: "Texas should ban the practice of taxpayer-funded lobbying, which allows your tax dollars to be spent on lobbyists who work against the taxpayer." This recommendation aims to prevent governmental entities from paying their staff or contractors to advocate for their interests. Were such a ban to be enacted, it could restrict school districts and public charter schools from paying lobbyists to advocate for public education, and it could also prevent those entities from paying dues or fees to any outside organizations that hire their own lobbyists.
• Republican Party Ballot Proposition #5: "Texas parents or legal guardians of public school children under the age of 18 should be the sole decision makers for all their children’s healthcare decisions including, but not limited to, psychological assessment and treatment, contraception, and sex education." This statement is aimed at Texas public schools and other public and private institutions that exercise varying levels of involvement in "children’s healthcare decisions."

View the complete list of Texas Republican Party primary ballot propositions for 2020 here.

Unlike their Republican counterparts who have proposed multiple recommendations on very specific facets of the public school system, Texas Democrats have presented only one broad question to their voters with respect to education:

• Democratic Party Ballot Proposition #2: "Right to a 21st Century Public Education: Should everyone in Texas have the right to high-quality public education from pre-k to 12th grade, and affordable college and career training without the burden of crushing student loan debt?" This broad proposition addresses not only the quality of public education in grades pre-K through 12, but also affordability of post-secondary training.

View the complete list of Texas Democratic Party primary ballot propositions for 2020 here.

Remember that the propositions on your primary ballot have no force of law and are merely a "poll" of sorts to determine the views of a party's voters. However, they are important in shaping the party platform and the issues or initiatives that elected officials from that party are likely to prioritize.

We hope all Texans who care about public education head the polls during the upcoming primary election; and when you do, be sure to vote not only on which candidates you hope to see on the general election ballot this November, but also on your party's propositions that will help shape the values of the party those candidates will represent.

Early voting for the 2020 Texas primaries runs from Tuesday, February 18, through Friday, February 28. Election day is Tuesday, March 3.