Texas State Board of Education Rejects School Vouchers
The Texas State Board of Education overwhelmingly rejected plans for a school voucher program. The Republican-controlled board’s decision is indicative of strong opposition to school voucher policies within the Texas Republican Party, particularly among lawmakers from rural districts.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and far-right state lawmakers have come out in support of voucher policies and tried to garner political capital from backlash against school curricula and the teaching of Critical Race Theory, in particular, in public schools, according to an article in Reform Austin.
The board’s decision leaves Abbott an uphill battle when it comes to passing legislation for school vouchers in ensuing legislative sessions. Reform Austin highlights that while “less extreme Texas Republicans have been willing to go along with bans on teaching about white supremacy and the stripping of books about marginalized people from libraries, they have been more resistant to the voucher plot.”
One Republican lawmaker said, “that vouchers divert attention away from failing public schools.”
Voucher programs tout the benefits of school choice, but these purported benefits may not be within reach for all families. For instance, parents in rural districts do not necessarily have quality private school options close by, not to mention the fact that traditional neighborhood public schools serve as social, cultural, and economic centers for these communities.
The Texas State Senate is currently hearing proposals for school choice legislation, including a bill that would provide $8,000 in private school vouchers per student. The proposal would offer districts with fewer than 20,000 students some money to offset lost revenue from declines in enrollment.
An update on the proposal notes that only 200 people showed up for Governor Abbott’s recent rally for school choice, and it remains unclear whether there is adequate support in the House to pass such legislation. Among many concerns, the proposed voucher amount is several thousand dollars below average private school tuition in Texas.
- D. Sparks