Vouchers, Christianity in Texas lessons debated

AUSTIN – The Dallas Morning News reports that political fights that will determine how schools operate for millions of Texas children — and whether their families can use public money for private education — were foreshadowed Monday during a legislative hearing in Austin. The House Public Education Committee began discussions on the voucherlike efforts. Education savings accounts are a priority of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who poured millions in cash and political capital to elect conservatives who would back his plan. He appears poised for success ahead of the November election. Teachers, parents and advocates testified on the school choice idea, which has repeatedly been batted down by a coalition of rural Republicans and Democrats who worry it will siphon money away from the public schools that serve the vast majority of Texas children. ESAs will degrade public schools across the state by taking away resources, said James Hallamek, the government relations specialist with the Texas State Teachers Association.

“Lawmakers should work to increase appropriations to public schools, not divert taxpayer funds to private schools,” Hallamek said. The hearing took place on the first day of classes for many Texas schools, making it difficult for many teachers and parents to testify during the marathon day that ran from 9 a.m. until after 7 p.m. Abbott used the back-to-school season to highlight his demands for parental choice. He has pushed for education savings accounts, or ESAs, to be universally available. Families could use dedicated state funding to pay for tuition, tutoring, textbooks or other educational needs. “During the upcoming legislative session, we’re going to work to make school choice a reality,” the governor wrote on X. “Parents matter — and choosing where they send their children to school matters.” Among the proposals that gained traction – but didn’t pass last year – was one to give families up to $8,000 in an ESA. The policy would have cost about $500 million in its first year and serve as many as 25,000 kids, according to a state analysis. However, the plan’s costs could have ballooned to nearly $1 billion by year three, according to the estimates. ProPublica recently reported that Arizona’s universal voucher program contributed to financial woes. The state faced a $1.4 billion budget shortfall, much of which was a result of the new voucher spending, according to the Grand Canyon Institute, a local nonpartisan fiscal and economic policy think tank. Last year, the fight over ESAs in Texas derailed several other education proposals, including bills that would’ve boosted teacher pay and increased the base amount of money public schools receive per-student.