Why some North Texas Republicans are against school vouchers

FORT WORTH – The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Hollie Plemons took her seat before a panel of lawmakers in Austin to make her conservative case against school vouchers. “This is going against everything that a Texas Republican is,” said Plemons, a mother of three and Tarrant County GOP precinct chair from Fort Worth who has been outspoken in her opposition. She was one of hundreds in a marathon hearing on March 11 to testify before the House Public Education committee as they considered House Bill 3, the House’s version of an education savings accounts program, a voucher-of-sort that supporters say would give parents more choice in their child’s education. A similar proposal passed in the Texas Senate on Feb. 5. The details are different, but both would let parents use state dollars for their child’s private or home schooled education.

The issue has historically been a tension point for Texas Republicans, facing opposition from some within the party, particularly among rural House members who have feared for their local public schools. As the legislation is debated there are also Republicans — like Plemons — whose opposition stems from what they see as a breach of traditional Republican principles opposing government subsidies and supporting small government. This is despite support for vouchers from many in the Republican Party’s upper-most ranks. “In a way, for these conservatives, vouchers are big government,” said University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus. “Vouchers are basically setting the table for winners and losers. That’s something that many conservatives, fiscal conservatives, are adamantly against.” Plemons said she’s been attacked by Republican groups and called a Democrat, communist and Marxist for her stance. “I’m none of those, but the bill is,” she said. Dallas County GOP Chair Allen West mulled the idea of “school choice” in a recent post on the local party’s website. The former Texas GOP chair ran against Abbott for governor in 2021, challenging him from the right. “I do not think we have a very clear understanding of what ‘school choice’ means,” the post reads. “When I hear people use language such as ‘universal school choice,’ well, it sends chills down my spine because of the word ‘universal,’ which was also used to describe Obamacare as “universal healthcare.” West addresses the Senate’s proposal, saying it goes against a party platform item that calls for funding that follows a child with “no strings attached” and opposes “regulations on homeschooling or the curriculum of private or religious schools.” “Instead of issuing a voucher, why not enable Flexible Education Savings Accounts that are tax credits, not vouchers?” West said in the post.