This week, across the country, we celebrate Public Schools Week! As a product of public education, I can’t think of a better time to celebrate our public schools and re-commit to protecting an institution that strives to make education accessible for all children. As a native Texan, however, this Public Schools Week is a disheartening reminder that lawmakers in my home state are actively fighting to defund public education. This legislative session, the state Legislature is trying to funnel taxpayer dollars into private school voucher schemes, which not only violates the principle of separation of church and state by funding private, predominantly religious schools with public dollars, but actually results in discrimination and worse academic outcomes for students all around.
This Public Schools Week, let’s remember that vouchers are not only a threat to our public schools, but to the quality of education for every student in America. Let’s take my home state of Texas as an example to illustrate this.
According to a recent poll, Texas ranks in the bottom 10 states in terms of education quality. Texas also ranks in the bottom 10 for per-pupil spending. It should come as no surprise that public schools can’t perform as well when lawmakers refuse to fund them. Yet instead of increasing funding and support for Texas public schools, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is continuing to push for vouchers, when both Republican and Democratic lawmakers and voters like me across the state have made it clear for over a quarter century that we don’t want them.
Studies across the country have shown that private school voucher programs lead to worse test scores for students. Those states with longstanding voucher programs saw that students who had received vouchers showed little to no improvement in reading or math compared to those not in the program. Moreover, most voucher programs lack accountability measures and proper oversight to ensure they meet even the minimal education standards that do exist.
If Texas were to pass SB 2, which gives a $10,000 voucher to each Texas student for private school tuition, there would be nothing stopping private schools from denying Texas students based on race, gender, disability, or other characteristics. Additionally, private schools could raise their tuition, making it so that only wealthy families with children already enrolled in private schools would benefit from these vouchers.
Studies show that private schools across the country have a higher percentage of white students compared to local demographics, with fewer Black and Hispanic students being admitted. In Texas, over half of public school students are Hispanic, yet Hispanic students make up less than 23% of the private school population. Texas is a state with a large Hispanic population, and vouchers will only give private schools more money to shut Hispanic students out while weakening the public school system that educates the majority of Texan students.
Texans are not ignorant of the facts on vouchers. That’s why, in every single legislative session since 1993, voucher efforts have been introduced in Texas and soundly rejected. What’s more, a recent public opinion poll in Texas showed that the number of voters who oppose vouchers is almost double those who support them. This opposition does not fall along party lines. Texas Republicans from rural districts are among the most steadfast opponents of vouchers. They understand that the families they represent rely on public schools not only for their children’s education, but also as community gathering spots and major employers in small towns.
Despite this overwhelming opposition, Abbott has made private school vouchers one of his top priorities this session, even designating it as an “emergency item.” As stated in the Texas Constitution, lawmakers can only take a vote on bills that fall under the emergency item categorization within the first 60 days of the session. What’s more, Abbott in the past has proudly admitted that he will veto any education legislation that does not include vouchers. Not only is the governor trying to force lawmakers’ hands in passing a voucher bill, he’s making sure that Texas can’t fund its public schools without engaging in his political maneuvering.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post last week, Abbott finally admitted what we at Americans United have known for decades: that funding for vouchers gets taken directly from money that would have gone to public schools, weakening the system that educates the overwhelming majority of Texas students.
Are some public schools in Texas struggling? Definitely. Teachers are being forced to do more with less, schools are closing due to lack of funding, and students are paying the price. That’s why we need to ensure that our tax dollars are being put to work improving public school systems, not diverted through ineffective and unaccountable voucher programs.
Texas is not alone – Americans United is tracking at least 150 voucher bills in states across the country, and both President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress want to create, for the first time, federally funded, nationwide voucher programs. This Public Schools Week, let’s tell legislators that we will not accept their political ploys to send our tax dollars to private schools. We at Americans United will continue to defend public schools in Texas and across the country. Join our fight by urging your members of Congress to reject voucher plans.
