Texas is moving closer to implementing a universal school voucher program after the state Senate approved the bill. Governor Abbott is pushing for a $1 billion program that would subsidize private school tuition and homeschooling for all students, regardless of income. While the program aims to provide more educational choices, critics argue that it could divert funding from public schools and disproportionately benefit wealthier families.
A day after the election, Texas Governor Greg Abbott answers questions from reporters after meeting with members of Kingdom Life Academy in Tyler, Texas, where he discussed his school choice voucher initiative, November 6, 2024. School director Joel Enge , a former Tyler ISD teacher, is relying on the governor for help at his mostly all volunteer academy.is a fait accompli. The state Senate is expected to pass its “school choice” bill today, which would then send it to the Texas House.
A coalition of Democrats and rural Republicans averted an education savings account program last session. That coalition is diminished after a series of electoral losses, so now the job of the House is to shape this bill into the most reasonable version it can while addressingGov. Greg Abbott insists on a universal voucher program for which all students are eligible, regardless of income.
Frustration with student outcomes in failing public schools and school districts is real, and a voucher program should be tailored to help those students who are trapped in bad schools and whose families can’t afford other options. They should be the focus of a means-tested voucher program in Texas. Abbott is pressuring Republican lawmakers to give him the sweeping program he demands, but they should look with concern to the red flags in Arizona. That state passed a universal voucher program beset by budget overruns and news reports that lower-income neighborhoods use fewer vouchers than more affluent ones.Middle- and upper-class families have school choices. Texas children from poor families have fewer, if any.
SCHOOL CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM EDUCATION FUNDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS TEXAS LEGISLATURE
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