PUBLIC EDUCATION
Vouchers Drain Resources from Public Schools, Undermining Education for All Texans.
Vouchers are a billionaire-backed scam, subsidizing wealthy private schools by siphoning taxpayer dollars from public schools – all in an effort designed by the ultra-wealthy to separate rich families from the rest of us – particularly students with disabilities and those most at risk of graduating.
Simply put: we must block billionaire-backed, taxpayer-funded voucher scams for wealthy private schools.
The Harmful Effects of School Vouchers
Also known as Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs), school vouchers are used to funnel public taxpayer money into unaccountable private schools, taking resources away from public schools and worsening the education crisis from an already underfunded public school system.
Zero Accountability
School vouchers hand our taxpayer dollars to private schools and sometimes homeschools with no testing requirements or financial transparency.
Defunding our Public Services
As has been proposed by the Texas Legislature in the past, removing half a billion dollars from our state budget every two years will defund our roads, hospitals, and public safety services.
Benefits to the Wealthy Elite
The vast majority of families who will benefit from vouchers already send their kids to elite academies in big cities and suburbs. Even with vouchers, most Texans will not be able to afford private school expenses.
Expanding the Education Crisis
The current education crisis is a direct result of deliberately underfunding and successful attempts to block teacher pay increases. Texas is 46th in overall education and statistics decline every day. School vouchers defund public schools and exacerbate the problem.
The True Cost of Vouchers:
A Cautionary Tale from Arizona and Florida
With a projected cost of nearly $1 billion to taxpayers, Arizona's voucher program is set to create a $320 million budget shortfall. This financial disaster is made worse by the misuse of funds for outrageous purchases like water skiing lessons, home gyms, and rock climbing walls. Without proper oversight, fraudulent schools and unvetted vendors have sprung up, draining money from public education and leaving Arizona public schools—already funded 48th in the nation—further devastated.
Arizona’s vouchers have also funded radical, dangerous curricula in unregulated private schools, including Christian nationalist and white supremacist content. This lack of accountability, coupled with discriminatory admissions policies that exclude students based on religion, sexuality, or income, reveals the deep flaws in Arizona's system.
How did your Representative vote on vouchers?
Votes on Amendment 2 to House Bill 1 From 88(4)
In the fall of 2023, Governor Abbott called the State Legislature into a special session to pass school vouchers, stating he’d only allow school funding if representatives first passed his school voucher scam.
On November 17th, 2023, during the Fourth Special Session of the 88th legislature, 88(4), the Texas House deliberated on House Bill 1 (HB 1), a bill that included both school funding and school vouchers. Amendment #2: a measure to strip vouchers out of the bill passed 84 Yes to 63 No (Anti-Voucher vs Pro-Voucher).
After vouchers were defeated, Republicans subsequently pulled the rest of the bill off the floor, and the session ended without funding public schools.
Make note if your representative voted to keep vouchers and defund our public schools.
