Discussions about private school voucher programs have moved to the forefront of national conversation, and school choice movements are being promoted to create “opportunity scholarships” or vouchers for private and charter schools in various states across the country.
In early February, Senate Bill 2, a private school voucher bill, sailed through the Texas Senate. Shortly thereafter, Texas House introduced House Bill 3, another Republican-backed bill that would allow families to use public funds for private education, homeschooling resources and assistance for students with disabilities. Both are attempting to create state-controlled education savings accounts (ESAs) by families using $1 billion of public taxpayer dollars from the state budget surplus in the General Income Fund to pay tuition fees at accredited private schools or other education expenses.
Once that becomes the law, SB 2 allows Texas families to apply to receive up to $10,000 per student per year, and $11,500 for students with disabilities. Homeschooling families receive at least $2,000 per student per year under the program and $2,500 per year for treatment of disabled homeschooling students. HB 3 will provide school voucher programs with 85% of what the state offers to public schools, about $10,000 per student, and up to $30,000 for students with disabilities.
The history of school vouchers
After Brown vs. Board of Education Public schools in the southern states, ruled in 1954 and racially segregated, had to be integrated. To skirt this mission, the lawmakers, Including Texas, We first proposed a school voucher as a way to bring more white students to private schools.
In 1955, Texas Governor Alan Sieber established the Texas Advisory Committee on Sequestration in Texas Public Schools. This encouraged the Texas Legislature to create a tuition grant program that allows students to attend segregated, non-sectorial schools. However, bipartisan opposition including a 36 Hour Filibusterfailed the voucher proposal.
The school’s choice proposal was reintroduced in the 1990s after the release of Federal Report It was published by the National Board of Education’s Committee on Excellence, highlighting the failure of the American public school system. Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Cleveland, Ohio, were the first to pass school voucher programs targeting lower class families. In 1999, Florida first passed the statewide program, followed by more states. Recently, several states have adopted universal programs, allowing families without special needs to access low-income out-of-parent or public voucher programs or ESAs.
Advocates of school vouchers argue that the ESA will encourage school choices and provide low-income families with a potential pathway to access private schools.
“The only people who have a true school choice right now are wealthy, and they are fundamentally anti-Americans,” says Jorge Borrego, director of education policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, right-wing think tank. “In a country that is as prosperous as the United States, income alone should not determine or limit the ability of families to choose the best educational environment for the value of what their children need.”
Sarah Wolfin, professor of leadership and policy at UT Education, said school voucher programs exacerbate the issues of enrollment within traditional public schools, leading to budget and planning issues for those schools.
“Even before the voucher proposals are on the table, we know that the Texas education system is in a severe underfunded state, which sucks up more money from public schools,” Wolfin said. “It will lead to public schools having to make even more difficult decisions about what to do with limited funding.”
Woulfin said that while the pro voucher group is trying to encourage school selection, only families who can use them can register because the voucher does not cover the full cost of tuition fees. According to Educational Data Initiativethe average tuition fee for private schools in Texas is $11,050 from K-12,0729, for primary schools and $12,161 for secondary schools.
“Families who already have children in private schools are to rely on that voucher to reduce the personal costs that are already out of their pocket,” Wolfin said. “I think it raises the question of greater fairness, which families use and use the voucher.”
Borrego said that in 33 other states that have school selection programs, most recipients are middle class.
“You saw Arizona and first became completely universal. The majority of the recipients of their program are people who came from public school spaces,” Borrego said. “The wealthiest families are the families who are least likely to join the program because they don’t need it. They already have a school choice.”
In 2022, Arizona became the first state to establish a universal private school voucher program open to families of all income levels. Two years later, the program faces a A shortage of $1.4 billion After funding, it surpassed the forecast budget estimates by $267 million, according to Propublica. Florida 2023-2024 school year Bypassed $2.1 billion From state public school funding to school voucher programs.
“Florida is currently ranked number one for education. Florida is ranked number one in the largest school selection program in the United States,” said Gov. Greg Abbott. March 25th Press Conference. “If you are trying to achieve your goal of being ranked among the best states in America to educate your students, you will start this session by passing the school choice.”
Regarding higher education, Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, March 11th Press Conference The school’s voucher could undermine the education pipeline and leave students unattended. In contrast, Borrego said the increase in students taking dual credit classes is an indicator of the potential growth of higher education programs. He said that even if school vouchers were implemented More students are eligible to access community colleges through them.
“We currently have a lock on the private school components and, more importantly, half a million homeschoolers who can participate in the program,” Borrego said.
As lawmakers continue to debate whether and how to implement school voucher programs, Woulfin advises hearing, respecting and cherishing the efforts of public education leaders and teachers working under restrictions. She said the school’s voucher program would hinder public school improvements.
“It’s a mistake and distraction to respect and acknowledge the current work being done by teachers by schools and district leaders across Texas,” Wolfin said. “It also ignores and disregards the agents and choices that parents already have in public schools.”
SB 2 and HB 3 are pending by the Texas House Public Education Board. If they pass the House, HB 3 must pass the Senate and both must be signed by the governor before it becomes law.
