Outnumbered Texas Democrats Gear Up to Fight School Vouchers
By Jasmine Wright
Reporting Texas
Texas Democrats say funding for public schools is at risk in the current legislative session because Gov. Greg Abbott’s years-long drive for private school vouchers has its best chance ever of succeeding.
Texas Democratic lawmakers lost several key seats during the 2024 election cycle and now face face five months of negotiations with Republican counterparts. With 88 Republican officials in the 150-member House and 20 Republicans in the 31-member Senate, Democrats find themselves badly outnumbered, and several Republicans who have also opposed vouchers lost their races under fire from Abbott.
Texas House Democratic Caucus Chairman Gene Wu stressed that a united front to defend public school funding is the main priority for Texas Democrats during this session during a Texas Tribune-hosted conversation in January.
As the minority, Texas Democrats face a series of tough negotiations in order to prevent a voucher victory, but if passage seems inevitable, they will try to fight for the best terms possible, Wu said.
“Communities are going to suffer greatly if the school system goes over the cliff, so rise up and demand change,” Wu said.
Over 2,000 bills have been filed for this legislative session and Wu said Texas Democrats are setting their sights on utilizing the state budget to prop up the already ailing public schools in Texas. In his State of the State Address, Abbott listed school vouchers, a program allowing Texas parents to access to $10,000 of taxpayer funds, among his emergency action items for legislative action.
The Senate has passed Senate Bill 2 that introduces “education savings accounts,” an initiative allowing parents access to public tax dollars for private school tuitions and related items. Since 2023, Abbott has championed the bill and raised millions of dollars from donors, including a billionaire from outside of the state. With significant financial support and secured votes in the Senate, Abbott is poised to pass school voucher legislation. Despite the odds, Texas Democrats are committed to fight for public schools.
“Public education is the absolute top priority right now,” Wu said. “Our public schools are on life support.”
“Democrats are energized right now not because things are going well but because we know that if we aren’t there to fight the administration, then this is the end,” Wu said.
Abbott has said 79 of the 150 House members are willing to approve legislation for school vouchers; however, public education advocates and rural lawmakers have criticized the plan as a harmful policy that redirects funds that public schools desperately need.
“For 30 years, the Texas Freedom Network has been trying to fight back against vouchers,” said Emily Witt, senior communications and media strategist for the nonpartisan organization focused on monitoring religious and right-wing efforts for Christianity entering Texas public schools.
In order to mitigate policies that redirect funding from public education institutions, advocacy groups like Texas Freedom Network try to mobilize people, endorse candidates that are fighting against vouchers and similar programs. Wu said there isn’t any disagreement on where his party stands about the necessity of public school funding. Thus, Wu urges Texans to make the time to express their opposition to the voucher bill.
“I haven’t had anyone explain to me why it’s OK to take money from hard earned taxpayers and transfer that money to the wealthy. Abbott has heard enough from out of state billionaires, but we need communities across party lines to say we didn’t ask for this,” Wu said. “If you are a Texas parent, you should be enraged. They are selling out your future.”
Proponents of the bill say vouchers are an opportunity to increase families across the state to access private education and have more of a choice when deciding a school for their children. If school voucher legislation is passed in Texas, private schools can voluntarily work with Texas Private Schools to gain $10,000 of state money to increase enrollment at these schools.
“Education savings accounts are a way for families to qualify for state money into an online account for a child’s education,” said Laura Coangelo, executive director of the Texas Private Schools Association. “Our plan is to prioritize low-income families and children with special needs.”
For two decades, the pivate schools association has studied and tracked the progress of similar programs in other parts of the country and hopes to replicate a model that fits for the entire Texas education system.
“We view public schools as partners in this. We’re working hard to make sure public and private schools do better,” Coangelo said.