Teachers, superintendents, and school board members held a rally outside the Texas Capitol this weekend calling for the legislature to avoid any measure that would provide school vouchers. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has listed school choice as a priority for the third special session that begins Monday.
"We are here today because we love our public schools, and we will protect them at all costs," Austin ISD School Board President Arati Singh said. "We come from rural areas, urban areas and suburban areas. We are Republicans and Democrats and everything in between."
Singh said Texas public schools educate five million kids "to think critically, make healthy choices, enter the workforce, college or the military."
"I don't mind school choice," said Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing. "What I do mind is using public taxpayer dollars to fund that choice."
Gearing said state law already lets students transfer out of low-performing public schools. He says public schools are set up with more transparency than private schools.
"Unlike private schools, we are governed by a locally-elected board of trustees in meetings that are open to the public," he said. "Unlike private schools, our financial records and decisions are openly available to the public. We are fully accountable as public schools. Unlike private schools, we are held accountable to safety standards, staffing ratios and academic requirements."
The non-profit Education Data Initiative says the average cost of annual tuition at private schools from kindergarten through 12th grade in Texas is $10,668. That is less expensive than the national average.
In the regular session, SB 8 and HB 5261 would have given parents who remove their kids from public schools $8,000 to pay for private or home schooling. Both measures were left in their committees.
"Together, we will chart a brighter future for all Texas children by empowering parents to choose the best education option for their child," Abbott wrote in a press release announcing the third special session.
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