According to the Texas GOP website, school choice is a Republican legislative priority this session.
The "problem" is that parents do not have the ability to send their children to the education "they desire." Additionally, parents do not have control over tax funds that are being used for education in Texas. The Texas GOP calls the school choice issue part of an "unfair system," the website says.
Texas State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), who chairs the Senate Education Committee, has filed Senate Bill 8, which aims to establish the "Texas Parental Bill of Rights" and create an education savings account (ESA) program. Under this program, students could receive up to $8,000, which would be overseen by the Comptroller of Public Accounts in Texas. The bill includes provisions to protect smaller school districts from losing enrollment and mandates that no teaching on gender identity is allowed. Additionally, parents must be informed of any changes to their child's mental, emotional, or physical health.
Texas state representatives Steve Allison, Cody Harris and Todd Hunter did not respond to the Austin Journal's request for comment on ESAs.
Proposed Education Savings Accounts are "about freedom," Mandy Drogin, campaign director for Texas Public Policy Foundation's (TPPF) Next Generation Initiative, told the Austin Journal.
"It's about the freedom for every single parent, including those in rural communities, to have the option to send their child to whatever school they need," Drogin said. [Parents] feel like no one is listening because the system is set up not to listen to parents. And that is all across Texas, including rural areas.” According to the Parent Empowerment Coalition, a project of TPPF, "Universal parental choice means giving every parent access to the learning environment that best serves their children. All parents should have the widest possible choices – be it traditional public schools, public charter schools, private schools, or homeschool."
ESAs can be beneficial as they "improve proficiency and education attainment" according to studies conducted over the last 25 years. The coalition calls ESAs "digital wallets" for parents to use to customize their child's education, the coalition said.
According to TPPF, as loss of population and economic decay continues, rural towns are seeing a decline in high-paying jobs which leads to more families not being able to stay and live comfortably. A local parent says she knew of a young girl who has no options for school despite being a "genius kid... if she had more opportunities it would be life-changing." Another mother from Port Arthur discovered the GTECH program which allowed her 17 year-old son to join in an industrial training program to eventually work his way up and obtain the skills to work a high-paying industrial job. A GTEC instructor said, "you could make $21/hour when you're 18 years old... which opens the door for a young person to be independent immediately."
TPPF says the solution is "parent empowerment" through individual ESAs. State funds that are allocated to each student are placed into ESAs "for parents to direct as they see fit." Parents can then use these funds for workforce training for their kids: technical school, community college or on-the-job training. TPPF says an ESA program would allow for young people to stay local by obtaining certifications and skills required in high school to then enter a high-paying local job such as a refinery or manufacturing plant in their hometown. Giving parents the choice to choose which education opportunity is best for their child, Texas will see more "jobs, innovation, opportunities for people to live, thrive and grow."