A poll conducted by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation found the majority of state residents support school choice and education savings accounts (ESAs), according to a tweet published by WFAA on Monday.
"A poll by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation and WFAA shows a majority of Texans want to expand school choice and allow parents to use tax dollars to send their children to private school," the tweet read.
A total of 1,000 registered voters responded to the poll, which specifically referred to Senate Bill 8 as proposed by State Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), originally calling for ESAs with $8,000 per student. The outcome of the poll was 58% of respondents in support of the bill while 42% opposed it, a WFAA article said.
Traditionally, both Democrats and rural Republicans have been against forms of school choice, reasoning that it would hurt local schools. However, the poll found that 70% of Black voters, 59% of Hispanic voters and 55% of white voters support ESAs. The poll had a margin of error of 2.09%, according to WFAA.
According to the Texas Tribune, state lawmakers are working to avoid a special session by joining the ESA proposal to House Bill 100. Initially proposed by Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian), HB 100 would add $4.5 billion in funding for public school districts, as well as increase teacher salaries and balance school budgets to adjust them to inflation.
The addition of an ESA program to the bill would grant $8,000 in taxpayer funds to families for education alternatives, the article said. The ESA program would be made available to many of Texas' 5.5 million students, with priority given to students who attended school and received a C-grade or lower by the state's accountability program.
SB 8 failed to pass in the House Committee on Public Education and was watered to such a degree that Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) voiced his dissatisfaction and threatened to veto it in its reduced state. Abbott also reiterated his support for a school choice bill in line with supporting parental rights, which have grown in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Austin Journal, Heritage Foundation senior research fellow Jason Bedrick and ReimaginED Executive Director Matthew Ladner say that Texas will continue to lag behind Florida in attracting new residents if the State Legislature fails to pass the school choice bill backed by Abbott, which is receiving resistance from rural Republicans in the State House. Bedrick and Ladner cited studies showing how school choice policies have benefitted Arizona and Florida public schools, saying that Texas needs education reform to remain economically competitive.