An education bill introduced in the Texas Senate would allow families to use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools. Do you agree with this?
Last week Senate Bill 8 was introduced into the Texas Senate.
If passed into law, it would give families up to $8,000 in taxpayer money per student to pay for private schooling through an educational savings account.
State Sen. Brandon Creighton introduced the bill.
"Educating the next generation of Texans is the most fundamental responsibility we have, and I authored Senate Bill 8 to place parents, not government, squarely in the center of the decisions for their children. Giving parents the power to determine the best school for their child will encourage competition and innovation, ensuring that each Texas student has the opportunity to succeed." State Sen. Brandon Creighton
Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick backs the bill.
"We do not want to bracket out the parents … we want all parents in rural Texas to have school choice available to them. If you don’t have a chance at a quality education, you don’t have a chance at the American dream.” Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick
Students will be eligible for the program if:
- they are currently enrolled in a public school
- attended a public school for 90 percent of the previous year,
- or are entering Pre-K.
Private and homeschooled students will not be eligible.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been pushing education saving accounts to bolster the Texan education system.
Education savings accounts "give the money directly to families, sometimes in the form of a preloaded debit card" and allows parents to use public dollars to spend on private school tuition.
Last November, Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Wallisville, filed SB 176, which, if passed, would establish the “Texas Parental Empowerment Program,” or an education savings account program to be administered by the state comptroller.
“When a school does fall short of excellence, when it strays too far from the fundamentals or simply cannot meet the unique needs of a particular child, parents should not be helpless. They should be able to choose the education option that is best for their child.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
A recent University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs poll found 61 percent of Texans supported education vouchers for low-income families while 53 percent supported vouchers for all families regardless of income.
Your thoughts
Do you agree with this bill? Should families receive $8000 per child to put towards public school? Do you believe the voucher system is a good idea? Or would you like to see more funds invested into public schools?
Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below and share this article on social media so more people can join the conversation.
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