This is a long article but worth the read for its clear explanations of why liberals and conservatives oppose vouchers. Just swap out Kansas for Texas.
“Most Democrats, teachers, and public school supporters disagree. They have many arguments, but the unifying theme is that vouchers would bleed money from the state’s chronically underfunded public education system, weakening it and leaving schools more segregated by class, race, and disability. Many rural Republicans – the backbone of the Texas Republican Party – share this concern. They also oppose vouchers because to get any benefit out of the program there must be private schools available, and in many of Texas’ rural counties there simply aren’t any…
“‘We, the people, don’t want this,’ Plemons said. ‘So if those elected officials know that we the people don’t want it, and they vote for it anyways, because King Abbott wants it, and because his donors want it, they just sold Texas…’
“Democratic Rep. James Talarico, a former schoolteacher who represents the Austin area in the Texas Legislature, riffs on this contradiction in every speech he gives. Talarico says that vouchers would be “a massive, historic transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top.” He emphasizes that the name given to vouchers by Republican leaders – school choice – is intentionally misleading.
“How is it school choice when the private school has all the power?” he asked a statewide gathering of the PTA in February. “How is it choice when a majority of counties in the state of Texas don’t have a single private school in them? How is it choice when private schools don’t have to provide transportation or special education services? And how is it choice when the voucher doesn’t even cover the full cost at most private schools in Texas?”
Originally posted to Facebook 3/22/2025.