DALLAS – If Texas' top two elected officials have their way, the Lone Star State will soon join 27 others that provide some form of taxpayer support for private schools or educational services.
Generally known as "vouchers" that can be applied toward tuition in private or religious schools or for home schooling, the subsidies are touted by proponents as a matter of "school choice."
In a week declared as "National School Choice Week," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced his full support for the subsidies, based on what he considers the success of publicly funded charter schools.
"As governor I have seen the proven success of charter schools, and will continue to fight to empower all parents to choose a school that's best for their child," Abbott told proponents of the "School Choice" campaign at an Austin rally on Jan. 24.
"I know that Lt. Gov. (Dan) Patrick and legislative leaders in both House and Senate are working on laws that will enable school choice in Texas," Abbott said. "I want that law to reach my desk and when it does I will make the choice to sign it."
Patrick, who made the proposal a priority in the 2017 Legislature after failing to win passage in the House in 2015, sees opportunity with backing from Abbott and President Donald Trump, whose state campaign he chaired last year.
In his inaugural speech, Trump decried an "education system flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge."
While opponents of school vouchers say the system primarily benefits families who can already afford to send their children to private schools, Patrick turned that line around, accusing the "rich" of undermining school choice.
"We have school choice already," Patrick told the Austin rally. "But you have to be rich to have school choice. In fact, many of the people who fight school choice are sending their kids to private school."
Randan Steinhauser, spokeswoman for Texans for Education Opportunity, said the Trump administration's support for vouchers will help build a case that Texas Legislators will hear.
"I think the momentum for Texas school choice is really growing," Steinhauser said. "We really think now is the time for parents to have educational freedom in Texas."
While proponents claim school choice as a civil rights issue, defenders of the public schools see the movement as a way to undermine support for the disadvantaged students whose chances of entering an exclusive private school are remote at best. In Dallas, for example, the top 10 private prep schools charge annual tuition ranging from about $21,000 to more than $26,000 per year.
While many of those schools provide scholarships for minority students with high academic ability, the proposed $5,000 state voucher likely would not gain admittance for a pupil with special needs whose parents could not make up the difference in tuition. Most of the elite prep schools already have waiting lists of well-heeled families.
In Dallas Independent School District, by contrast, 89% of students are considered impoverished and qualify for free school lunches. As a public school system, Dallas ISD must take any student who lives in the district, including the developmentally disabled or those with physical disabilities. The district must also provide transportation.
"State leaders seem committed to force our neighborhood public schools to do more with less for the sake of private school vouchers," said Kathy Miller, president of Texas Freedom Network, an organization that monitors the State Board of Education. "Vouchers, by any name, are a scheme that strips critical funds from public schools and gives a discount to individuals who can already afford private school, and all at taxpayer expense and with zero accountability."
Senate Bill 3 awaiting introduction is likely to call for "education savings accounts" that would provide $5,000 in the form of a debit card that could be used for educational purposes yet to be specified. The pending bill, already designated by Patrick as a high-priority issue, would come as public schools are fighting for every dollar of state funding in a year of tight revenue.
With myriad issues unresolved, the impact of "school choice" on public school finance and credit remains uncertain. Large urban districts appear to be most vulnerable to the increased competition.
"There are a lot of unknowns," said Kate Boatright, senior director for S&P Global Services. "From a credit perspective we would look at the numbers. It's a numbers game.
"What we don't know is the scope of a proposed program, how expansive it would be without hindering a school district's stability," she said. "How are they thinking about the impacts on districts that are losing students? We don't have any details of the proposal yet."
One potentially contentious factor could be the type of regulation – if any – that comes with receiving state money for private school tuition. Charter schools that receive state funding must meet state standards as measured by standardized tests. Private schools that do not require such tests are unlikely to welcome rigid state accountability standards.
In her confirmation hearing last week, Trump's Secretary of Education nominee, Betsy DeVos responded to a question from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., by indicating that she did not support "equal accountability" for public and private schools that receive taxpayer funds. DeVos, a Michigan billionaire, is a major promoter of voucher programs.
"Traditional public schools are not succeeding. In fact, let's be clear, in many cases, they are failing," DeVos said in a 2013 Philanthropy Roundtable interview. "That's helped people become more open to what were once considered really radical reforms—reforms like vouchers, tax credits, and education savings accounts."
Michigan Education Association President Steven Cook accused DeVos of undermining public schools.
"In Michigan, we know firsthand how disastrous DeVos' ideology is, as she has spent decades wielding her family's money and influence to destroy public education and turn our schools and students over to for-profit corporations," Cook said in a statement after Trump nominated DeVos.
Of the 27 states with some form of private school choice, 14 plus the District of Columbia have traditional school voucher programs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
"States vary in which students are eligible for a voucher," the NCSL noted. "Students from low-income households, students attending failing schools, students with disabilities and those living in rural areas are the most common groups targeted in school voucher programs."
