Vouchers
The only reason that school funding did not pass, even after four special sessions, is because career educators were determined to defeat them. While they were successful in ensuring a very small percentage of Texas students wouldn't get vouchers, they also successfully crippled our Texas school districts by eliminating the possibility of an increase in school funding until September 2025, at the earliest.
FACTS VS. FICTION
MYTH: The education funding bill failed. There's no point in continuing to discuss it.
TRUTH: The money that was left on the table for school funding is still on the table. Governor Abbott can call a Special Session at any time and the Legislature can pass a school funding bill that would give all public schools the funding they desperately need.
MYTH: Vouchers are only available for the rich.
TRUTH: Within the failed school funding bill, guardrails were put in place to ensure that vouchers went to the families most in need of them. For example, if a family of three reported more than $100,000 of income, they would not qualify to receive a voucher. (The law, as currently written, states that the limit is 4x the poverty rate)
MYTH: There's no academic accountability for students attending private schools using vouchers.
TRUTH: Students being educated at private schools utilizing vouchers would be required to take a national assessment test. If they don't show progress two years in a row, they will no longer be eligible to receive the voucher funding.
MYTH: Parents or guardians who receive the vouchers have the ability to spend that money on anything they want.
TRUTH: Any voucher funds would be held and controlled by the Texas Comptroller. Families utilizing the voucher would need to provide proof of acceptance and enrollment into a private school, at which point the Comptroller would pay the funds directly to the school.
MYTH: If a student in our district is utilizing vouchers, our public schools will lose funding.
TRUTH: Parent or guardian property owners who are utilizing vouchers would still be required to pay local school property taxes regardless of where their children are educated.