Competition In Education: Texas Signs School Choice Vouchers Into Law

It’s no secret that US schooling has been in steep decline since the founding of the federal Department of Education in 1980 and the normalization of centralized government curriculum.  Reading, math and science scoring is dismal.  The US ranks 28th out of 37 countries participating in OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) math scores and 12th in science.  The US is 36th in the global literacy rankings.  For the richest nation on Earth, these are not encouraging results.

To be sure, demographics do play a role in dragging national scores down, but a greater threat to the learning experience of young Americans is the largely progressive controlled education system infested by a majority Democrat teachers union.  For decades there’s been no escape for children and parents from leftist indoctrination, and Democrats would like to keep it that way. 

This is why the concept of private school vouchers has been stuck in political limbo for years; the ability to choose threatens the status quo.  Democrats claim that school vouchers would primarily benefit students from wealthy families, but the wealthy already have the option of a private education.  The middle class does not, and those are the kids that Dems want to keep on the plantation.

Texas conservatives have something to say about that.

Governor Greg Abbott has just signed school choice vouchers into law after a long fought legislative battle.  Abbott signed the school choice bill on May 3rd, allowing for taxpayer money to be used to help qualifying students pay for private school tuition.

“Today is the culmination of a movement that has swept across the state and our country,” Abbott said Saturday.  The governor also said it wouldn’t have been possible without the “fearless commitment of the members of the House and Senate who put families first.”

“When I ran for reelection in 2022, I promised school choice for the families of Texas. Today, we deliver on that promise,” said Abbott during the bill’s signing before hundreds of applauding supporters gathered outside the Governor’s Mansion. “Gone are the days that families are limited to only the school assigned by government. The day has arrived that empowers parents to choose the school that’s best for their child.”

As part of the $1 billion bill, most students who attend an accredited private school will receive $10,000 per year. Students with disabilities will receive up to $30,000 per year, and home-schooled students will get $2,000 a year.  The money is intended to help students cover what might otherwise be unattainable private school tuition.  The average cost of private schooling is $12,000 a year per student.  Meaning, Texas is likely to see the biggest surge in private school attendance of any state in recent history. 

Democrats are crying doom at the prospect. 

“Remember this day next time a school closes in your neighborhood,” state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said at a news conference with other voucher opponents. “Remember this day next time a beloved teacher quits because they can’t support their family on their salary. Remember this day next time your local property taxes rise because the state government is not doing its fair share of school funding. And if recession comes and we are forced to make even deeper cuts to public education, remember this day.”

In other words, Democrats hate the free market.  If public schools were effective, if public school teachers were actually doing their job, and if schools were teaching academics instead of enforcing propaganda, then no parent would want to pull their child out of class.  If the mere existence of private schools as an option for the average child is enough to implode public institutions, then perhaps they are not worth saving.

The momentum for school vouchers has been gaining in recent years because of two factors:  First, the hysteria over Covid, the useless mandates and attempts to force vaccinate have made millions of parents wary of placing their children within the power of government schools again.  Second, the insane spread of woke ideology and LGBT “sexual awareness” in the classroom, mainly spearheaded by groomer teachers, has left parents utterly disenchanted with government education.

In other words, the teachers did this to themselves.  And, if some of them lose their jobs because Americans now have other alternatives, all the better.