Since the Kingdom of Life Academy moved from its location at the Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Tyler to its own 23-acre space in town, they’ve struggled to get enough students to keep afloat, going from 10 students at the end of 2019 to 20 students this year.
Its website states the campus offers a “Christ-centered education” to grades six through 10. “All education is inescapably Christian in that all truth is God’s truth. The Bible, as the infallible, inerrant and inspired Word of God, is the foundation and guide for all knowledge and is basic to all elements of education.”
Struggling private religious schools like Kingdom of Life, as well as Catholic parochial schools facing widespread declining enrollment, have been looking to the state to throw them a lifeline through a school voucher program that would pay for the tuition of private school students at large. For nearly 30 years, a bipartisan coalition in the Texas House has staved off efforts to siphon public dollars to private schools. But after Tuesday’s election results, Governor Greg Abbott and the school voucher movement are inching closer to getting what they want.
