AUSTIN, Texas – Shinara Morrison drove four hours to stand in the rain outside the Texas Capitol and rally for public money to help homeschool her third-grade son.
“We’ve had a really rough experience with Texas schools,” Morrison said at a Parent Empowerment Rally in Austin on Tuesday. “Teachers don’t have a passion to teach anymore. I would rather teach my own child.”
The Port Arthur mom plans to homeschool her son next year. But if that happens before a voucher-like effort in Texas goes into effect, her family could be ineligible.
Who qualifies is a key tension point in the school choice fight this session. Republicans pushing the effort are divided over which students should get the $8,000 education savings accounts that could be used for private school tuition, tutoring or other expenses.
Some of the biggest cheerleaders of school choice are left out of the bill prioritized by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: families with kids already in private school or being homeschooled. Only students attending public school or starting their education would be eligible for the money.
That’s drawing backlash from families and conservatives who want a “universal” option.
Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, zeroed-in on eligibility tensions during the bill’s first public hearing.
Many working-class parents in his North Texas district hold multiple jobs, drive old cars and skip vacation to come up with the money to send their children to private school, Springer said.
“Maybe their neighbor, who hasn’t made the sacrifices, hasn’t done that, all of the sudden now is eligible to get an ESA,” he said. “I don’t see fairness in that.”
The fissures could spell trouble for legislation that already faces an uphill climb in the GOP-led House. In the past, rural Republicans and Democrats have shot down voucher-like efforts, concerned it would funnel money away from public schools that educate the vast majority of Texas children. Education savings accounts differ from traditional vouchers because the savings accounts go to families, while vouchers go to schools.
Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican who authored the bill, countered that the Legislature has to start somewhere. And the proposal is constrained by funding, he noted.
“It’s easy to draft a bill that has no regard for the dollars and it just says full universal,” he said.
The policy will cost an estimated $500 million in its first year, and serve as many as 25,000 kids, but it could balloon to nearly $1 billion by year three, according to a fiscal analysis.
Creighton added that his bill would prioritize students who are zoned to lower-rated schools based on the Texas Education Agency’s academic accountability system.
“The best part of this hearing is just kind of discussing what is the best path forward knowing that we’re very, very limited on where we can begin,” Creighton said.
In other states, many families with kids already attending private schools received the new public funds to help pay tuition. Other states have also expanded who is eligible for a voucher-like program after an initial effort passes, which concerns public education advocates.
“It turns, in some ways, into more of a kind of middle-class subsidy for families that were already in private schools paying out of their own pocket,” said Christopher Lubienski, an Indiana University education policy professor who has studied school choice efforts. “Now taxpayers are taking on that cost.”
‘No Parent Left Behind’
Sweeping changes are possible as the GOP-led Legislature debates what is likely a defining issue this session.
Other Republican senators introduced bills that would give homeschooling and private school families access to the money.
Some lawmakers suggested prioritizing students based on their family’s income, not their school ratings. Others want unused money to roll over into a fund the student could tap to pay for college or technical school.
It’s not clear where state leaders land. Patrick, who oversees the Senate, did not respond to a request for comment and neither did Gov. Greg Abbott. Both GOP leaders named education savings accounts a top priority this legislative session.
On a promotion tour across the state, Abbott is speaking at private, Christian schools to pump up support for education savings accounts, or ESAs.
Many of those cheering him on — who already have kids enrolled in the private schools he’s highlighting — would not be eligible for funds under Creighton’s bill.
During one event, Abbott called for universal ESAs saying “every child in the state of Texas” needs access.
“When a school does fall short of excellence, when it strays too far from the fundamentals or simply cannot meet the unique needs of a particular child, parents should not be helpless,” he said. “They should be able to choose the education option that is best for their child.”
Conservative groups, including the influential Texas Public Policy Foundation, want a “universal” school choice plan.
“Think of it as No Parent Left Behind,” chief communications officer Brian Phillips wrote in an email blast to supporters, echoing former President George W. Bush’s signature education policy.
At Tuesday’s rally, as Abbott addressed the crowd, people passed out fliers panning Creighton’s proposal as exclusionary to more than 1 million students and urged support for a competing bill.
A quarter of a million students receive private education now, according to the state’s Legislative Budget Board. The Texas Home School Coalition estimates about 750,000 students are taught at home — though it’s hard to measure the popularity of homeschooling.
It’s not clear how many of those families would take advantage of an ESA if they could. Several parents at the Senate hearing worried about accepting government money and the “strings” that could come with it, such as testing and oversight.
‘The wealthiest Texans’
In Indiana, roughly 44,000 students participated in the state’s Choice Scholarship Program last year. Less than one-third of them previously attended a public school, according to state records.
In Arizona, lawmakers expanded to a universal school choice program last summer. More than 50,000 students are now recipients of funds from the state’s education savings account initiative. Just over half of those children had never attended a public school, according to the state’s education department.
Such trends spark concerns about any program in Texas.
“The wealthiest Texans would be able to use this education account in order to subsidize the monies that they’re already paying in private schools,” Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said.
He added that $8,000 may not cover the true cost of private school in Texas in many cases.
Some elite schools in Dallas charge tuition that tops $20,000. Other private options are more affordable. Meanwhile, supplemental costs can include application fees, the price of uniforms, meal plans and other bills, like for sports.
Private schools can also be selective in admissions. Some have strict academic or religious standards. They are also not required to accept students who may have severe disabilities, unlike public schools that must educate everyone.
Morrison worries that if only public school students can qualify for an ESAs, desperate parents who’ve already removed their kids may feel forced to send them back.
Her son tried different charter and traditional schools this year but experienced bullying from peers and teachers, she said.
“He’s excited about being home schooled,” Morrison said. “After this year, regardless of the bill, I’m going to pull him out just for his mental health… If I have to put him back into school in order to get (an ESA), then that’s the issue for me.”
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The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
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