11/17/2023
Education Saving Accounts (ESAs) are wrong kind of "choice"
All parents want choice - choice for appropriate special education services, course-level rigor, foreign language studies, athletic programs, enrichment, areas of study, and school or class size. At the same time, all taxpayers want accountability for public dollars.
The only way families are guaranteed choice and accountability is through well-funded public schools, where every parent has the choice to enroll their child, the choice to be engaged in their future, the right to certain protections, and access to a variety of information ensuring accountability. Nothing is more fundamental to making every child's potential a reality than strong public schools.
While private schools provide a great option for many families, we object to using public tax dollars to fund them through vouchers or Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).
If ESAs, which are just one of many things included in a 177-page "everything but the kitchen sink" education bill currently under consideration, are indeed the right choice for Texas, why not let the legislation stand on its own?
And, if you truly want what is best for children, teachers and education, why not adequately fund children in public schools without hitching controversial legislation to it? Parents from across the state desperately want our Texas Legislature to recognize its important role in preparing tomorrow's workforce.
We believe that House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, which have advanced for consideration during the 88th Legislative Special Session No. 4, have major flaws:
- ESAs will not address our most vulnerable populations, including those in failing schools, with limited resources or needing special education services, because there is no guarantee these children will be accepted or provided appropriate resources in private schools, despite "prioritization recommendations."
- ESAs will send public taxpayer dollars to private institutions with little to no state oversight or taxpayer accountability.
- ESAs violate the separation of church and state. The U.S. Constitution prohibits any government "establishment of religion". Tax dollars directed toward private schools of religious origin violates this principle.
- ESAs will create a third, redundant, expensive and unsustainable education system in Texas.
- ESAs siphon money away from children attending public schools. The Legislative Budget Bureau estimates that they will cost the state at least $2 billion within 2 years, while districts across the state already are scrambling to make ends meet and operating out of deficit budgets.
- Finally and simply put, the proposed increase in public education funding isn't enough. It doesn't come close to maintaining pace with inflation since 2019. Doing so would require an increase in funding by approximately $1,200 per student.
Following last week's House Select Committee hearing, public comments overflowed to more than 1,000 pages, with a significant majority opposing the implementation of ESAs and vouchers.
The effects of this legislation would resonate for generations, and the outcomes are simply unknown.
Illinois just repealed its voucher program. Texas shouldn't make a similar costly mistake that it will later regret.
As parents who are fully invested in our public schools, we strongly urge this Legislature to fully fund public education to ensure its sustainability and quality before ESAs or vouchers are even considered. With the state's record surplus, it is unconscionable that only a limited amount of additional funding has been provided to our public schools this year. Our students, parents and teachers deserve better.
We must continue to work together to provide the resources necessary to properly educate every one of the 5.4 million public school children in Texas so that one day, PTA's vision that every child's potential is a reality becomes the reality in Texas.
