The priority voucher bill, SB 8 (Creighton), is expected to be considered on the Senate floor Thursday, April 6. The bill would create an $8,000 per year ESA with a $10,000 per student payment to districts with enrollments of 20,000 or fewer students that lose students due to taking ESAs.
What Action to Take
Call, email, or visit (if you can) your state senator, and tell them to please vote “no” on SB 8.
Look up who represents you in the Texas Senate/find contact info
Key Talking Points
- Private schools are not accountable to taxpayers; they are not required to report student achievement data to the state.
- Private schools do not have to accept all students; they can discriminate.
- The superiority of private schools is a myth. Private schools are not required to hire certified teachers. No credible research exists to suggest vouchers improve academic performance.
- Vouchers drain resources from public schools; other states have shown that voucher costs often grow well above projections.
- Texas already ranks 40th in per-student spending and the rate of inflation since 2019 is 14.5%, per the Comptroller.
- Choice already exists within the public school system: Districts have transfer policies, magnet schools, career/tech academies, etc.
- Vouchers subsidize tuition for existing private school and homeschooled students,
putting a huge new financial burden on the state.
More Talking Points on Vouchers
Why Vouchers are Not Right for Texas
