TEA commissioner avoids school voucher topic during state of public education discussion
DALLAS - Texas public school districts are anxious to know if state lawmakers will finally approve any new funding in the next Texas Legislature.
The man in charge of Texas public education spoke with Dallas business leaders on Tuesday about literacy rates. He did not mention school funding or vouchers.
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath stayed away from the topic, but the House public education chair did answer questions about the hot-button subject.
The legislative session starts in four months, and Gov. Greg Abbott is already predicting a voucher victory.
With students back in the classroom, public education leaders have continued to fume over the lack of increased funding.
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Commissioner Morath spoke to the Dallas Regional Chamber Tuesday about the state of public education. He steered away from the hot-button topic of vouchers in his speech.
Texas public schools educate 5.5 million students.
The recent push has been to create what Gov. Abbott calls ‘education savings accounts’ using public funds for private education.
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Republican Rep. Brad Buckley is the House public education chair. He’ll propose the voucher bill in January.
"Nearly every member I speak with, regardless of party, wants to bring those resources to our public schools," he said.
Buckley took questions about vouchers during the regional chamber event.
"This is not an either-or decision, not a ‘you support public education, or you don’t.’ I reject that notion," he said.
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During the last session, all Democrats and a coalition of mostly rural Republicans killed repeated attempts to pass a voucher plan. That also resulted in no new funding for schools.
Now, some of those Republicans have been voted out of office, and Gov. Abbott has more school choice allies who will be sworn in next January.
Democrats have pushed back on the idea, pointing to higher admission costs for many private schools and restricted enrollment access.
Under his proposal, Buckley says there will be accountability and testing requirements for private schools.
"The ultimate accountability rests with the parent," he said. "I believe parents deserve that opportunity to have every tool in the toolbox."
The TEA wanted to roll out a new grading system for schools, but it’s been challenged in court. It’s unclear when that matter will be resolved.