Schools and Education Ranked Top Priority for Voters
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2026
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas education advocacy organizations today released the following findings from a recent survey of Texas voters with household incomes under $250,000:
The survey found that Texas voters rank schools and education as a top priority and are much more likely to agree that school vouchers harm educational opportunities in the state than improve them.
Two-thirds of Texas voters agree with the statement that “Texas’s new school voucher law will increase school closures and take needed public dollars out of our public schools.”
“I am certainly not surprised to learn that many Texans list education as a top priority for state leaders,” said Zeph Capo, president of Texas AFT. “Instead of focusing on funding our schools and respecting our educators and students, elected officials have devoted time and capital to privatization schemes that voters of all political stripes do not support. This is especially confounding knowing that Texans’ other top priorities are cost of living and tackling government corruption, both of which the voucher issue makes worse. Voters want change because the status quo is untenable.”
“The research is clear: Texans value and support their neighborhood public schools. Vouchers drain funding and strain schools,” said Dr. Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., deputy director of policy for IDRA. “Our state’s investment should reflect that reality by strengthening the public schools that are open to all students, rather than diverting taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private schools.”
“Every child in Texas deserves a quality education, and that means fully investing in the public schools that serve all of our communities. Two-thirds of Texas voters see what this voucher law does. It pulls desperately needed tax dollars from neighborhood schools, fueling budget deficits and closures that hurt the kids left behind,” said Felicia Martin, president and executive director for Texas Freedom Network. “Heading into the next Legislative Session, Texas lawmakers should prioritize the hard-working families and children who depend on public schools, because the future of Texas depends on it. Public funds belong in public schools.”
“Hardworking Texans support and have paid for great public schools but the leadership at the Texas Legislature has failed to deliver for our students causing many school closures, said Ovidia Molina, president of Texas State Teachers Association. “In just the first year of the new voucher program, over a billion dollars has been diverted to private and for-profit entities instead. This is in direct opposition to what Texans want. It is long past due for our state legislators to deliver on the investment we have made in our public schools.”
Read the full briefing here.
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The Texas Freedom Network (tfn.org) is a grassroots organization of religious and community leaders and young Texans building an informed and effective movement for equality and social justice.
