Texas voucher bill, House Bill 3, would steal public funds from students in our public schools.
Photos from Texas Freedom Network’s press conference can be found here
A recording of the press conference can be found here
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2025
CONTACT: Emily Witt (she/her), [email protected]
AUSTIN, Texas — As the Texas House Public Education Committee heard House Bill 3, Texas Freedom Network (TFN), public education advocates, and community leaders today gathered at the Texas Capitol to demand lawmakers reject all vouchers.
Speakers included representatives from Texas Freedom Network, Equality Texas, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), Texas AFT, Texas public school students, and clergy representing Just Texas, a program of Texas Freedom Network.
“Let’s be clear about what’s happening. The voucher scheme presented by House Bill 3 is diverting public dollars from our neighborhood schools to subsidize tuition at exclusive private and religious schools that can pick and choose which students they want to accept,” said Felicia Martin (she/her/ella), TFN Executive Director. “The Texas Constitution is on our side. It states that our Legislature has a duty to ‘establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.’ Not private schools. Not exclusive institutions that can turn children away. Public schools serve every child in every community. Today, we call on our legislators to do what’s right: Reject this voucher scheme and fully fund the schools that serve all Texas children.”
If this Texas voucher bill moves forward, the harm will be felt statewide, but rural communities will be hit especially hard, where public schools aren’t just education centers, they’re the backbone of the entire community. Many rural areas have no private schools, meaning local tax dollars will be funneled out of their communities while their public schools are left to suffer.
At the same time, private schools that benefit from these taxpayer-funded vouchers are not obligated to accept all students — they can and do reject children based on disability, religion, LGBTQIA+ identity, and other factors. Public schools are the only schools that serve all students, regardless of their background, and they deserve full and fair funding.
“We will not accept the defunding of our neighborhood schools without a fight. This state has the world’s eighth-largest economy, but we’re at the bottom of every national ranking for how much of our state wealth goes to our public schools,” said Zeph Capo (he/him), Texas AFT President. “Underfunding them is a choice. Dedicating $1 billion to create a third taxpayer-funded school system when our neighborhood schools are laying off staff, closing campuses, and cutting student services is a choice. The next time Governor Abbott is out there talking about school choice, your children’s teachers and public school staff need you to remind him of the choices he and this Legislature have made.”
“I am here to ask our Governor to stop trying to take money away from our public schools with his voucher scam. He should be giving more money to public schools instead, and he knows it,” said an Austin public school fifth grader. “Because of my amazing public school, I have been able to get a lot of support for my dyslexia. Because of public school, I have been able to work with my speech teacher since I was 4 years old! Every kind of person is welcome at my school — no matter the color of your skin, if you’re from an LGBTQ family, or whatever religion you choose to practice. At private schools, they can say no to someone because of who they are, and that’s not okay.”
“The public school system is the backbone of our country. It is the full embodiment of the promise that anyone can succeed — no matter who you are or where you come from. I’m here today for the young gay and trans kids who need to feel supported and encouraged at school,” said Brad Pritchett (he/him), Equality Texas Interim CEO. “Gay and trans kids who feel supported at school, and know that teachers will protect them from bullying and harassment do better academically and socially. We must protect spaces where young people feel safe enough to learn and grow. Texas taxpayers, your dollars, should not be funding any institution that cannot guarantee the essential civil liberties of all students and all parents.”
“These are false promises. Vouchers are a scam that will drain the budget, and deplete public school resources and taxpayer dollars. As a Christian mother and minister, I want my Christian lawmakers, and fellow Christian Texans, to actually trust that God is bigger than our government,” said Rev. Lizzie McManus-Dail, Just Texas Clergy, Episcopal priest at Jubilee Episcopal Church in Austin, and author of God Didn’t Make Us to Hate Us. “Vouchers will ultimately force children of all faiths to attend religiously affiliated private schools. This is not love of neighbor, it is not love of enemy, and it is not spreading the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Public funds should stay with children in public schools.”
“Vouchers are a dangerous policy that deprives Texas students of quality education while diverting critical funding away from public schools. The same public schools are the only source of education for most students, especially those in rural and underserved communities,” said Da’taeveyon Daniels, SEAT Deputy Executive Director. “We should be focusing on improving our public institutions, not giving up on them, because when we give up on our public schools, we give up on the teachers and administration who dedicate their lives to cultivating the next generation of Texans, the parents who want better for their kids, and most of all the young people who make our state great.”
This Texas voucher bill prioritizes subsidizing education at private and religious schools for wealthy families over the needs of the millions of Texas kids served by public schools. By pulling resources from classrooms already struggling with underinvestment, overcrowding, and a growing teacher shortage, vouchers jeopardize the future of Texas public schools.
If HB 3 is voted out of the House Public Education Committee, it will then receive a full debate on the Texas House floor.
Senate Bill 2, another voucher bill, was passed by the Texas Senate in February.
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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.
