Abbott Concedes That True “School Choice” Would Cost Public Schools

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday conceded that subsidizing private schools actually would take away funding from public schools, something he and other proponents of the program have repeatedly denied.

The Texas Senate last week passed Senate Bill 2, which will set aside $1 billion to subsidize private school and homeschooling. Under the bill, any student who is eligible to attend a public school, including private school students, would be able to apply for a $10,000 state savings account to help pay for private school tuition and supplies.

State school districts and public teachers have criticized the proposal because it aims to make it easier for students to transfer from public to private schools, which would reduce the money districts get from the state. Student enrollment sets how the state disburses money to districts.

Abbott conceded that indirect cost in a post to X on Wednesday that argued that opponents of subsidized private schooling are essentially coercing students into public education.

“The people ‘defunding’ public schools are PARENTS choosing a better option than what their assigned school provides,” Abbott wrote. “When they leave, the funding for that child leaves too. Democrats want to FORCE families to stay in government mandated schools against their will.”

The post is a change from Abbott’s usual messaging. He and other proponents of the program have repeatedly denied that the program would take money away from public schools directly, as Abbott did in a later post on Wednesday: “School choice doesn’t take a penny from public schools. It’s funded separately like roads and water.”

His second post is technically correct: Funding for the voucher program doesn’t directly come from the Permanent School Fund, which pays for public education. Instead, it would be financed with money from the General Fund.

Either way, SB 2 would be funded with public money and make it available to be spent on private school tuition, another frequent argument against the program.

The only way that SB 2 wouldn’t reduce public school enrollment is if it’s exclusively used by parents who already homeschool their children, or by parents who already send their children to private schools.

That runs counter to Republican messaging on the bill as a “school choice” policy that gives parents more freedom to decide where to send their children. SB 2 doesn’t offer incentives or subsidies to parents who want to transfer their children back into public schools.

SB 2 has been transmitted to the House for consideration, which established its committees for the session on Thursday.