AUSTIN, Texas – State lawmakers are once again debating the controversial school voucher legislation known as the school choice plan.

The Texas House Public Education Committee held a meeting on Monday about the future of education, budgets, and school vouchers. The school voucher plan aims to use tax dollars to pay for students to attend private schools.

A panel of education experts and professionals from across the country presented information on school vouchers in front of members of the Texas House Public Education Committee on Monday.

“Choice programs are successful when they accomplish three things; they need to attract a large and diverse quality of education providers. Second, they must provide information to parents to help them act as informed consumers of education. Third, they should prioritize,” says University of Arkansas Professor of Education Policy Dr. Patrick Wolf.

Governor Greg Abbott’s School Choice Plan was introduced in 2023. It allows students to be given an education savings account in the amount of nearly $8,000 to attend a private school. The funds will come from tax dollars, sparking concern that it may take away from the budget of public schools.

“Such financial support is a game changer. It has significantly democratized access to diverse education settings, allowing parents to customize options that better align with their values, their education and their children’s unique needs,” says Utah Education Fits All Executive Director Robyn Bagley.

MORE STORIES:

“I guess we are just abandoning making data-informed or data-driven decisions when it comes to taxpayer dollars in this amount. If it is privatized, I think that is really disappointing, considering again how substantially underfunded our neighborhood public schools are,” says District 49 Texas House Representative Gina Hinojosa.

The school choice plan was voted against by members of the Texas House of Representatives in 2023 and may be voted on again in 2025.

“Parents and teachers, we don’t listen enough to those voices when it comes to our neighborhood public schools. We also heard from the expert that is on the panel that these options only work when private schools are allowed to discriminate in admissions,” says Hinojosa.

During the meeting, the panel of education specialists provided feedback on the impact the school vouchers have in their area.

“All K-12 students in the state should be eligible to participate if their parents decide their private school or customized education best serves the child’s educational needs,” says Wolf.

“All of you have been invited to sell us on vouchers, which I appreciate. That is your position and what all of you do for a living, but I am very concerned that we are not getting a true picture across the country from folks who may disagree with your assessment,” says District 52 State Representative James Talarico.

A second day of meetings will be held at the capitol on Tuesday, August 13.

Work at Tesla? Tell us what your working conditions are like by filling out the form below. All submissions will be kept anonymous.

The family of a Tesla worker, Victor Joe Gomez Sr., filed a wrongful death lawsuit last week against Tesla and two other corporations in an Austin, Texas court. On August 1, Gomez was “immediately electrocuted” and knocked unconscious at the electric vehicle company’s Gigafactory while inspecting an electrical panel. The shock sent him into cardiac arrest, and he was transported to Dell Seaton Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The family is seeking over $1 million in damages.

Gomez was not a full-time Tesla employee, but a licensed journeyman electrician from Tesla contractor Belcan Services Group. The family is also suing Colorado River Project, LLC, which owns the land that the plant sits on.

They allege Gomez’ death was due to negligence on the part of the three corporations named in the suit. According to court filings, the defendants have not responded to the family’s request to inspect the scene where Gomez was electrocuted, effectively preventing them from gathering evidence. The family has asked that the scene be preserved, and that all attempts to alter, salvage, sell or destroy evidence be prevented through a temporary restraining order while evidence is gathered.

OSHA previously announced an investigation but will not release any more information until its inquiry is complete.

Tesla’s massive Gigafactory, designed to employ as many as 20,000 people, is one of the most dangerous workplaces in the country. Over 1,000 injuries were recorded in 2023 alone, and two deaths have taken place so far this year. One of the few workplaces with more injuries is another Tesla factory in Fremont, California.

Another Belcan contractor, 57-year old Antelmo Ramirez, died in 2021 during the plant’s construction from excessive heat on a 96 degree day.

In the US as a whole, 5,486 workers lost their lives in 2023—15 deaths per day. In 2022, 2.8 million injury and illness cases were reported by private sector employers. Temporary and contract workers are particularly abused, experiencing higher rates of injuries compared to permanent workers.

A co-worker who knew Gomez and worked side by side with him told the WSWS, “Victor Gomez was a very hard worker and always seemed to want to make sure his job was done correctly and on time.”

The co-worker confirmed that the company made no announcements even to plant workers after Gomez’ death. The workers at the plant feel unsafe, he says, and there have been no safety changes since the death.

“I would say that [Tesla should be] simply not pushing people as hard and not making them hurry,” he added. That would be “enough to make workers more aware and also allow them to properly do their jobs, including testing equipment. Most workers are usually always forced to do work ‘ASAP.’”

The co-worker also said that lockout-tagout (LOTO), a basic safety procedure in any workplace dealing with heavy machinery, is loosely enforced. They should “enforce LOTO more and actually have a crew or a system to verify that LOTO is being properly done,” he said.

According to the worker, Tesla does not enforce LOTO for inspections like the one that Gomez was carrying out. This means that there are no checks to ensure that equipment is de-energized, creating situations where stored-up energy can be released unexpectedly. The panel Gomez was inspecting should have been de-energized beforehand, meaning a strictly LOTO policy could have prevented the entire incident. The same worker said, “LOTO is usually required to be used by contractors but it is rarely verified by Tesla employees.”

“There were multiple injuries through my time there. A lot of the time it seemed they were caused by people not being fully aware of their surroundings while trying to quickly do their jobs.”

Gomez was told to inspect the panel “ASAP” by management, which may also have contributed to his death.

The co-worker described grueling conditions in the plant. “I was almost forced to work endless hours—90-plus hours weekly—in order to meet their deadlines, and was expected back to work early morning every day for daily meetings and inspections.”

“I really would hope something changes in that environment, as it already had to cost the life of a great man.”