School choice, Christianity in Texas lessons debated as children return to class

Political fights that will determine how schools operate for millions of Texas children — and whether their families can use public money for private education — were foreshadowed Monday during a legislative hearing in Austin.

The House Public Education Committee began discussions on the voucherlike efforts. Education savings accounts are a priority of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who poured millions in cash and political capital to elect conservatives who would back his plan. He appears poised for success ahead of the November election.

Teachers, parents and advocates testified on the school choice idea, which has repeatedly been batted down by a coalition of rural Republicans and Democrats who worry it will siphon money away from the public schools that serve the vast majority of Texas children.

ESAs will degrade public schools across the state by taking away resources, said James Hallamek, the government relations specialist with the Texas State Teachers Association.

“Lawmakers should work to increase appropriations to public schools, not divert taxpayer funds to private schools,” Hallamek said.

The hearing took place on the first day of classes for many Texas schools, making it difficult for many teachers and parents to testify during the marathon day that ran from 9 a.m. until after 7 p.m.

Abbott used the back-to-school season to highlight his demands for parental choice.

He has pushed for education savings accounts, or ESAs, to be universally available. Families could use dedicated state funding to pay for tuition, tutoring, textbooks or other educational needs.

“During the upcoming legislative session, we’re going to work to make school choice a reality,” the governor wrote on X. “Parents matter — and choosing where they send their children to school matters.”

Among the proposals that gained traction – but didn’t pass last year – was one to give families up to $8,000 in an ESA. The policy would have cost about $500 million in its first year and serve as many as 25,000 kids, according to a state analysis. However, the plan’s costs could have ballooned to nearly $1 billion by year three, according to the estimates.

ProPublica recently reported that Arizona’s universal voucher program contributed to financial woes. The state faced a $1.4 billion budget shortfall, much of which was a result of the new voucher spending, according to the Grand Canyon Institute, a local nonpartisan fiscal and economic policy think tank.

Last year, the fight over ESAs in Texas derailed several other education proposals, including bills that would’ve boosted teacher pay and increased the base amount of money public schools receive per-student.

On Monday, lawmakers invited officials, professors and advocates from other states that already operate voucherlike programs. They discussed how their leaders decided how to prioritize slots, designate allowable expenses and institute accountability standards.

Those questions will likely be up for debate in the next session, which begins in January.

“We exist in an ever-changing world where we have the ability to customize nearly everything in our lives. This shift to an ESA-style approach is a harbinger of a more dynamic, responsive and inclusive educational landscape, where the needs and choices of families take center stage,” said Robyn Bagley, director of Utah Education Fits All.

Lawmakers largely reiterated the arguments made last year. Democrats expressed concerns that private schools don’t have to serve all students who have disabilities and that wide swaths of rural Texas don’t have access to private campuses.

Republicans stressed that parents should be financially empowered to put their child in the school that suits them best.

“Parents have the ultimate power when they make a school choice decision,” Republican committee chairman Brad Buckley said. “And they’re the ones that can decide whether or not the school is meeting the needs of their kids.”

Fort Worth parent Ken Kuhl told the committee that many families who use school vouchers are those who already have kids enrolled in private schools. Kuhl serves on the Texas PTA board.

“This voucher/ESA conversation is only about some of our Texas kids, and that’s wrong,” Kuhl said. “Instead of thinking about solutions that will only help some kids, we need to be thinking about solutions that will help all kids, and that’s not any form of voucher or ESA.”

The committe also discussed other education issues during the hearing, including the rollout of proposed lesson plans that include religious information.

State lawmakers asked Texas Education Agency officials to create a state-specific set of instructional materials for reading, which it made public in May. The lessons are designed to be structured, aligned with standards and accessible for all teachers to download for free.

However, Christianity is woven into several of the lessons, such as a kindergarten unit on “The Golden Rule.”

Officials said religious context can give students the ability to more deeply understand literary references and historical events.

“Jesus said that the Golden Rule sums up, or combines, all of the other rules described throughout the Bible into one, ‘So in everything, do unto others as you would have done unto you,’” reads one lesson.

Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, questioned Education Commissioner Mike Morath on the amount of Christian stories infused into the lessons.

Jewish, Muslim or Hindu students shouldn’t feel excluded in classrooms, Talarico said. He worried about how well teachers are trained to deal with complex questions of faith.

“There is a difference between teaching and preaching,” the lawmaker, a former teacher, said. “Public schools are not Sunday schools.”

Rep. Matt Schaefer pushed back, saying families crave such lessons.

“The simple truth is that all world religions did not have an equal impact on why we’re here today,” the Tyler Republican said. “I don’t think we should ever be ashamed of mentioning the name of Jesus in our curriculum, or shying away from the role of Christianity in developing this country.”

The State Board of Education is expected to vote on the lessons in the fall, along with textbooks from several other publishers.

If members give their seal of approval, districts could tap into extra state funding meant to encourage schools to use proven high-quality instructional materials. Local districts would not be required to use the state’s product.

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.