The Texas Conference of Catholic Bishops (TCCB) has come out in favor of universal school choice, commending Gov. Greg Abbott on his push for the education savings account (ESA) bill that is to be considered this legislative session.
“As Catholics, we believe in universal school choice—that every student in Texas should have the opportunity to learn in the environment best suited to their needs,” TCCB Executive Director Jennifer Allmon said in a Texas Catholic Voice release. “We are grateful for the governor’s strong message for universal choice.”
Allmon said the bishops are optimistic and cited polling data which demonstrates school choice policies have positive effects on public schools.
The state’s executive branch is fully behind the bill, the release said. Abbott said empowering parents through an ESA bill is one of his seven emergency items in his recent State of the State Address. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, meanwhile, included the "Empowering Parental Rights – Including School Choice" measure in the top 10 of the top 30 priorities for this legislative session.
Polling data shows "most parents favor programs where money follows the student,” Allmon told The Texan, referencing findings by EdChoice.org, which argued that school choice programs may influence how public schools choose to operate, but evidence shows that they help rather than hurt the most important part of education – the children.
EdChoice.org contends that it is commonly believed that public school students who do not choose to leave using voucher funds will have less money and fall behind academically. Many public schools are a great fit for a lot of kids, and because some kids choose a different learning environment, it does not mean that the students who stay are "left behind" or "trapped." Students who stay tend to experience small gains in test scores. Of the 26 studies that have examined the competitive effects of school choice programs on public schools, 24 have found positive effects, one saw no visible effect and one found some negative effects for some kids.
Allmon said the Texas bishops are promoting the school choice bill because it will help the poor and vulnerable the most, giving them more education opportunities. TCCB has assisted in the writing of some bills.
