Texas Takes Major Step to Implement School Choice

The American education system is long overdue for some top down reforms. With children struggling with literacy and simply being warehoused for about eight hours each day, it’s clearer than ever that public schools are failing. 

Unfortunately, these schools are working hand in hand with teachers unions that have no interest in making any serious changes. Time and time again, these unions have rejected very reasonable requests from parents. 

Instead, they’d rather poison children’s minds with DEI and other political ideologies that have no place in classrooms. Parents who dare to object or raise serious concerns are dismissed at best and deemed domestic terrorists at worst. 

It is for these reasons that school choice is absolutely imperative. Under no circumstances should any child be forced to sit in failing classrooms simply because of the zip code they call home. 

Thankfully, Texas just took a major step forward that will streamline easy access to school choice. 

A Hopeful Turn of Events for Parents

Earlier this month, the country had a series of elections impacting not just the federal House and Senate, but also their state level counterparts. In the case of Texas, they now have more than enough state House members to begin actively implementing school choice. 

In the days after the November 5 election, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared new developments with the public. Affirming his own support for school choice into law, the governor declared that all parents across his state will have this freedom. 

Not only is Abbott 100% committed, but there are also enough Texas House members who share his sentiment. Previously, school choice has been challenging, due to legislative roadblocks. Now, in the aftermath of the November 5 elections, that’s all changed. 

In the weeks and months ahead, we can expect Gov. Abbott to keep the public updated on how school choice is coming along. Moreover, once Texas is able to get legislation officially passed into law, we’ll all get to witness the positive impacts this has on countless families. 

Other States Should Follow Suit

At its core, school choice should not be considered a partisan issue. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, we should all agree that our kids deserve a high quality of education. 

Public schools, from an objective standpoint, are simply not providing this. In fact, these facilities are linked to not just lower grades among students, but also smaller salaries for teachers. This hurts the morale amongst educators and during a time when our country is already facing a teacher shortage. 

Every state should be looking to Texas as an example when it comes to implementing school choice policies. Providing funding for private schools is a great step in the right direction. The same rule also applies to removing roadblocks that make it harder for parents to access higher-quality educational opportunities for their kids. 

Grassroots Efforts to Streamline School Choice

Whether you live in or out of Texas, there are many ways to promote school choice. Phoning your local representatives and letting them know why they should sponsor or vote for relevant legislation is a great starting point. 

Word of mouth helps too. Many parents are dissatisfied with the quality of public classrooms, but may struggle with accessing other alternatives. This poses a great opportunity to reach out to these parents, inform them about school choice, and let them know about all the available options. 

Improving the quality of education is going to require efforts from all levels, not just the top down. People need to know that failing public schools are not the only hope their children have at receiving an education. 

School Choice is Widely Popular… Even Amongst Its Detractors

Sometimes, pushing back against the failures of public schools can feel like an uphill battle. Though in actuality, the numbers show private schools are very popular. By all accounts, when put up against its public counterparts, the former wins each and every time.

Believe it or not, many people who work for teachers unions are also sending their kids to private schools behind the scenes. This speaks volumes; it proves that even those who pretend school choice is evil are taking advantage of it behind the scenes. 

At this point in time, the stakes couldn’t be any higher. If teachers unions were going to stand up for our kids, they would have done it already. The onus now lies on us to get to work and make sure every single child has access to a state-of-the-art education, even if it means going to a school that’s not in their zip code. 

If the teachers unions and other similar groups really believed private schools were so horrible and unfair, they’d be having their own kids sit in public classrooms. The fact that they’ve made the opposite decision tells us everything there is to know.