AUSTIN, TEXAS — Today, House Democrats held a press conference to voice their opposition to House Bill 3, the school voucher scam bill currently under consideration in the Public Education Committee. In the Outdoor Rotunda at the Texas Capitol, Democratic members of the Public Education Committee highlighted the devastating impact HB 3 would have on neighborhood schools across Texas, which are already facing a funding crisis.
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[WATCH THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE HERE]
House Democrats urged Texans to visit DontDefundMySchool.com to see the exact dollar amount their local schools stand to lose if this bill passes. At the press conference, members highlighted Greg Abbott’s school closure crisis and reminded Texans that the voucher scheme isn’t about improving education, but about draining resources from neighborhood schools to subsidize private tuition for the wealthy few. While local schools from Leander to El Paso are forced to close because of Greg Abbott’s failure to fully fund our schools, HB 3 would further destabilize an already precarious situation in classrooms across the state.
The press conference comes as more than 350 Texans wait to deliver public testimony against the bill, reflecting just a fraction of the overwhelming opposition across the state. Recent polling shows 70% of public school parents oppose vouchers, with 85% reporting that the proposed $10,000 voucher would not be enough to make private school affordable for their children.
Rep. James Talarico: "Public schools are shutting down across Texas, but Greg Abbott is nowhere to be seen. He's too busy spending his time at expensive private schools. Our governor hasn't stepped foot inside a Texas public school in years. He's too busy rallying at these private schools for private school vouchers that will take money out of our underfunded public schools and give that money to rich parents who were already sending their kids to private school."
Rep. Alma Allen: "Savings account is what they say. It's really called a voucher bill. Don't let them fool you... You may have a letter that says ‘this is worth $10,000.’ … $10,000 if you go to the school… and the tuition is something like 27,000 dollars a year. If I gave you a 10,000 dollar voucher… you still owe $17,000!"
Rep. Gina Hinojosa: "We have spent so much time of our very limited time here at the legislature repeatedly talking about this voucher scam that will not help 5.5 million school kids in our neighborhood public schools, which are the only choice available by right to every child in Texas. We know our public schools are going without the basics … And yet we still waste time on this voucher scam. It is unacceptable. It makes no sense. It takes more money out of our neighborhood schools to give to private schools when public schools have no more to give."
Rep. John Bryant: "Texas is 44th in the nation in the effort that the state makes to educate our children. 44th. For 22 years, the Republicans have been in a majority in the House, in the Senate, in this legislature, and for 30 years they've dominated the executive branch. And they have managed the gradual reduction in support for public education over more than two decades. And yet they come up and tell us, oh, we have to have vouchers because the public schools are not doing the job... How can you cut the money from public schools and then complain about their performance?"