The package’s centerpiece, Senate Bill 8, is a bill that would allow parents to take their children out of public schools for $8,000 per year. This money could be used to pay tuition or home-schooling costs. If parents choose to keep their children in public school, they will have new control over the curriculum and books that students can access. The bill’s 53 pages also include a similar provision that was adopted in Florida last year. This would prohibit public schools offering instruction or activities “regarding homosexual orientation or gender identity” at any grade level.
Gov. Greg Abbott enthusiastically supports the legislative package. He argues that these changes are necessary to prevent children being indoctrinated in Texas public schools with a “woke agenda”.
Perla Munoz Hopkins is a Texas mom who heads the Texas chapter for the conservative activist group Moms for America. She said that she believes parents and children are being “persecuted” for holding conservative Christian beliefs in public school. She said that parents are looking for ways to protect their inalienable rights at this time.
Some speakers however argued that the bill would finance another type of indoctrination, providing government funding for private Christian schools and suppressing the rights of LGBTQ students.
Anna Smith, a member on the Leander public school board, was wearing a pride flag at her hearing. This is a suburb in Austin where parents have packed meetings to complain of sexually explicit library books. Smith expressed concern that after two years of political attacks against local schools, she is now worried about how those controversies will be used to siphon off public school funding.
She stated, “With this bill we’re going one of two paths with public education Texas.” “And I’m worried.”
Some speakers arrived in matching shirts: “My School. My child. My child.
Vera Billingsley wore a red blazer and a “Parents Matter T-shirt” to tell legislators that she was there to support their plans.
Billingsley said that “we’re forgetting about our moral moorings.” He’s running for a seat in the Northside Independent Schools District board of trustees. They would be fine if they brought the Proverbs to school every day like I did with my children at home.
A constitutional amendment introduced by Republican Senator Angela Paxton is being considered by the Legislature. It would give parents the right to “direct the education” of their children. This includes the freedom to send them into religious schools. Her husband, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion on Monday arguing that private religious schools are legal under Texas’s Constitution.
The Rev. Holly Bandel is a Dallas pastor of First United Methodist Church. She said that she was concerned that legislators are trying to separate church and state when more Americans openly embrace Christian nationalism. This belief holds that America was founded by Christians and that government policies should reflect biblical values.
Bandel is a member Pastors for Texas Children. This group consists of 1,000 pastors and other religious leaders who support equity in public schools.
Bandel stated, “An essential part in providing equity in our country is that we don’t impose beliefs on people.”
A rare coalition voted against the bill: Democrats who are opposed to private school vouchers for ideological reasons, small-town Republicans who fear the plan will cut public school funding in rural areas, and conservative Christian home school parents who would be financially benefited by the legislation but who fear that government money could lead to new restrictions on how they can educate their children.
At the beginning of the hearing, Republican Senator Brandon Creighton, chairman of the Education Committee said that lawmakers intend to fully support public school — including giving teachers raises, new job protections, and offering more options for parents.
Hardin, a retired teacher, was still waiting for her turn eight hours after the hearing began. She doesn’t believe it.
She said that this program is not about public schools. It’s a program that gives a break to wealthy parents who wish to send their children to private Christian schools. Period.”
