The education debate has become one of the most hotly-contested issues in America over the past two years. After parents discovered what many of their children were being taught in the classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic, a vigorous backlash against progressivism being injected into education ensued.
The discussion over education has also revived another important issue: School choice. While people have seen the value in confronting school boards promoting far-leftist ideas like Critical Race Theory (CRT), gender theory, and other views related to sexuality, others have pointed out that the best way parents can protect their children is by having control over how and where they are educated.
But even in red states, pushing for school choice can be quite difficult. Democrats are typically the most ardent opponents of school choice, but Texas provides an example illustrating why parents must also realize that not all Republicans are as keen on the idea as they would have the public believe.
School choice advocates are criticizing Texas Republican lawmakers, accusing them of turning their backs on concerned parents after Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed a number of GOP candidates who received money from teacher’s unions, who are virulent opponents of school choice. Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan is one of several supposedly conservative officials who publicly boasted about being endorsed by the Texas State Teachers Association.
“I am proud to have the endorsement of the [Texas State Teachers] Association and look forward to continuing our work to strengthen Texas schools and deliver for our public school teachers,” he tweeted.
Justin Berry, Barron Casteel, and Glenn Rogers are Texas GOP primary candidates who are not supportive of school choice. Each of these individuals has received the nod from Abbott. The Daily Caller reported:
Berry and Casteel were listed as recipients of an endorsement from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation’s second-largest teacher union, according to a Jan. 16 Facebook post from the union.
Casteel also received $19,500 from teachers union groups and “school choice opponents” for his upcoming runoff election, according to financial documents obtained by American Federation of Children’s Research Director Corey DeAngelis.
“Rogers is listed as an endorsed candidate for the Texas House on the Texas state AFT website,” the report continued.
Both candidates have asked to be removed from the union’s endorsement list and claim they did not request the endorsement.
Despite being a red state, the stories about CRT concepts and other far-leftist ideas being presented to Texas students have been increasing significantly. “The Austin Independent School District reportedly told students to keep conversations about LGBT ideology ‘confidential,’” according to The Daily Caller.
Inez Stepman, a senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Forum told The Daily Caller that school choice gives parents more options to keep public schools from indoctrinating their children.
“Any politician claiming to oppose the left but failing to support school choice for parents is not serious about fighting the left’s cultural power in our education system,” she insisted. “School choice is not just a ticket out for parents who desperately need options that don’t push gender ideology and critical race theory, but a policy that gives parents leverage within the public school system, and will help them make their voices not only heard in a system that seems content to ignore them, impossible to ignore.”
Unfortunately, it seems clear that Texas Republicans have no intention of providing other options for parents concerned about their children’s education. Despite holding the state’s legislature and governorship for almost 20 years, they have passed exactly zero school choice programs. The fact that they have held power for so long and have failed to enact any such measure shows this is not an issue of incompetence – it is deliberate.
Conservatives need to come to terms with the fact that not all of those who claim to represent their interests are actually interested in doing so. Texas provides a stark reminder that many with an “R” next to their names are not necessarily on board with protecting parents. Indeed, the Lone Star State is not the only place in the country where this is happening.
Last month, I wrote about Republican state lawmakers in Georgia refusing to pass critical school choice legislation over a tiff with an activist group. To anyone paying attention, it was not difficult to see that Republican leadership in the state’s legislature was simply looking for an excuse to kill a bill that would have provided more options for Georgia’s parents.
There could be a myriad of reasons why Republican lawmakers would oppose school choice. But to parents, their motivations should be irrelevant. To put it simply, there are no valid reasons to refuse to give parents a choice in how their children are educated. Unfortunately, as long as these people are not held to account for their actions at the ballot box, they will have no reason to change course.
