1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

The Texas Legislature's proposed private school voucher program risks draining critical funding from public schools that are already severely underfunded. With two-thirds of Texans opposing this voucher scheme, it is clear the priority should be increasing overall funding for public education to address systemic challenges like staffing shortages, rather than establishing a parallel private system lacking transparency and accountability. The voucher proposal's cost has already ballooned from $500 million to $1 billion for the first year alone, diverting desperately needed resources away from supporting the 5.5 million students in Texas public schools. We implore members of the House Public Education Committee to reject SB2 and instead focus on evidence-based investments that will genuinely improve educational outcomes and opportunities for all Texas children.