A tweet by Mark Wiggins, a pro-public education lobbyist in Texas, spread the news that the Republican-dominated State Board of Education came out against vouchers.
*NO VOUCHERS*
As one of its 2023 legislative priorities, majority Republican @TXSBOE urges #txlege to reject vouchers in all their forms. #txed
@MarkWigginsTX
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Maybe there are people in Texas who use their intelligence for something good when it comes to the proper education of students in public schools. I am amazed.
LikeLike
Great news!!!
LikeLike
Perhaps Texas has watched and learned from the bad decisions of other states where there are rampant vouchers. With vast rural areas throughout the state, vouchers have the potential to destroy under funded rural schools that are the pride of many communities. Most of the funding schemes including grants and scholarships are a way to give businesses a tax write-off while residential property owners end up paying more for public schools due to lost revenue. Residential property tax rates at between 2.5 to 3.5% in Texas are already much higher than most other states. Vouchers like charter schools are a way to transfer funds out of the schools that serve the most students and destabilize them.
LikeLike
When I bought a car in Florida, one form in the myriad of paperwork I had to sign was an offer to divert the sales tax on the car to the scholarship that funds vouchers. At first, I thought it was something that is specific dealership was peddling, but it is something that all dealers are required to offer.
https://www.floridasalestax.com/florida-tax-law-blog/2018/october/florida-sales-tax-hope-scholarship-credit/
LikeLike
FL,
That is shocking.
LikeLike
Since the Texas State Board of Education consists of 11 members who are appointed by the Governor, I wonder if theofascist autocratic Governor Greg Abbott has the power to fire and replace them all until the board says what he wants them to say. What does Abbott have to worry about? He just got re-elected for another four years. That means he has four years for his voters to forget what a dangerous, fire breathing tyrant he is.
LikeLike