Statement from Rep. James Talarico on Passage of Anti-Voucher Budget Amendment

Statement from Rep. James Talarico on Passage of Anti-Voucher Budget Amendment

 7 clips of Rep. Talarico answering common questions we get regarding voucher scams.

AUSTIN, TX – Today, the Texas House voted 86-52 to add an amendment to the state budget prohibiting the use of funds on private school voucher scams.

State Representative James Talarico offered the following statement in response:

“Billionaire mega-donors are trying to destroy Texas public schools with a private voucher scam. They have a simple strategy: First, demonize, and then dismantle public education.

Politicians know how unpopular voucher scams are in Texas. So they’re trying to rebrand them as “Education Savings Accounts” and using slogans like “school choice,” “education freedom,” and “parental rights.” They can put lipstick on this pig, but it’s still a pig.

Texas ranks 43rd in the nation for per-pupil school funding. Current voucher proposals would siphon $3 billion from public schools each year to unaccountable private schools. And in the states that have tried voucher scams, 80-90% go to benefit wealthy kids already in private schools.

Some politicians say vouchers will save kids from “failing public schools.” But if our schools are struggling, it’s because those same politicians have demonized and drastically underfunded them for years. They’re the arsonists who want credit for putting out the fire.

Voucher scammers know that the only way to gut public education in the Texas House is to pit us against each other. But today, I stand united in opposition with my colleagues – Republicans and Democrats, urban Texans and rural Texans. Because our public schools benefit all of us.”