1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

It is outrageous that the Texas House Public Education Committee passed a $1 billion private school voucher scam, diverting desperately needed funds away from our crumbling public education system. Our public schools are in crisis, shutting down campuses left and right due to chronic underfunding, and instead of addressing this emergency, lawmakers are funneling money to private institutions with zero public accountability. The $7.7 billion in HB 2 is a pathetic band-aid that won't even get schools back to 2019 funding levels, let alone provide the massive investment required to retain experienced teachers, hire qualified staff, and restore vital programs and services being slashed. This voucher heist is a thinly veiled attempt to further defund and destabilize public schools to benefit the privileged few who can already afford elite private academies, while throwing the vast majority of students under the bus. Capping private school voucher recipients at 20% is a meaningless gesture - any diversion of public dollars to private entities is an attack on the separation of church and state and secular public education itself. Lawmakers should be launching an all-out offensive to strengthen public schools through increased, sustainable funding instead of this despicable sabotage. Enough is enough - this voucher travesty is blatant dereliction that will do catastrophic harm to students, families, and the future of Texas.