AUSTIN — State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, said he is skeptical that school choice will prevail during the upcoming legislative session.
Dutton, chair of the Texas House Public Education Committee, spoke along with state Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, during a Texas Tribune event Thursday. Dutton said lawmakers should focus on improving student outcomes and teacher pay instead of allowing money to leave the state public education system.
“What is the problem that you’re trying to cure with school choice? People have told me to my face that we think that parents who have their kids locked in a low performing school ought to have some way out? I said … why don’t we go fix the dang school?” Dutton said.
School choice allows public education funds to follow students to the school of their choosing including private and homeschool options. Currently, only public and charter schools receive state education funding.
Those in favor of the program — including Gov. Greg Abbott, who made the issue one of his top campaign promises during the last election cycle — argue that it allows parents to select a school that is best for their child. But opponents said they fear doing so will only take valuable funding from public education, which is already struggling to provide for students.
“I just know that the time is right for us to do things, and vouchers simply divert us from doing the things we need to do,” Dutton said. “We ought to increase student outcomes, and we ought to increase teachers’ incomes so that you don’t have the continuing idea that somehow vouchers are going to be the answer to what’s happening in public schools.”
Dutton and VanDeaver also said the Texas legislature needs to focus on school safety and teacher shortages this session. Both acknowledged that a large part of the solution will need to be additional funding.
“My hope is that we will fund (school safety) basically through a safety allotment, if you will, and leave the details to the local district to decide how to spend that money and how best to use the funding to be able to secure their buildings and ensure student safety,” VanDeaver said.
The upcoming legislative session begins Jan. 10.