School Voucher Legislation Gains Momentum After Decades of Christian Conservative Advocacy

Corpus Christi, Texas – June 21, 2024

As proponents of private school vouchers racked up win after win across the country in recent years, the largest Republican-led state in the nation remained stubbornly outside their grasp — until now.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott succeeded in persuading primary voters to remove from office members of his party who had defied him by voting against legislation that would allow the use of state money to pay for private school tuition. Abbott’s success campaigning against fellow Republicans during the primary election sent a clear message that disloyalty would not be tolerated even for those who supported other priorities he outlined.

If the pro-voucher candidates who Abbott supported in their primaries win in the November general election, as many are expected to, the governor argues he has the votes to finally pass legislation.

The Governor’s Voucher Crusade

The governor’s voucher crusade represents the culmination of more than three decades of work by Christian conservative donors, whose influence in Texas politics has never been more pronounced. They have poured millions of dollars into candidates and helped lead or fund a network of organizations, such as the influential Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank, to galvanize Republicans around the issue.

During his first eight years as governor, Abbott was relatively quiet on vouchers. In 2017, he called on lawmakers to pass such a program for students with disabilities. But Abbott, who did not respond to questions from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, hadn’t engaged in political warfare on the issue until last year, when he made passing vouchers for all Texas students a top priority.

Support and Opposition

Supporters say voucher programs give parents more control over their children’s education by allowing them to use public dollars to choose the schools they believe are best, including those that are privately run. Opponents argue that vouchers siphon tax dollars from public education and allow funding to flow into private schools without holding them accountable if they fail children.

The issue has generally been one that falls along partisan lines. But over the years, rural Republicans have broken with their party to vote against vouchers. Public schools, they’ve reasoned, often play a vital role in local communities where private options are limited.

A Long Push Supercharged

Shortly after the March GOP primaries, Abbott received a hero’s welcome while addressing attendees at the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual policy summit in Austin. He celebrated unseating five Republicans and stoked enthusiasm for the runoff elections, which he hoped would secure enough wins to pass voucher legislation in 2024.

The group has pushed for vouchers since its founding in 1989 by Republican Christian conservative donor James Leininger, who funded a pilot voucher program in his hometown of San Antonio for several years. In 1998, billionaire oilman Tim Dunn joined the board, serving as vice chair for more than a decade as he became one of the state’s most prolific campaign donors.

A Full-Throated Embrace

As TPPF worked to stoke parental anger over public schools, Abbott had not fully jumped into the fray. Texas Scorecard, a media outlet formed by Empower Texans in 2015 that has since become an independent nonprofit, highlighted that Abbott had left school choice off his legislative priorities in his 2021 State of the State address.

Dunn and the Wilks brothers heavily supported Dallas real estate developer Don Huffines, one of Abbott’s far-right challengers, in the 2021 Republican primary. Their political action committee Defend Texas Liberty poured $3.7 million into Huffines’ campaign. Huffines hammered Abbott from the right on various issues, including criticizing him for not doing as much to promote school choice as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did.

Final Push and Predictions

Two days after the May primary runoffs, TPPF hosted another celebratory event at its Austin headquarters. Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow with the national voucher advocacy group American Federation for Children, declared Texas the “crown jewel” of the national voucher movement. He predicted even Democratic-led states would follow its lead.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations, and corporate sponsors.