Texas Catholic Voice Feb. 20, 2023

Last week Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced his top 30 priorities, and on Thursday, Governor Greg Abbott delivered his State of the State address where he declared seven emergency items.

Both of their lists include parental choice and because the Governor declared “education freedom” an emergency item, the Legislature can vote on the issue before March 10. The Texas Constitution prohibits the House and Senate from passing legislation within the first 60 days of session unless four-fifths of members in either chamber vote to suspend the rule, or the governor declares the matter an emergency.

We are optimistic that the lieutenant governor and governor are both throwing their full weight behind parental choice, but votes are closer in the House of Representatives. As Catholics, we believe in universal school choice—that every student in Texas should have the opportunity to learn in the environment best suited to their needs. We are grateful for the governor’s strong message for universal choice

It is imperative that legislators hear from their constituents to counter the opposition’s fear-based messaging. Polling shows that most parents favor programs where money follows the student and evidence from the 32 states with choice proves that choice programs have positive effects on public schools overall.

We anticipate funding might be limited; the bishops are prioritizing their support of bills which place the poor and vulnerable at the head of the line and protect the religious liberty of our schools. We have assisted several bill authors in developing strong legislation which should be filed soon. As soon as possible, we will announce the bill numbers on our social media channels and to the media.

Meanwhile, please contact your legislator through the Texans for Parental Choice in Education website (tpcetx.com). Enter your address to send a message asking your legislator to support school choice. You can also use the Who Represents Me tool below to see all the legislator’s contact information, such as phone numbers and the location of their office inside the Capitol.

We cannot say it enough – tell everyone to sign up for the Texas Catholic Advocacy Network (TXCAN) to stay informed on this issue and all of the bishops’ agenda.