Texas Parents & Educators Sound the Alarm on Abbott’s Private School Voucher Scam

TEXAS – Today, the Texas AFL-CIO releases the following statements in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s private school voucher scam. 

“Greg Abbott and his billionaire donors are peddling this private school voucher scam, but Texas workers aren’t falling for it,” said Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy. “Vouchers would divert our taxpayer dollars from Texas public schools to unaccountable private schools, leaving our already underfunded public schools with even less. Vouchers are bad for Texas public schools, bad for kids, bad for teachers and school staff, and bad for taxpayers.”

WATCH the full Nexstar segment: Texans respond to Abbott’s private school voucher scam

“I've been a public educator in Texas for 17 years. I've worked in two different districts, and I have seen how public schools can be a place of magic and transformation for the most vulnerable students,” said Bree Rolfe, an educator and member of Education Austin. “I have had the gift of watching that transformation. And most Texans do not want this bill — bipartisan. There are people on both sides that don't want it. And if you fully fund our public schools, we can do great things. And we haven't had a basic allotment increase since 2019. This budget surplus is them taking money from our public schools, and they need to put it back into the communities so we can have community schools that thrive.” 

The voucher scam (SB 2) will be up for debate on the House floor on Wednesday, Apr. 16. Take action and call your Texas House representative here.

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The Texas AFL-CIO is the state labor federation consisting of 240,000 affiliated union members and advocates for working people in Texas. Learn more at texasaflcio.org