Roughly two-thirds of adult Texans support school vouchers, which lets parents choose if tax dollars allocated for their children pay for public or private school, according to a new survey conducted by the public affairs schools at University of Houston and Texas Southern University.
That was up from 49% of Texan adults who supported school choice last October, according to the survey. “There is across-the-board support, not only across racial and partisan lines, but among urban, suburban and rural voters,” stated Jim Granato, dean and professor at the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs.
“Rural residents, and the legislators who represent them, have traditionally joined with urban Democrats to oppose voucher proposals, but we found 63% of respondents in rural and semi-rural areas support vouchers open to all families, along with 64% of suburban residents and 67% of urban residents,” he said.
“Many supporters view the proposals as giving parents more control over their children’s education and as allowing children to attend better-performing schools,” stated Mark Jones, a Rice University fellow and senior research fellow at the Hobby School. “Even people who are satisfied with their local public schools strongly support these proposals.”
Jason Bedrick, a research fellow in the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, told JNS that “parents want education freedom and choice.”
“Parents are increasingly realizing that assigning children to a school based on the location of their home is an outdated way to provide education. In nearly every other area of our lives, we have a plethora of choices. Parents want more choices in education too,” Bedrick said. “Texas has lagged other red states in enacting an education choice policy, but it looks like that wait will be coming to an end soon. In 2025, the Texas legislature should have the votes necessary to pass a robust education choice policy.”
