TYLER, Texas — Just a day after the election, Gov. Greg Abbott was in East Texas Wednesday afternoon promoting his school voucher plan.
Abbott held a press conference Wednesday at Kingdom Life Academy in Tyler, a private Christian school serving low-income, mostly Black and Hispanic students. The school focuses on hands-on, real-life education, with an enrollment of just 15 students.
He discussed his vision for the bill, which will be up for debate in the next legislative session.
Abbott chose this school as an example to help promote legislation that he says would help low-income parents to use public funds for private school tuition and give them another option other than public schools.
"When it comes to education, one size does not always fit all," Abbott said.
Joel Enge, founder of Kingdom Life Academy, supports school choice, saying the vouchers are particularly important for minority students in Texas who may not thrive in traditional public schools.
"We hope public officials will address school choice, especially for minority students, as Texas is behind on this issue," Enge said.
Texas is a Republican-led state, but many lawmakers are still divided on the issue of school vouchers. Critics, including state Rep. Jay Dean, argue the plan could drain resources from public schools and encourage an exodus of students to private institutions.
"We don’t want to lose our best and brightest students from rural public schools just because parents take voucher money to private schools," Dean said in a previous interview.
Abbott, however, said school choice is about giving parents the power to choose the best education for their children, and he believes he has the support needed to pass the plan.
"Our job is to provide the best educational options for every child in Texas, and give parents the ability to make that decision," Abbott said.
Abbott said school choice will be a key focus in the next legislative session. He currently has 79 votes in favor, and it takes 76 to pass the bill.
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