In East Texas, skepticism over private school tuition assistance persists despite push from conservative leaders - Texas
, most families that choose to home-school in the U.S. say they selected that option because of concerns with the environment of other schools.When Jay Ferguson got a call from Abbott’s office asking if the governor could visit Grace Community School, Ferguson, the school’s headmaster, said yes.Grace is the largest of several private Christian schools in Tyler, serving about 1,500 students from eight weeks old through 12th grade.
Before Abbott spoke, the school choir performed, and the audience heard from school parent Ricky Garner, who is also a local pastor in Tyler, as well as a kindergarten teacher who shared the impact the religious school has had on her own life. He added that he believes society is better off when parents have options for their children’s education.after expressing concern about the way public education has changed in Texas. Abbott attended public school in Longview, about 40 miles away from Tyler, where he said he was “taught the basics” and “inspired by our country’s founding and how it stands apart from the rest of the world as the beacon for liberty and opportunity.”“Schools should not be pushing woke agendas.
Since January, Abbott has visited about a dozen Christian private schools across the state for “Parent Empowerment'' nights. The visits are part of his larger push to pass a school-choice measure this session, which he made an emergency item. A spokesperson for Abbott did not explain how schools were selected for the visits and said school choice is widely supported.
Wade Washmon, president of the Tyler ISD school board, expressed frustration with a policy that would allow state dollars to fund religious institutions while public schools are legally prohibited from advancing particular religious views. The legislation does raise questions about whether education savings accounts violate the Texas Constitution because it would divert public funds to private religious schools. In anreleased earlier this month, Attorney General Ken Paxton concluded that education savings accounts do not violate the state constitution. He cited United States Supreme Court cases which have set that precedent.
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