Texas House Votes to Defund Public Schools; Prioritizes Wealthy Donors Over Working Families (April 17)
- codylm6
- Apr 19
- 2 min read
For Immediate Release: April 17, 2025
Media Contact: Cody Meador, Executive Director, Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus
(512) 463-0454, info@texaslpc.org
Texas House Votes to Defund Public Schools;
Prioritizes Wealthy Donors Over Working Families
Austin, Texas – In the early hours of Thursday, April 17, the Texas House passed Senate Bill 2, approving a taxpayer-funded, private school voucher bill that will usher in lasting barriers to funding public neighborhood schools in Texas. The $1 billion voucher program is a clear submission by its supporters on the House Floor to private interests at the harm of all who do not possess great wealth. Members of the Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus fought with heart and held the line for working Texans. Caucus Chair Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos of Dallas and Vice Chair Gina Hinojosa of Austin offered closing remarks in opposition to SB 2.
Representative Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos referenced SB 2’s origin, Texas’ 1957 voucher bill designed to evade school integration. She stated, “The language of this agenda has changed, but the goals have not. Today’s voucher bill, SB 2, echoes the same agenda, draining resources from public schools and undermining the promise of equal education as a tool to keep one group of children separated from another. We know better now, and because we know better we must do better. Texans of all races and regions want strong neighborhood schools where every child has the freedom to learn and the resources to prosper.”
Representative Gina Hinojosa, a former Austin ISD School Board Member, stated, “This fight for our public schools returns us to our roots. It returns us to our kids and communities. And I believe that this fight against vouchers, and this fight against the billionaires for our public schools, is a wellspring in Texas that is going to shift the politics in this state... Not so much Democrat versus Republican, but more a populist movement where now we have everybody versus the billionaires and the private equity companies and the multinational corporations that are bilking our communities for all they’re worth. We, the people; we relish breaking the mold of who we are supposed to be and who we are supposed to be allied with... All the prayers, all the messages, all the people tell me that this is not over. And until then, I remain forever Team Texas Public Schools.”
The Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus invites all Texans to join the movement for economic justice and fight unapologetically for working Texans, and that includes fully funding public schools because economic mobility starts in the classroom.
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