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The 3rd Special Session of the Texas Legislature has been called into session by Governor Abbott. In a Special Session, only those issues the Governor puts on the agenda may be addressed. The Session lasts for 30 days.
The reason that our team is on the ground at the Capitol is because the Governor has placed parental choice in education on the agenda for the special session. Specifically, he is calling for the passage of legislation creating Education Savings Accounts (ESA).
He has promised to call more than one Special Session if necessary to pass such legislation and is planning to spend as much “political capital” as necessary to make it happen.
The Governor has been very vocal and consistent that he wants a “universal ESA” program. That means a program that would include all children in Texas.
In fact, he did a recent poll in 21 Texas Republican House seats on the issue of school choice. According to The Texan News, “In the 21 districts, 58 percent of overall voters supported school choice, including 69 percent of Republicans. Just 27 percent of overall voters opposed the proposal, while 17 percent of Republicans were opposed.”
“According to the poll, “‘Freedom from Indoctrination’ was a ‘much more likely’ effective reason for supporting school choice among Republicans, with almost 60 percent agreeing. The purpose to ‘Empower Parents’ also showed considerable favorability at just over 56 percent of Republicans polled,” The Texan reported.
While this is indicative of the broad support among all demographics, it was not likely the major reason for the poll in those districts. The poll also found that “If Abbott endorses another candidate against the state representative in a Republican primary because he/she wouldn’t vote to provide school choice, the Abbott-endorsed candidate gets 57% while the state representative drops all the way to 19% in the primary.”
That, my friends, is a promise–or perhaps a threat. Governor Abbott has indicated that he is “all in” on this issue and is not so subtly saying he is serious enough about this issue to work against Republican legislators who vote against empowering parents.
This is important because the Democratic legislators in the Texas House and Senate appear to be totally united in opposition to giving parents a choice in education.
This means that Republicans are the only hope for empowering parents on this issue because they are almost a supermajority in both bodies.
In the Senate, we are seeing a replay of the regular session with legislation moving that will be very helpful but not exactly “universal ESAs.” The bill that was voted out of the Senate Education Committee would be an improvement, but it is not as strong as many parents want.
This is due not to the leadership of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick but likely due to a couple of Republican Senators who are not supportive.
In 2021, we had a number of Republicans in the Texas Senate who voted against a bill to grant homeschooled students the ability to participate in extracurricular activities in public schools. In fact, that bill only passed into law because of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s heroic efforts and then only by a vote of 16-14, with four Republicans voting against the measure.
What we learned through that process is that there are a number of Republicans in both the Texas Senate and the Texas House who oppose parental choice in education, which makes it a serious challenge to pass this measure. What we do know is that Governor Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick have indicated they will do everything they can to make Texas the latest Republican state to fund students rather than just institutions.
Share this podcast with friends and subscribe to the Family Freedom Caller wherever you get your podcasts. For more information about the THSC, go to our website at thsc.org, and for information on The Family Freedom Project, go to FamilyFreedomProject.org. Thank you for helping us Keep Texas Families Free!
Tim Lambert, THSC President
Tim Lambert, has been the president of the Texas Home School Coalition since 1990 and involved in homeschool leadership since 1984. He and his wife Lyndsay taught their four now-grown children at home for 16 years, graduating the last two in 2000. As the head of the organization for the leading home school state in the country, he is recognized as an authority on home education issues.
Tim has testified before numerous Texas legislative committees on issues related to homeschooling and often deals with state government agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He has also addressed such conferences as the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers on the topic. He holds a B.A. in political science from Texas Tech University and is active in the political arena, serving eight years as Republican National Committeeman for Texas. Tim is committed to serving the homeschooling community and to protecting parents’ right to choose the method of education of their children.
Listen and Subscribe Today to the Family Freedom Caller Podcast!
The 3rd Special Session of the Texas Legislature has been called into session by Governor Abbott. In a Special Session, only those issues the Governor puts on the agenda may be addressed. The Session lasts for 30 days.
The reason that our team is on the ground at the Capitol is because the Governor has placed parental choice in education on the agenda for the special session. Specifically, he is calling for the passage of legislation creating Education Savings Accounts (ESA).
He has promised to call more than one Special Session if necessary to pass such legislation and is planning to spend as much “political capital” as necessary to make it happen.
The Governor has been very vocal and consistent that he wants a “universal ESA” program. That means a program that would include all children in Texas.
In fact, he did a recent poll in 21 Texas Republican House seats on the issue of school choice. According to The Texan News, “In the 21 districts, 58 percent of overall voters supported school choice, including 69 percent of Republicans. Just 27 percent of overall voters opposed the proposal, while 17 percent of Republicans were opposed.”
“According to the poll, “‘Freedom from Indoctrination’ was a ‘much more likely’ effective reason for supporting school choice among Republicans, with almost 60 percent agreeing. The purpose to ‘Empower Parents’ also showed considerable favorability at just over 56 percent of Republicans polled,” The Texan reported.
While this is indicative of the broad support among all demographics, it was not likely the major reason for the poll in those districts. The poll also found that “If Abbott endorses another candidate against the state representative in a Republican primary because he/she wouldn’t vote to provide school choice, the Abbott-endorsed candidate gets 57% while the state representative drops all the way to 19% in the primary.”
That, my friends, is a promise–or perhaps a threat. Governor Abbott has indicated that he is “all in” on this issue and is not so subtly saying he is serious enough about this issue to work against Republican legislators who vote against empowering parents.
This is important because the Democratic legislators in the Texas House and Senate appear to be totally united in opposition to giving parents a choice in education.
This means that Republicans are the only hope for empowering parents on this issue because they are almost a supermajority in both bodies.
In the Senate, we are seeing a replay of the regular session with legislation moving that will be very helpful but not exactly “universal ESAs.” The bill that was voted out of the Senate Education Committee would be an improvement, but it is not as strong as many parents want.
This is due not to the leadership of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick but likely due to a couple of Republican Senators who are not supportive.
In 2021, we had a number of Republicans in the Texas Senate who voted against a bill to grant homeschooled students the ability to participate in extracurricular activities in public schools. In fact, that bill only passed into law because of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s heroic efforts and then only by a vote of 16-14, with four Republicans voting against the measure.
What we learned through that process is that there are a number of Republicans in both the Texas Senate and the Texas House who oppose parental choice in education, which makes it a serious challenge to pass this measure. What we do know is that Governor Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick have indicated they will do everything they can to make Texas the latest Republican state to fund students rather than just institutions.
Share this podcast with friends and subscribe to the Family Freedom Caller wherever you get your podcasts. For more information about the THSC, go to our website at thsc.org, and for information on The Family Freedom Project, go to FamilyFreedomProject.org. Thank you for helping us Keep Texas Families Free!
Tim Lambert, THSC President
Tim Lambert, has been the president of the Texas Home School Coalition since 1990 and involved in homeschool leadership since 1984. He and his wife Lyndsay taught their four now-grown children at home for 16 years, graduating the last two in 2000. As the head of the organization for the leading home school state in the country, he is recognized as an authority on home education issues.
Tim has testified before numerous Texas legislative committees on issues related to homeschooling and often deals with state government agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He has also addressed such conferences as the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers on the topic. He holds a B.A. in political science from Texas Tech University and is active in the political arena, serving eight years as Republican National Committeeman for Texas. Tim is committed to serving the homeschooling community and to protecting parents’ right to choose the method of education of their children.
