Texas AFT has joined over 140 national, state, and grassroots organizations, including labor unions, civil rights groups, and education advocates, in signing a forceful letter opposing any federal attempt to create a private school voucher program.
Led by the Advancement Project, the coalition urges Congress to reject voucher proposals buried in bills like H.R. 833 and S. 292 — schemes that would siphon billions in public dollars to private and religious schools with no obligation to serve all students equitably. These proposals act as welfare to wealthy families and corporations while undermining the public schools that 83% of U.S. students rely on every day.
“Contrary to what school privatization advocates claim,” the letter reads, “a national private school voucher program would not provide ‘choice’ for working- or middle-class families.” Instead, it warns, the proposals would entrench inequality by funding schools that routinely exclude students based on disability, LGBTQ+ identity, religion, and income.
As we are well aware, studies show that state voucher programs mostly benefit families who were already sending their children to private schools, and that private schools often raise tuition once vouchers are introduced. In Arizona, for example, the wealthiest families use education savings accounts at five times the rate of the poorest. These trends are by design.
The Texas Legislature just passed one of the most extreme voucher laws in the country, SB 2, despite fierce opposition from educators, parents, and even rural Republican lawmakers. Gov. Greg Abbott forced it through by pouring money into primaries to oust anti-voucher Republicans and even bringing the president into the fight to threaten those considering a vote against the voucher.
The result?
A program that already fails Texas families with lackluster funding and no meaningful accountability. Texas has now become the blueprint for what privatizers want to do across the country: dismantle public education one wealthy giveaway at a time. In these moments where there are forces pushing privatization, it felt paramount for Texas AFT to sign this letter, not just to protect our schools here at home, but to defend the very foundation of public education nationwide.
The consequences if this federal legislation were to pass would be devastating. As Congress considers deep cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and Pell Grants, voucher programs would divert public funds into private hands. Public dollars belong in public schools and programs, where every student is welcome and every family is served.
Read the full letter from the Advancement Project and coalition partners here.