|
May 17, 2011 |
|
Updated 11am, May 18, 2011
The Catholic Bishops of Texas support the implementation of school choice programs in a responsible way that protects parental choice and prioritizes children who live in poverty.
- The program proposed as an amendment by Rep. Sid Miller to SB 1811 has not been vetted by committee or in other states. Furthermore, it does not target the most vulnerable students in our state, nor does it require private schools to be accredited. For those reasons, we cannot offer our support to this amendment.
- We support the language in Senate Bill 1847 that allows for the creation of a corporate tax credit program that specifically targets corporate resources to underprivileged students attending accredited private schools. This program would also save the state an estimated $56 million annually. This program has been modeled successfully in 9 states, and we can confidently say that it has helped students both public and private school students in those states.
School choice is ultimately about parents, rather than government, having the authority to choose a school for their children. School choice does not represent a judgment against our Texas public school system nor its teachers or administrators whose public standing would, we believe, be enhanced in a choice environment. Specifically, we advocate for programs that promote the choice of families with limited economic means.
Our support of school choice stems from our Catholic teaching, but we cannot accept all programs equally. We believe that proposals should be initially targeted to help underprivileged students and be limited in scope, so that the effects of the program can be studied. We also believe that the bill language should be given the opportunity to be vetted before a committee to allow for the provision of public testimony so that committee members may gain insight into its impact.
We urge the Texas Legislature to adopt the language from Senate Bill 1847. The program created by SB 1847 ensures that parental choice of our most vulnerable families will be protected.
For more information:
|
