Vouchers (HB 4340 and other voucher bills) – CALL TO ACTION

(HB 4340 and other voucher related bills are being heard on Tuesday April 11th in the House Education Committee; requesting action prior to that date)

We know by now you have heard that we are in a fight for public education. Our children's education livelihood is on the edge of a cliff. Governor Abbott has stated that one of his priorities this session will be for the legislature to put vouchers into place. Vouchers go by other names, including taxpayer savings grants, education savings accounts, tax credit scholarships, or tuition reimbursement grants, but they all do the same things –provide public tax dollars for parents to use on private institutions such as religious schools.

The vouchers will be a set amount of money given to parents who desire to use the funds for a private school education. Other states, like Florida, who have a voucher system have shown that the traditional education systems are no longer priority and stats have proven that most of the parents who use vouchers are already enrolled in private schools. 61% of students in Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program stay for two years or less. The amount of the voucher in Senate Bill 8 will be $8,000 annually, with few private schools in Bexar County being less than $10,000. SB 8 would provide $10,000 to a school district with less than 20,000 students for the first 2 years, which will include rural communities that do not have private schools.

Students who are economically disadvantaged, who the private school association is claiming they want to assist, will likely be left behind in a voucher program due to the gap in voucher funding and education expenses, including transportation and meal services. On top of funding for vouchers being an issue, accountability is also on the table. Texas has a robust accountability system for the traditional and charter education systems using results from the STAAR test. The voucher bills are showing very little accountability with the proposed vouchers and those schools who accept the state money.

So, if Texas passes legislation on vouchers, the state will be siphoning public tax dollars meant for the public education system to private institutions with little government oversight or public accountability. Texas does not have the funds to provide for three education systems –traditional, charter, private-- as we are already struggling to fund the constitutionally mandated traditional education system where we are currently ranked 47th in per-capita student funding, $4000 less than the national average.

Instead of taking funds out of an already vulnerable system to benefit just a few, we are asking legislators this session to increase the basic allotment per student $1000, and we are asking all legislators to say NO to vouchers to continue to fight for ALL students in Texas.

Our Call to Action for you is to contact your representative and express your feelings on the basic allotment and vouchers. We need to tell the legislators that voucher bills cannot allow students already in private school to use the proposed vouchers. Statistics show that most un-regulated voucher systems go to students who are already enrolled in private schools to off-set their payments to their school. We also would like to see where our tax payer funds are going if we are now to pay for private schools. Our request is for you to end the emails or calls with a story about your schools. Tell them one thing that makes your school amazing. We know it will be hard to choose one.

Go to: https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home

Click on both your state representative and senator to find their email address and phone #.

For education committee members:

https://house.texas.gov/committees/committee/?committee=C400

https://senate.texas.gov/cmte.php?c=530

You can also send in comments electronically: House Public Comment (texas.gov)

Nervous about calling and don’t know what to say? Here is a mini-script you can use. A staff member will answer the phone. If you are a constituent, make sure you say, “I am a constituent and would appreciate a response from my elected official.” This will signal to the office that you are engaged and likely to tell your neighbors and friends about this issue.

· Hi, I’m XXXXX and I’m a (parent, educator, voter, constituent, concerned citizen, etc.) regarding proposed legislation around vouchers like HB 4340.

· We believe public dollars should remain in public schools. Our taxpayer dollars should not be going to private entities as they do not comply with federal protections nor accountability requirements.

· Well-funded schools will help Texas continue to be a strong economic leader. Did you know that if Texas were a country, it would have the 8th largest economy in the world? But did you also know that we are in the bottom 10 in the country in per pupil spending, $4,000 below the national average?

· Increases to the basic allotment would allow districts to invest in their students, provide an increase in teacher salary, and provide additional programs for students.

· Vouchers in other states have ballooned state costs, plus vouchers are not held accountable to the same standards as our public schools. As a taxpayer, I want to see where my money is going. Our public schools have strict transparency on how they spend their funding. Private schools that would receive such state funding would not.

· I would like to end by telling you a quick story. I (volunteer, help, work, etc) at XXXXXX school in XXXX school district in San Antonio. (ADD YOU STORY! MAKE SURE IT IS ENCOURAGING AND SHOWCASES THE WORK DONE BY STUDENTS, TEACHERS, PARENTS, ETC BY WORKING TOGETHER.)

· (Feel free to ask the staffer, “Where does your boss sit on this issue?” If the response is unfavorable, feel free to ask why and who has their boss been listening to on this issue. It helps understand who’s guiding the conversation.)

· I can be reached via cell phone at XXXXX or email at XXXXX should the Representative/Senator would like to hear more about the work being done in our public schools. Thank you for your time.

Senate Bill 8 Text: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB00008I.pdf#navpanes=0

Y’all-itics Podcast: Will “Educational Freedom” Handcuff Public Schools in Texas: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/yall-itics/id1486881900?i=1000604815401

Mark your calendar for Thursday, April 27th for Just Fund It TX Capitol Day. It will be a fun and engaging day and we will join together as public education advocates to encourage elected leaders to improve their investment in public education.

We urgently need the Texas Legislature to increase the basic allotment at least $1,000 per student and include an automatic inflation adjustment. They need to hear from you - public education supporters, voters, taxpayers, parents, and grandparents. The kids need us to speak up and fast!

If you're interested in coming with RootEd, RSVP HERE

Let's fill up our stories with this graphics!! Look for stories on social of how vouchers will affect our kids and neighborhood schools! Please share! If you would like to be a part of the campaign, Please complete the google doc and we will create the attached green graphic with your info and then it will be shared on social. It’s really important for our Representatives to see how Vouchers will negatively affect our lives and how much we love our neighborhood schools. Voucher Testimonial Intake Form (google.com)

Rather than diverting funds to a voucher system, we need to raise the student allotment at least $1000 to make any type of difference and reach inflation level. We are 48th in education funding in the US...how is that acceptable to the Legislature???!!!

Southwest ISD and Alamo Heights ISD havs presented bond information to the public to vote on at the May election. Video with information listed below. Please vote!!

Stories from RootEd schools that we think are AMAZING! #RootEd

If you'd like to donate to ease the financial burden of an outstanding high school senior, you can donate here: https://proudlyrooted.com/support.

What would you do with $1,000 for life after high school??

High School Counselors and Principals: Our scholarship application is OPEN! Please share with your seniors: RootEd Scholarship – RootEd (proudlyrooted.com)

The March gathering was FABULOUS!!!! Thanks to everyone who came out...the wheels were turning!!

We are so excited about our Social happening next week, April 14 at Chuy's on I-10 in San Antonio after work! All are welcome to gather with us and chat neighborhood schools. Any donations we receive at the Social this month will go to our scholarship fund! We have a lot of talk about...join us!

Ready to dive into some podcasts that may get you fired up about public education? Or want to be in the know about our legislative priorities and what's going on in public education in Texas?

Check us out. Click on the graphic below for links.

We are very lucky to have a partnership with Go Public. Click on their logo to find out more about what all they do for public education!!

RootEd is a parent-led, grassroots organization that promotes neighborhood public schools through storytelling, advocacy, and education. We believe a strong public school system for all children creates a robust economy and well-connected community. RootEd is a 501(c)3 non profit organization.

For past newsletters: https://www.smore.com/u/rooted

Email: info@proudlyrooted.com
Website: www.proudlyrooted.com
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