Texas has approved at least four Islamic schools to enroll in the state’s $1 billion private school voucher program just days after a federal judge ordered an extension of the application deadline. Before the restraining order was issued, not a…
Judge orders Texas to extend deadline for school vouchers
A federal judge ordered Texas to extend its application deadline for private school vouchers in response to lawsuits filed by Muslims parents and schools excluded from the program. Four parents and three private Islamic schools involved in the litigation said…
Johnson gives ‘glory to God’ for Trump’s big bill but others say God is mocked
While Speaker of the House Mike Johnson gave glory to God for final passage of the “big beautiful bill,” other religious leaders decried the legislation as un-Christian, un-American, evil and dangerous. On July 3, after the House passed the bill…
Fight against federal school vouchers isn’t dead yet
Organized opposition to federal school vouchers in “the big beautiful bill” was so effective it nearly derailed the program altogether, an education advocate said after the U.S. Senate’s 51-50 passage of the legislation July 1. “Thousands of Americans took action…
‘Big beautiful bill’ creates school voucher program that benefits the rich
The national school voucher program included in a bill passed by the U.S. House will make the rich richer and further marginalize students based on religious, economic and disability status, panelists said during a recent town hall meeting. The May…
Religious liberty groups oppose federal school voucher plan
Dozens of religious groups and hundreds of faith leaders are speaking out against a federal school voucher program currently under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. If approved as part of a legislative funding package, the Educational Choice for…
Texas on the brink of finalizing a school voucher bill
After years of opposition from rural Republicans and urban Democrats, the Texas Legislature passed a school voucher bill April 17. Texas now joins at least 15 other states with some form of taxpayer-funded vouchers for private education that critics say…
In a year of voucher mania, a controversial federal plan emerges
Donald Trump and congressional Republicans already intent on spending tax dollars on private education want to go even further by creating billions in new federal tax credits to school voucher programs. Newly introduced legislation would provide $10 billion in annual…
Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with Rep. James Talarico
James Talarico was Texas’ youngest statewide elected official when he entered the Texas House in 2019. His mixture of bona fides — Democrat, devout Christian, former school teacher, Presbyterian seminarian — quickly attracted national attention, and many of his speeches…
Vouchers damage religion
I am opposed to school vouchers for a number of reasons. First, I am opposed for financial reasons. The Texas Legislative Board reports that the cost of vouchers as currently being considered in the Texas Legislature will increase from $1…
Five ways the Texas school voucher bill is cruel
Here’s some basic arithmetic for you: The proposed school voucher bill approved tonight in the Texas Senate is cruel in at least five fundamental ways. First, it stacks the deck against public education, the bedrock of our democratic society. This…
Here’s what tax dollars will fund with the Texas school voucher bill
With proposed legislation to create school vouchers in Texas, a majority of taxpayer money could go to private schools that teach anti-science ideas and young-earth creationism. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has made “school choice” his mission over the last few…