New poll shows most Texas voters support private school subsidies

A new survey of Texas voters revealed seemingly contradictory feelings about a contentious issue that could dominate next year's legislative session. Majorities told pollsters recently they not only agree with arguments against private school subsidies, but ultimately they also still support the state creating these programs for families.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new survey of Texas voters revealed seemingly contradictory feelings about a contentious issue that could dominate next year's legislative session. Majorities told pollsters recently they not only agree with arguments against private school subsidies, but ultimately they also still support the state creating these programs for families.

These results came out Monday from the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs and the Executive Master of Public Administration Program in the Barbara Jordan–Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University. The survey sought to find out how a group of 2,257 voters felt about both school vouchers and education savings accounts (ESAs).

The survey showed 65% of Texans support the adoption of legislation that would provide school vouchers to all parents in Texas, with 33% strongly supporting this legislation. Meanwhile, 69% of Texans said they'd support a plan to create ESAs for all parents in the state.

At the same time, though, pollsters found similar amounts of voters agreed with a long-held criticism of such measures. For instance 66% of Texans agreed that vouchers as well as ESAs funnel away money from already struggling public schools.

Multiple efforts to approve ESAs failed during the 2023 regular legislative session because of an unwavering blockade from both Democrats and a few rural Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives. This led to Gov. Greg Abbott backing GOP challengers during the March primaries and May runoffs to unseat some incumbents who opposed his push for private school subsidies. The governor ultimately came out successful in most races, claiming he has the votes to pass his priority item.

An upcoming committee hearing could provide a preview of what’s to come during next year’s regular legislative session and the long-running debate over whether Texas could finally implement a plan to allow families to pay for their children’s private education using public dollars.

The Texas House Committee on Public Education is set to meet on Aug. 12 at 9 a.m. According to an agenda posted online recently, members will in part look into “the use of education savings accounts in other states and make recommendations for a Texas program, including suggestions on eligibility and prioritization of applicants.”

It’s unclear which states could possibly serve as models for Texas or how quickly lawmakers will compile information about other programs, but the fact this early discussion is happening will set the stage for consideration of what could be contentious legislation.