Understand the Issue

“. . . working to advocate for comprehensive school choice in a manner consistent with the RPT Platform.”

— Republican Party of Texas legislative priority

The Problem

• Parents are not able to give their children the educational opportunities they desire.
• Parents don’t have ownership over their tax dollars being used for educational funding.
• Some solutions lead to greater problems since they require tax money to be given to the government from some and then distributed to others — an unfair system that creates unwanted government strings.

The Solution

• Distribute educational funds in a manner that they follow the student to any school, whether public, private, charter, or home school through means of tax exemptions and/or credits.

What People Are Saying

Talk to Your Community

Are you all in? Share these sample social media posts to start the conversation with your friends. Use the talking points to drive your message home when talking with friends or reporters. Send the sample Letter to the Editor to your local newspaper to spread the word.

Sample Tweets:

• I stand for #schoolchoice. Let my money follow my student.
• I’m a parent who’s asking for my tax dollars to follow my child to the school I choose. #schoolchoice
• Texas parents have a right to choose the best education for their children. Let my money follow my student. #schoolchoice

Messaging:

• Maintaining parents’ freedom of choice in educating their children is of utmost importance.
• Money for school choice should follow the student and not be handled by or filtered through the government.
• Tax exemptions and/or credits provide the best way to distribute funds since they maintain a free enterprise society unencumbered by government interference or subsidies.

Letter to the Editor:

Here’s a sample letter to the editor that you can customize, personalize, and submit to your local newspaper. An ideal time is when this subject comes up in the news. Be sure to check and follow your paper’s guidelines for length and submission.

True Educational Opportunity

School Choice is one of the most debated political topics in the nation.

The truest form of educational opportunity is the ability for parents to keep more of their hard-earned income, to keep their property without losing it to taxing entities in the event they can’t afford to pay the tax, and to have every public school within a given district be open to meeting the individual needs of their students regardless of geographical location. When legislators or bureaucrats seek to control the education of children or severely limit the options of parents to do what is in the children’s best interest, it is time for the Texas Legislature to act.

Minority communities are hardest hit by the restrictions of our public education system. With such great tax burdens to bear, many families are placed in the difficult situation of either working their fingers to the bone in order to pay for a quality, private education for their children or allowing their children to attend the zip-code determined public school that may or may not be the best fit for them. We need to work together to develop the best ways to increase educational opportunities for these families.

I agree with the Republican Party of Texas platform that all children should have access to quality education. I support the right to choose public, private, charter, or home education. I support the distribution of educational funds in a manner that they follow the student to any school, whether public, private, charter, or home school through means of tax exemptions and/or credits.

The bottom line for Texas is that we must do more to expand educational opportunities for all families by protecting the rights of families to keep more of what they earn and the right to keep their property.

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Talk to Your Legislators

Make a Phone Call

It’s easy — find your state representative and senator and their contact info using the resource list on this page. Call their district office and/or their Capitol office. You’ll speak to an office staffer. Tell them you’re a constituent. Tell them what issue interests you and why. Ask what your legislator plans to do to promote the issue.

Visit the Capitol — or your local district office!

When you call, ask for an appointment with your legislator (or alternatively, their chief of staff or legislative director). Or just drop by their district or Capitol office during regular business hours — leave your card or a note with the staffer.

Testify in a Hearing

The year and a half in between legislative sessions is called the “interim” period. During this period, the House and Senate committees hold hearings to study specific issues, or “charges” that are assigned by the Speaker and Lt. Governor.

This year’s interim charges include important items such as health care reform, reducing the tax burden, school choice, Second Amendment rights, and religious freedoms. Many of the charges relate to planks or priorities from the RPT platform.

Although bills cannot be passed since we’re not within an actual legislative session, these interim hearings are the Legislature’s way of reaching out to you for your opinion on important issues. By studying these issues now, our Senators and Representatives can be prepared to pass bills in 2019 that address the specifics you’ll bring to their attention.

Most of these hearings will include a time for public testimony — that’s your chance to make your voice heard.