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Good morning,

Here is the Texas Minute for Monday, April 25, 2022.

– Brandon Waltens

As attention continues to grow on indoctrination inside public education, a renewed interest has begun to emerge in legislative efforts increasing parental choice in education.

But as this school choice resurgence blossoms, Gov. Greg Abbott’s position on the issue has been murky. And recent events have only made his position more opaque.

So where does Gov. Greg Abbott stand on the issue?

As defined by the Republican Party of Texas, school choice refers to legislation that would “empower parents and guardians to choose from public, private, charter, or homeschool options for their children’s education using tax credits or exemptions without government restraint or intrusion.”

School choice was even a legislative priority of the Texas GOP heading into the last session, though the issue was soundly quashed [[link removed]] by legislators in the Texas House (including a majority of Republican members).

After first being elected in 2014, Abbott would headline School Choice Week rallies on the Texas Capitol steps, donning the movement’s signature yellow scarf. As the years went on, Abbott’s embrace of the plan appears to have dwindled. At an event hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation earlier this year, Abbott only stated that there would be “a” school choice push next session (but he did not say that he would be leading the push, or even supporting it...)

Interest in the issue continued to grow after Abbott issued a series of endorsements [[link removed]] in the Republican primary runoffs. Parental rights advocates quickly noted that several of endorsements were aligned with liberal teacher unions that have long opposed school choice and other forms of education reform, even as parents continue to discover pornographic material and critical race theory being promulgated in public schools.

Many of his endorsements have also contrasted [[link removed]] those made by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who had previously noted that school choice would be a critical factor in his decision process for offering endorsements.

Last week, Charlie Johnson—the executive director of Pastors for Texas Children, an anti-school choice group that supports pro-abortion, liberal Democrats and opposes reform in education—made a comment that raised even more questions about Abbott's position.

During a forum [[link removed]], Johnson stated that rural members of the Texas House told him they had spoken with Abbott and he would not be pushing school choice legislation in the next session.

Exacerbating the confusion even further was Abbott's response. In a late-night tweet [[link removed]], Abbott claimed to have never spoken to Johnson and claimed to not even know who he was. Many quickly noted, however, that Abbott’s response failed to address what was actually said at the forum. Johnson did not claim to have spoken with Abbott; he said that lawmakers spoke with Abbott and relayed their conversations to him.

It's been several days since the exchange, and Abbott has still refused to clarify his position.

🔒 Donate to Texas Scorecard 🔒 [[link removed]] Number of the Day

87%

The percentage of Texas Republicans who voted in favor of school choice on a ballot proposition last month.

[Source: March Primary Results [[link removed]]]

Today in History

On April 25, 1863, the Mexican-American War ignited as a result of disputes over claims to Texas boundaries. The outcome of the war fixed Texas' southern boundary at the Rio Grande River.

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Produced by Michael Quinn Sullivan and Brandon Waltens, the Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is delivered weekday mornings (though we'll take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).

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