Last week, the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation released the results of its poll tracking likely Texas voters’ opinions on key legislative and political issues. Gov. Greg Abbott’s quest for a private school voucher program was among the topics posed to likely November voters, and the results are what everyone (except maybe the governor) already knew.
According to this latest poll, 57% of likely Texas voters are opposed to using taxpayer dollars to provide private school vouchers to all parents. Opposition to vouchers is strong among all gender, race, and partisan lines:
- 68% of Black Texans, 58% of Hispanic Texans, and 55% of white Texans
- 77% of Democrats, 56% of Independents, and 43% of Republicans
- 60% of women and 54% of men
- 58% of Texans in urban areas, 58% in suburban areas, and 57% in rural areas
In fact, the polling report points out, absolute majorities of Texans of different racial backgrounds, educational backgrounds, gender identities, and regional perspectives are opposed to a voucher scheme. Only two demographics are highlighted as showing a deep rift on the issue:
- Likely voters age 65 and older are significantly more likely (42%) than voters ages 18 to 44 (28%), those most likely to have school-age children, to support private school vouchers.
- Likely voters who identify as Born-Again Christians (45%) are significantly more likely than both Christians who do not identify as Born-Again (30%) and non-religious voters (24%) to support school vouchers.
Compare those results with the other education-related question from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation poll: Do you support increasing pay for public school teachers in Texas? The responses to that question are as close to unanimity as it gets in today’s political climate: 90% of likely Texas voters support giving educators a pay raise, including 98% of Democrats, 89% of Independents, and 86% of Republicans.
The takeaway seems clear: If Abbott and the Legislature’s education priorities were intended to serve Texans, they would dispense with vouchers and pour all their efforts into funding public schools to thrive and paying our educators what they’re worth. As Hotline readers know, of course, voucher policy isn’t about helping Texans; it’s about lining the pockets of wealthy donors, both in Texas and across the nation.
The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that analyzes “political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors” of Texas’ Hispanic population. Its survey was conducted with 1,600 likely Texas voters between April 5-10. Read the full results online.