Governor Greg Abbott continues campaign push for school choice
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Governor Greg Abbott continued his campaign push for school choice in Dallas on Thursday, saying a one size fits all approach to education doesn't work when you have kids that aren't the same size.
At The King's Academy, a private school with an enrollment of about 70 students, Abbott met with administrators, parents and teachers to talk about education successes outside of the public school system.
Making the case that parents know the best way for their children to succeed, Abbott said getting behind that would be the best path for state success.
"There are some parents in this state that want a choice that is different, than the government assigned school for their child," he said. "Those parents know better which school is best for their child, than does the government."
While the broad concept of school choice is that state educational funding would follow students, the Governor avoided specifically mentioning vouchers or laying out a plan for how the idea would potentially work.
His opponent in the race for governor, Beto O'Rourke, has been arguing against the idea, believing it would negatively impact public school systems especially in rural communities.
In a written statement the president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, Zeph Capo, was critical of Gov. Abbott floating the idea of moving tax dollars at the same time school districts are starting another year with hundreds of staffing vacancies.