Reading, Writing, and Religious Freedom

Public School Defenders show up

Texas Impact’s Public School Defenders are Texans of faith from across the state committed to defending our public school system from threats foreign and domestic— including attempts from inside and outside Texas to inject Christian nationalist lessons into elementary school classes; hand over state and local tax dollars to unaccountable private schools; replace school counsellors with unlicensed “chaplains;” and assorted other assaults.

Once a week, the PSDs meet with Texas Impact staff and colleagues to receive status updates on policy and plan next steps. This week, many PSD team members participated in a lobby day at the Capitol.

House Public Education Committee member Representative Gina Hinojosa encouraged the attendees to bring their personal stories to the Capitol, and tell their legislators why and how public education bills affect them and their daily lives. This sentiment was echoed by Texas Impact’s legislative counsel, Beaman Floyd, who agreed that the personal story we all have is one of the most important things we can offer when we are in the Capitol.

Kelsey Kling from the Texas chapter of American Federation of Teachers discussed the nuances of charter and private schools, and how vouchers can affect all aspects of public education. Kelsey stressed the importance to not only a public school’s academics, but the extracurriculars as well. Programs such as band and art are often defunded when districts face budgetary constraints or a loss in daily attendance, which is likely with the passage of a voucher bill.

All members of the Public Education Committee received a visit from a Public School Defender on Tuesday, along with a folder filled with materials detailing the legislative priorities of Public School Defenders and Texas Impact. After the legislative meetings, we gathered in the Capitol grill and debriefed their discussions with Capitol staff, and talked about possible next steps.

Ready to join the Defense? Register for Texas Impact’s Public School Defenders team here.