(Texas Scorecard) – Gov. Greg Abbott delivered a forceful speech at the Texas Pastors Policy Conference in Austin, urging faith leaders to rally behind school choice legislation and push back against what he called the “government monopoly over education.” Addressing a crowd of pastors, Abbott framed the issue as a battle for parental rights and traditional values.
“Those House members are being bombarded by the education monopolists, by the institutionalists, by the status quo, who don’t want to let go, who do not want to give parents their rightful power to be able to choose the school that’s best for their child,” Abbott said. “So there are hundreds, thousands of people knocking on their doors, sending them emails, contacting them, saying, ‘Do not pass school choice.’”
Abbott said that school choice is not a new concept but a return to the way education was always intended to be.
“Education began long before the creation of school districts. Education began long before the creation of the state of Texas. Education began when God created man and woman and when children were first born. The design was to have parents in charge of educating their children,” Abbott said.
That design has never changed over the eons of time that humans have been alive on this Earth. It has not changed just because school districts now exist, just because Texas now exists. Anything that removes that design and tells parents, ‘You’ve got to step aside now because government is in charge of your kid,’ that is wrong.
He also pushed back against claims that school choice would interfere with homeschooling.
“That is an outright lie,” Abbott said. “What we’re passing with school choice will in no way whatsoever interfere with a parent’s right to educate their child the way that they see best.”
Abbott also pointed to what he called a “pervasive woke leftist agenda” in Texas public schools, citing examples of administrators promoting radical gender ideology and even discouraging patriotism.
“Let me tell you something: We’re not going to use your taxpayer dollars to educate our kids to disrespect the United States of America,” he said.
The governor called on pastors to use their influence to counteract opposition from education lobbyists and activists.
“We have volume. We have voices. The Texas pastors—you have your unique voice of influence, that you can be extraordinarily persuasive,” Abbott said. “If you’re sitting on the sideline listening to speeches but not getting off the sideline and giving your own speeches, you’re falling short of what your duty is here.”
He also made it clear that while the Texas Senate has consistently supported school choice, the battle will be won or lost in the Texas House.
“This is the first time ever in the history of the state of Texas where we have a majority of the members of the Texas House of Representatives who have come out in favor of school choice,” Abbott said. “There’s a thin majority, and what we know is those who are hostile to school choice, those who want to maintain the government monopoly over education, they are going to erode that majority.”
He called on pastors to “make sure that you’re constantly contacting your member of the Texas House, other members of the Texas House, explaining to them the need, the necessity, the imperative of ensuring they remain solid in a commitment to passing school choice in the state of Texas.”
Abbott closed by sharing his own story of perseverance, recalling the accident that left him paralyzed at 26.
“I did not let that injury define my life. Instead, with God as my guide, I designed for the future of my life. Because I responded to that the way that I need you to respond to the challenges we face with school choice,” he said. “We need you, the pastors of the great state of Texas, to rise up and meet this challenge and ensure that we prevail for the parents of this state, so parents will truly remain the first and foremost educator of our children by choosing the school that’s best for their child.”