The primary race for Texas House District 55 is one of more than a dozen that have been framed by the struggle over school choice in the Lone Star State.
Incumbent Rep. Hugh Shine (R-Temple) is set to face off against challenger Hillary Hickland in the race to represent the district.
Shine was first elected in 1986 before stepping down in 1991 to focus on his family, business, and military career. Decades later, in 2016, Shine was elected to the House again and has served as the representative for HD 55 since.
He has openly opposed school choice in the past, notably voting in favor of an amendment that removed education savings accounts from an education spending bill in the most recent legislative session. Such accounts would allow families to use a certain amount of taxpayer money to help defray the costs of private school or homeschooling.
Shine has claimed that there are “some real issues with accountability” that must be worked out before he would support school choice, noting that he would prefer to focus on “how we fund what we got.”
“My real focus is more on the funding side of public education as it stands right now and trying to bring the property tax liability down,” he continued, per The Dallas Morning News.
Shine said his current campaign race has been “different because of a lot of outside influence” but urged voters to remember his track record of voting since he was first elected, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
“I’ve supported all the conservative issues throughout my tenure in the last four sessions with the exception of the vouchers,” he claimed, per KWTX.
While Shine has voiced opposition to school choice, his challenger’s campaign website states that parents have a “God-given right to choose the best education for their child.”
His opposition to school choice comes at a time when many Texans feel supportive of some kind of legislation that would empower families to choose what they feel is best for their children, as indicated by polling that suggests the notion is popular among broad swaths of the electorate.
Largely due to her belief in school choice, Hickland has received an endorsement from Gov. Greg Abbott, who said she is the “kind of new conservative leader we need in Austin to deliver results in the Texas House.”
“This past year, she worked relentlessly to empower parents by traveling to Austin to advocate for Texas families and students. She will work with me to cut property taxes, expand education freedom, and secure the border from President Biden’s reckless open border policies. I am proud to endorse Hillary Hickland, and I ask all Texans in House District 55 to join me in supporting her for State Representative.”
Hickland spoke during an event hosted by Abbott in December, reiterating her desire to “empower parents with their God-given right.”
“That is basic. No one knows better for their children than parents. … I am very passionate about school choice and opening opportunities for kids,” she said, per KWTX.
For their part, school officials in some of the public school districts within HD 55 have expressed opposition to school choice.
A joint resolution passed by Temple ISD and Belton ISD in September 2023 called for the prevention of taxpayer money from being used to fund private school attendance, per KCEN.
Bobby Ott, superintendent of Temple ISD, claimed that many parents “are walking around believing a false narrative” about school choice since private schools can purportedly choose which students are allowed to attend.
“If we’re competing with entities and using tax dollars to subsidize entities that can pick and choose … then eventually, you’re going to set up a mass societal divide,” he argued.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Genevieve Collins, the Texas director for Americans for Prosperity, claimed that the school system bureaucracies are designed to protect themselves and have a lot of influence in parts of Texas, particularly in rural House districts.
“We have a massive education bureaucracy across 1,200 school districts,” she said, noting that such weight can be brought to bear against reform efforts like school choice.