Urgent Action: Defend public education in Texas from voucher scams

Easy to use script to call your state senator to protect public education from the voucher scheme

The Texas Senate will vote on SB 2, a school voucher bill, tomorrow, Wednesday, February 4. This will pass the Senate, but it is important that we push for rigorous debate on amendments that would narrow the scope of the bill and reduce the harm it can cause to our public schools. Doing so helps us to craft the narrative and alert our fellow Texans to the harms of school vouchers before they reach the House, where they will have a much harder time passing as written in the Senate version.

You can find your state senator here. Remember this is not Cornyn or Cruz, who are US Senators. Calls are better than emails—they are loud and disruptive by nature, and the whole office knows if phones are ringing off the hook—and calling their Capitol office number is best.

Script:
Hello, my name is _______, and I am a constituent in zip code ________. I’m calling regarding SB 2. While I strongly oppose vouchers, I understand they are likely to pass the Senate. That said, I urge the Senator to either file or support the following amendments.

1. Lower the lottery priority qualification for low-income families from 500% of the poverty line to 185%, aligning it with the qualifications for reduced-price school lunches.

2. Ensure funding for all students with disabilities by matching, dollar for dollar, the voucher amount used by these students with additional funding for special education programs in rural districts that do not have access to private options.

3. Reduce the voucher amount by $4,000 to match the per-student allotment for public school students.

Thank you for your time, and please let the Senator know that I will be watching the debate and the outcome of the vote closely.