The Texas Taxpayer Savings Grant, a proposed school voucher program, would allow any student from a public school to attend a private school of their choice. According to the Houston Chronicle, the proposal is causing controversy in Texas due to problems such as expensive private school tuition, not enough room to admit all those who apply, and the opposition of public school supporters.

The first school voucher concept was proposed by Michael Friedman in 1955. Other than a few pilot programs, no school voucher proposal has succeeded. Senior Shanlee Babino is an advocate for the proposal because of the better opportunities for less fortunate students.

“The state should definitely fund the program because it would allow students to go to a school where they have a better chance to pursue their dream inexpensively,” Babino said. “Students shouldn’t have to push aside their dreams due to a school’s shortcomings.”

The Waco Tribune states that local area school boards spoke out against school vouchers, stating that it would not be fair for the state to give money to schools that would not be held to the state’s accountability. Senior Lauren Kowis was also against the program.

“I do not think the state should fund this project because I do not believe that students fail because of the school they attend but through their own choice,” Kowis said. “If students were as committed as they should be to their studies, a school’s rankings wouldn’t be what makes or breaks their future.”

The state would save approximately $1 billion a year on their spending for public schools because of the 6% of public school students who would transfer to a private school.

“Sometimes it is hard for the students aiming to succeed to focus in a large class filled with kids who could care less,” senior Victoria Hill said. “A class filled with students wanting a better education would mean a better chance at academic success for all of them.”

The Texas Taxpayer Savings Grant promises to lower general spending on public education by reducing the enrollment of students in the state’s public schools. English teacher Janet Clarke, who formally taught at a private school, said that implementing the voucher program would be a mistake.

“I am against the voucher because the public school system that I love, the students that I love, will no longer have funding,” Clarke said. “Some of the brightest students will leave, and schools will lose many of those kids who play the roles of positive role models.”

In Louisiana, District Judge Tim Kelley ruled that funding a school choice program that allows students from low-income households that were attending underperforming public schools to attend a private school of their choice was unconstitutional. A formal ruling in Texas is still underway.