AUSTIN — Austin Independent School District announced it will use buses to transport children and their families as well as staff to the “Austin Pride Parade” on August 12.

“We are proud to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ students, staff, and families,” AISD said on their website, “and highlight our commitment to creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for all!”

The parade, which will start at the Texas Capitol, runs 1.2 miles and ends at Congress Bridge.

According to the AISD website, the district encourages students to wear “Pride costumes and rainbow colors” and will also provide a limited number of “Austin ISD Pride T-shirts” for students in attendance.

“As a member of the House Public Education committee, I heard all session how ‘underfunded’ public schools were,” State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) said. “Since Austin ISD has enough $$$$ to shuttle kids to and from the Austin Pride Parade, I can assume they are ‘fully funded.’”

“When people ask why they should support school choice, this is a good place to start,” said Brady Gray, president of Texas Family Project.

In February, Gov. Greg Abbott made school choice a priority item for the 88th Legislature.

In June, Abbott announced his intention to hold a special session for school choice after Senate Bill 8, the proposed school choice legislation that would create ESAs for students’ use, died in committee in May.

A special session on school choice is expected to be held in the fall.

Matthew DeLaCruz

Matthew DeLaCruz is a Cedar Park native and is a sophomore journalism and mass communications major at Abilene Christian University. Matthew is a summer writing fellow at Texas Scorecard and loves bringing relevant stories to citizens. When he is not writing, you can catch Matthew lifting weights, playing basketball and eating ice cream with his friends.

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