Don Huffines is urging lawmakers to pass universal school choice, accusing government schools of indoctrinating students with a “secular, atheist education.”

“It’s time we get a free market in our education system in Texas,” said Huffines in a video posted to X on Tuesday. “We need competition because it always lowers the price and increases the quality. I mean, seriously, do we want the government running our education system for the most precious asset we have—which is our children?”

Huffines, a former Dallas-area state senator and 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate, posted the video to accompany a new solutions paper by the Huffines Liberty Foundation.

The paper argues that, despite receiving billions of dollars since 2012, less than half of Texas’ government school students exhibited grade-level English, math, science, and social studies proficiency in 2024.

“School choice would bring competition to Texas K-12 education and empower parents to send their children to better-performing schools,” reads the paper. “This competition would also increase the quality of currently poor-performing government schools.”

HLF criticized past strategies aimed at courting anti-school choice Republican lawmakers, alluding to Gov. Greg Abbott’s attempt to place school choice in an education spending package last year.

Abbott’s proposed amendment to the package adding school choice was shot down by 21 Republicans who sided with Democrats. Shortly after, the broader package died in committee.

“The massive increase in government education funding included in these bills was a failed attempt to court the support of Legislators controlled by the government school monopoly,” continued the paper.

Because Texas politicians must answer to voters, not to school boards and education unions, almost all of the Republicans who voted against school choice will not be returning to Austin in 2024.

To solve the education problem, HLF proposed that an effective school choice proposal next session would establish an Education Savings Account for parents to control where their money is spent, allow all students to be eligible, and tie government school funding to enrollment.

Huffines is no stranger to advocating for school choice in Texas. As a lawmaker, Huffines proposed legislation that would have introduced education freedom into the state. He also pushed Abbott to endorse the policy during his 2022 campaign for governor.

Luca Cacciatore

Luca H. Cacciatore is a journalist for Texas Scorecard. He is an American Moment inaugural fellow and former welder.

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