The race for the next governor of Texas has already hit on controversial issues like reproductive rights and the future of Medicaid, but public school funding is also making its way into the discussion, and in particular, school vouchers.
Vouchers work like this: A state assigns each school-age child an amount of money that they can spend how they want. They can take it to their local school district, or take it to a private religious school or a charter school.
Democrat Wendy Davis' campaign is pressing Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Republican frontrunner in the gubernatorial race, for answers.
"The bottom line is Greg Abbott hasn’t given an answer of where he stands with vouchers and the reality is Texans deserve to know," said Bo Delp, Davis’ campaign communication director.
Delp said Davis opposes school vouchers and worries that having them could lead to similar legislative action seen in 2011 when $5.4 billion was cut from public education.
Speaking earlier this summer at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Abbott said he hopes to usher in a new era of education reform.
"We need to do several things with regards to education," Abbott said. "We need to focus on getting out students who graduate from high school either college-ready or career ready. We need to get away from this concept of a one-size-fits-all education program because different kids have different needs [and] desires."
