State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) says he believes the movement for school choice is growing in Texas, and he has vowed to fight for the policy in the upcoming legislative session.
Last Friday, Harrison made an appearance on The Headline to talk about the growing movement for school choice in Texas and how likely he thinks it is that the Legislature will follow. He also called out liberal indoctrination in public schools.
In the interview, Harrison noted how Texas has been lagging behind states like Arizona in offering true school choice to parents, urging Texas to follow suit.
“A lot of opponents of school choice paint this as some kind of a thing that will only help … rich families or rich kids,” said Harrison. “That’s ridiculous. Rich families have and enjoy school choice right now. The biggest beneficiaries across the state of Texas would be poor kids who come from poor families who are trapped in failing ISDs who place more emphasis on indoctrination than they do on education.”
According to Harrison, waiting is not an option for conservatives who want to change the system for good.
“If we don’t take action right now to stop the liberal indoctrination that is, in fact, happening within a generation, the left is going to own all the levers of power and government. I would go further and say they will probably outlaw conservative education. They could make homeschooling illegal in the state of Texas,” Harrison explained.
He criticized the curricula taught in Texas schools and presented data on the decreased proficiency of Texas students. “And right now we’ve got a situation in the state of Texas where only about 35 percent of Texas students are at proficiency standards on arithmetic.”
Harrison described school choice as one of the main issues that could serve as a litmus test for Republican candidates ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
“This is the liberty issue,” said Harrison. “You can align yourself with those who want to focus on education, and freedom, and liberty and let competition do its job. Or, you can align yourself with Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris, and Beto O’Rourke, and the people who want mask mandates and [CRT and indoctrination] in the school.”