Last week in our “Teach the Vote’s Week in Review,” we mentioned a new poll by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (THPF) that shows the majority of likely Texas voters are opposed to vouchers.  

The Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (THPF) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated and committed to analyzing and exploring the political, economic, social, demographic, and familial attitudes and behaviors of Texas Hispanics. Founded in 2020, this relatively new organization is led by a board of heavy hitters including former Republican state Rep Jason Villalba, serving as CEO and Board Chair, Former Republican Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade, former Democratic state Senator Leticia Van de Putte.The foundation conducts surveys, polls, research, data collection, and analysis concerning the Hispanic population in Texas. THPF collaborates with Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy to provide data research and survey composition, execution, and analysis. Mark P. Jones, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy’s Political Science Fellow, Professor in the Department of Political Science at Rice University, and one of the most well-known data analysts on issues involving Texas politics, serves as THPF’s Chief Information and Analytics Officer. 

THPF released their study on Texas voter opinions on border security, school vouchers, and abortion at the end of April. According to the poll, 57% of respondents oppose school vouchers while 36% support them. Additionally, 90% of respondents reported that they support legislation that would increase educator pay. The following two questions were asked, and below is the breakdown of how likely voters responded. 

Legislation that would use tax dollars to provide school vouchers to all Texas parents is: 

• Opposed by 57% of likely voters and supported by 36%.  
• Opposed by 68% of Blacks, 58% of Hispanics, and 55% of whites.  
• Opposed by 77% of Democrats, 56% of Independents, and 43% of Republicans.  
• Opposed by 60% of women and 54% of men.  
• Opposed by a majority of urban (58%), suburban (58%), and rural (57%) county residents. 

Legislation that would increase the pay of public school teachers is:  

• Supported by 90% of likely voters and opposed by 7%.  
• Supported by 98% of Blacks, 92% of Hispanics, and 88% of whites.  
• Supported by 98% of Democrats, 89% of Independents, and 86% of Republicans. 

Despite the repeated lack of voucher support by likely voters in poll after poll, Gov. Greg Abbott called four special legislative sessions last year following the 88th Texas Legislature to push vouchers and backed several anti-public education candidates who defeated voucher opponents in the March primaries. Following the March primary election, he proclaimed the state is "closer than ever" to a voucher program. It’s a shame that the governor isn’t listening to constituents or prioritizing the 5.4 million Texas students and the teachers that educate them. Read the full THPF report here.