Texas GOP's Education Agenda: Parental Rights, School Choice, and Accountability

GOP lawmakers in Texas are pushing for a package of bills that would reshape education in the state, including a Parental Bill of Rights that would give parents $8,000 a year to cover home-schooling expenses or private school tuition. The bill would also grant parents new oversight over what students were taught in public schools and prohibit instruction or activities regarding sexual orientation or gender identity. The legislation has drawn criticism from Democrats, small-town Republicans, and conservative Christian home-school parents who fear government money would lead to new restrictions on their freedom to educate their children as they see fit.