Act Daily News
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott previewed a push for college vouchers and extra parental affect over curriculum as a part of an effort to “empower parents” in his inaugural deal with Tuesday in Austin.
Abbott, a Republican who defeated former Rep. Beto O’Rourke to win a 3rd time period in November and is seen as a possible 2024 presidential candidate, delivered a speech exterior the Capitol in Austin that was largely a forward-looking effort to distinction Texas with the remainder of the United States.
He additionally used his third inaugural deal with to preview a push for college vouchers, property tax cuts and extra within the upcoming months, on the outset of a legislative session during which Abbott and state lawmakers will resolve what to do with a $33 billion funds surplus.
Abbott described Texas as a spot of “freedom and opportunity” with out the “high taxes, red tape, burdensome regulations” of Democratic-led states. He touted the conservative file that Abbott and the state’s Republican-dominated legislature have constructed over eight years.
Abbott didn’t supply particulars on what a voucher system would appear like, however previewed such a push utilizing language that mirrored different Republican governors in recent times.
Parents, Abbott stated, “deserve the freedom to choose the education that’s best for their child.”
He additionally stated colleges are for “education, not indoctrination,” and steered colleges have in recent times been “pushing social agendas.”
“We must reform curriculum to get kids back to learning the basics and empower parents with the tools to challenge that curriculum when it falls short of expectations,” Abbott stated.
Abbott made no direct point out of Uvalde, the place a gunman killed 19 college students and two lecturers at an elementary faculty in May 2022.
He vowed, within the state’s present legislative session, which lasts till May, to “prioritize protecting students and staff.”
“We must provide mental health services to students who need it. Parents must know that their children are safe when they drop them off every morning,” Abbott stated. “We will not end this session without making our schools safer.”
He additionally known as for “mandatory sentences on criminals caught with guns” – mirroring a proposal by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for 10-year minimal sentences.
Abbott additionally lambasted President Joe Biden for his administration’s dealing with of the US-Mexico border, and touted his personal efforts to construct a border wall.
“With the Biden Administration missing in actions, Texas is using every tool to protect our state,” Abbott stated. “We are building a wall, deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers to enforce the law, and targeting the Mexican drug cartels who traffic, people, weapons and drugs into our state.”
It was Patrick, moderately than Abbott, who fleshed out lots of the particulars of the proposals Abbott talked about.
Patrick stated the Senate deliberate to hunt to lift the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000, decreasing the quantity on which householders should pay property taxes. He additionally known as for an exemption of $100,000 in business property, up from the present $2,500.
Without delving into particulars, he additionally previewed a push for college vouchers.
“The governor and I are all-in on school choice,” Patrick stated.
And he stated he would search to increase a ban on crucial race idea being mentioned in lecture rooms from Ok-12 to incorporate faculties.
“Our public professors are accountable to the taxpayer because you pay their salary,” stated Patrick, who has pushed to finish tenure at Texas public faculties and universities.
“I don’t want teachers in our colleges saying, ‘America is evil and capitalism is bad and socialism is better,’ ” he stated. “And if that means some of those professors that want to teach that don’t come to Texas, I’m OK with that.”