Vouchers, STAAR and classroom screens: where Abbott and Hinojosa differ on schools as early voting opens Monday

Texans who start voting Monday will pick a governor who appoints the state's education commissioner, names the chair of the State Board of Education and can sign or veto school laws, and the two major candidates are offering sharply different plans for public schools.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is seeking a fourth term. His Democratic opponent is state Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin, a former Austin ISD trustee. The Dallas Morning News laid out their education proposals in a report published this week. Early voting is Oct. 19-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

Abbott's proposals

Abbott has pointed to raises for teachers during his time in office and says he wants to raise student results, the News reported. His campaign website calls for:

• Less screen time. He wants less classroom time on laptops and tablets and more emphasis on printed materials, handwriting and direct instruction from teachers. Lawmakers already barred cellphones in schools during the last session.
• More money in classrooms. He wants a law making districts put 70% or more of their money into classroom spending, plus district audits that his campaign says would "eliminate excessive administrative costs, wasteful contracts and fraud." Abbott directed Comptroller Don Huffines in August to review four districts' spending. TEA already conducts district audits and grades their financial management.
• Tougher penalties for educators. School employees convicted of an improper educator-student relationship would go on the sex offender registry and serve at least a decade behind bars without parole. State data cited by the News show over 2,000 investigations of such relationships or communications were opened last school year.
• Cheaper college. He wants public universities to offer three-year bachelor's degrees and summer tuition discounts of $500 for one to five credit hours and $1,000 for six or more.

Hinojosa's proposals

Hinojosa has made public schools a central part of her campaign. She would:

• End the voucher program. The Texas Education Freedom Accounts, which Abbott pushed for years, let families spend public money on private schooling starting this year. Hinojosa says the program helps wealthier families and those whose children were already in private school. The comptroller's office counted more than 100,000 participating students on Oct. 1, and more than half had previously been homeschooled or in non-public schools. The comptroller wants more money from lawmakers next year to expand it.
• Drop STAAR and rework A-F ratings. She wants to end the state test and replace the rating system built largely on its scores. A 2025 law swaps the single end-of-year exam for three shorter tests spread across the year beginning in 2027-28, and Abbott had named ending the test a priority that year.
• End state takeovers. Under current law, five consecutive failing ratings require the state to shut that campus or put the district under state control. Eight districts are under state control.
• Replace Commissioner Mike Morath, whom she blames for falling student performance, with someone who has more classroom experience. Morath has led the agency since 2016.
• Cut vendor contracts that serve districts and put the savings toward teacher pay.

The Legislature raised the basic per-student allotment by $55 in 2025, its first increase since 2019, adding $8.5 billion for schools, about half of it for teacher retention raises. District leaders have said that is not enough, and that keeping pace with inflation would have taken a $1,300 increase per student.

Sources

theeagle.com

The Dallas Morning News