The Taxpayer Savings Grant Program allows parents and guardians of school-age children to apply for a grant equal to tuition at a private school or 60% of the state average per-pupil spending, whichever is less.

TSG Hearing: Tuesday, April 9th

std tsg

A hearing date has been set for SB 1575 relating to Taxpayer Savings Grants. This bill, introduced by Senator Donna Campbell and Senator Ken Paxton will not only save the state billions of dollars, but it will empower parents with the option to send their child to the school of their choice.

Please join us at this hearing to show your support for Taxpayer Savings Grants as just one way to improved educational choice s in Texas!

Public Testimony Needed: SB 1575

Are you interested in submitting public testimony expressing your support for SB 1575? Do you believe that every student deserves the opportunity to attend the very best school? Do you want to see the state save money as opposed to continuing to fund a one-size-fits-all failing education model?

If so, please email RandanSC@gmail.com your public testimony or submit it directly to the Senate Education Committee for SB 1575. Please feel free to join us for this very important hearing.

Students Join TSG Coalition

Our Students Cannot Afford To Wait For Superman! On Tuesday, April 9th - in conjunction with the Senate Education Committee Hearing on SB 1575 - students from across the state will travel to Austin to stand up for educational loan refinancing freedom. We're excited to partner with Rev. Kyev Tatum out of Fort Worth to welcome parents and students to the Capitol.

Be on the lookout for School Choice Super Heroes walking around the Capitol next Tuesday!

Questions: RandanSC@gmail.com

Making Texas Public Education More Efficient: Taxpayer Savings Grants

Joseph Bast, Heartland Institute –March 8, 2013 TSG would enable the state of Texas to comply with its constitutional mandate to “establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.”

The TSG would reimburse parents and legal guardians for “the amount of actual tuition costs or sixty percent of the state average per-pupil maintenance and operations expenditure, whichever is less.” Approximately 321,000 students would use savings grants in the first year saving taxpayers some $561 million. Savings in the first biennial budget would be $1.3 billion. In subsequent years savings would grow, so that over the course of 12 years, using extremely conservative estimates, taxpayers would save $22.8 billion.

Students would benefit as well. Other school choice programs around the country have demonstrated how choice improves student achievement, retention, and other outcomes. Parents and teachers will be happier. Click to read the full text of this document

The Taxpayer Savings Grants Program

would solve the problems identified by plaintiffs in the court case pending against the state by using markets to make the state’s school system more efficient, by reducing the cost of education while increasing its quality. See this spreadsheet for details:

Attachment	Size
heartland_tsgp_spreadsheet.xls	31.5 KB
heartland_tsgp_spreadsheet.pdf	100.65 KB

"Taxpayer Savings Grant Bills Introduced in Senate and House

Senators Donna Campbell and Ken Paxton introduced SB 1575 and Representative Scott Turner introduced HB 3497 to bring Taxpayer Savings Grants to Texas. These companion bills are part of the boldest education reform package in the country and will empower parents with the freedom to choose the best schools for their children while saving taxpayers billions of dollars and improving public schools.

Senator Ted Cruz Highlights School Choice at CPAC

Press Release: 1.1 Million Texans Vote for School Choice Initiative; More Than 85 Percent in Support

On Tuesday, more than 85 percent of Texas Republicans voted in favor of school choice and in support of Taxpayer Savings Grants. This result is confirmation that Texans want school choice, taxpayer savings, and the opportunity to choose the school that is right for their child.

A Texas-sized idea, By Richard Komer & Matt Miller

Sometimes it takes a budget crisis like the one virtually all states are facing to spawn a great idea. As is the case in every state, a huge proportion of Texas’s budget is spent on public schools. Now Texas has an opportunity to shore up its state budget while improving the quality of education for its children. The remaining four days in the state’s biennial legislative session will determine whether Texas is ready to demonstrate the kind of bold national leadership it prides itself on. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/26/a-texas-sized-idea/

Texas's School-Reform Opening, By John Fund

Texas is going through a painful reduction of state aid to local schools, the result of the recession and plunging revenues. The state will be cutting the amount it spends per student by 5% to 11%, forcing some schools to end pre-kindergarten programs, technology purchases and mentoring programs. But there is a possible solution that doesn't involve hiking job-killing taxes. Half of the cuts could be made up by an innovative proposal that is before the Texas legislature right now. Read more