The new Texas Education Freedom Accounts program is clearly an answered prayer. More than 100,000 students applied for the school choice program in the first two weeks after it opened in February. Their families are desperate to send their kids to the best school, so they can discover and develop their God-given talents and purpose in life.
But now another prayer needs to be answered. The two of us are working with hundreds of Black and Hispanic pastors who want to open schools in their Texas churches. They want to build better education options that families are trying to find and pay for using the EFA program. Sadly, local regulations almost always stand in their way.
These pastors are counting on elected officials to break such barriers, so they can meet the spiritual and educational needs of their communities. Black and Hispanic families could benefit significantly, because their children are more likely to struggle in public school. Nationwide, about 10% of Black eighth graders are proficient in math, compared with about 33% of white students, according to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card. Private religious schools could be a godsend.
We are both Black pastors who’ve experienced the problems — and power — of education. We grew up in separate states, yet by the time we both graduated high school, neither of us had the fundamental educational skills needed to succeed in college or in life. By the grace of God, we were both taken under the wing of pastors who helped us get up to speed.
Opinion
Now we lead our own churches — one of us in Texas, the other in Pennsylvania. We believe our calling as pastors includes a mandate to train the next generation to be principled, prudent and capable of leadership. What we preach on Sunday is very important. But we also want to teach students during the week, through formal schooling.
Realizing this dream is difficult in Texas. The simplest way to educate kids through their churches is simply to open a school in a church building. Many churches have space that is rarely used during the week. Why not put it to the good use of shaping young minds?
But in Texas, building codes broadly hold schools to different standards than churches. Most major cities – including Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio – enforce codes that can make it difficult to open schools in church buildings. In many rural areas pastors are generally free to start a school in the same place where they worship. But most churches — and people — are in the major cities.
In practice, that means most churches can’t easily open schools. If they want to, they usually have to make expensive changes to everything from fire protection to plumbing to the width of hallways. However well-meaning regulations may be, they don’t make much sense.
If a fire marshal goes to a church on Sunday, he can drop off his daughter at Sunday school without a second thought. But if that same fire marshal wanted to send his daughter to regular school at the same building, he probably couldn’t. In fact, if the church had a school, he would likely have to shut it down. Why is it okay for his daughter to be there on Sunday but not Monday?
There’s an obvious solution. City leaders should reform their building codes so any church that wants to open a school can. Even better, state leaders should amend the statewide code so no city can stand in the way of church-run schools.
Some may worry that pastors are simply trying to get taxpayer dollars via the new Texas EFA program. But the state has safeguards to prevent abuse. Any private school must be open and accredited for at least two years before being eligible for the program. In other words, new schools will have to prove they can provide an education that’s worthy of the name and appealing to families.
There are hundreds of Black and Hispanic Texas pastors ready to meet this challenge. They want to run schools that form students both intellectually and ethically, all from inside the walls of their churches. These pastors’ prayer deserves to be answered, too, for the sake of families across the state.
The Rev. Joshua C. Robertson is founder and CEO of Black Pastors United for Education. Dana Carson is founder and senior pastor of the Reflections of Christ’s Kingdom World Outreach International in Houston.
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