The CEO of America’s largest school choice advocacy organization is warning Democrats that abolishing existing universal school choice programs could trigger a major voter backlash in the 2028 elections.
“Put yourself into the shoes of a lower-income mother who is a single parent. She has two or three kids that now just got access into a great private school or a great homeschooling environment that she couldn’t afford otherwise without a state program like in Texas, and suddenly, the new wave of people that maybe she even voted for is saying, ‘I want to take those options away from your kid immediately and put them back into the school that they’ve hated,'” American Federation for Children CEO Tommy Schultz told Fox News Digital. “That you’ve been begging the school district to change policies about … You’re now going to tell them you got to go back to that school? They’re going to become a single-issue voter in 2028 and vote you out of office.”
“I think a lot of these folks that just won office need to be really careful with trying to threaten taking away a family from an educational setting that their kids are thriving in that they’re loving, that they’re feeling safe in,” he added. “That’s fundamentally what’s at issue here.”
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Schultz’s comments followed recent midterm election gains by Democrats that have put landmark Republican education policies into question. Republican governors across the country previously passed universal school choice and parental rights measures as post-COVID culture war debates intensified and enrollments declined in major metropolitan public school districts.
In Texas, Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa signaled her intent to reverse school choice expansion upon taking office.
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“It is a victory for the parents of Texas. We are taking our children’s education back from a government that has failed them,” Hinojosa said during her victory speech. “Schools will not be taken out of our control, shuttered or suffocated. Being a parent is hard enough without carrying the burdens of a government’s failures. To the children of Texas: Your schools will not close.”
The renewed clash over vouchers comes as major urban districts navigate shifting enrollment dynamics. Big-city public school systems across the nation have struggled to retain students as families seek alternative options outside their neighborhood assignments.
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In Texas, for example, the Houston Independent School District board previously voted unanimously to close 12 campuses, citing declining enrollment.
“On day one, I will fire [Texas Education Agency Commissioner] Mike Morath, and we will work tirelessly to repair the damage of the Texas voucher scam, and end an era in which our schools are sold for parts,” Hinojosa added during her victory remarks.
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Voucher and school choice programs face similar legislative challenges following Democratic victories in states like Iowa, Georgia and Nevada.
Schultz predicted that attempts to roll back school choice legislation could ignite a new wave of parental rights activism. Conservative victories in school board races in recent cycles underscored how parents began paying closer attention to local governance, challenging progressive curricula, and voicing strong opposition to explicit content and LGBTQ-related books in classrooms.
Conservative political action committees have significantly expanded their footprint in local education contests since 2022. The Virginia-based American Principles Project (APP) first engaged in Florida school board races that year, funding attack ads targeting critical race theory and gender ideology. The APP and the 1776 Project PAC remain among the prominent conservative groups working to shape national education policy.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, school board meetings have frequently turned into high-profile clashes over parental authority in public education. Schultz foresees similar grassroots pushback if choice options are eliminated.
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“If you’re going to take away something from parents that they’re really loving—like especially something as emotional as the school that your kid is going to—they’re going to get quite angry,” Schultz said. “That’s where you’ve seen these movements, in Florida, where these parents rose up against candidates or even court cases where they tried to take hundreds of thousands of kids out of the schools they loved and put ’em back in the schools that they hated. They became single-issue voters.”
The broader parental rights movement led several Republican governors to codify parental bills of rights in recent years. Political analysts frequently point to parental rights platforms as key drivers in the election campaigns of figures like former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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“If you look at the headlines from that 2018 race with Governor Ron DeSantis, the school choice moms tipped the Florida race for him,” Schultz said. “That’s the type of thing we’re talking about that could happen to a lot of these candidates who maybe won on affordability, but they won maybe on small margins, particularly in these state legislative races.”
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“Don’t overread your mandate to suddenly say, ‘I want to wipe out a really popular program with parents,'” he added.
Hinojosa did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
