And when they've been starving schools of funds and will deepen that with vouchers, ANY source of funds will be jumped at. From the article:
The curriculum is optional for Texas public schools. They do not have to opt in, but a financial incentive exists if they choose to. If they do opt in, the state would give the district an extra $60 per student.
"These budget-strapped districts may be looking to anything to help bring a few extra dollars into these very tight budget situations that they find themselves in," said Kelsey Kling, a government relations specialist and policy analyst for the Texas American Federation of Teachers.
In recent weeks across the state, Molina said districts have been looking at cutting expenses and programs to ensure they can pay teachers and bills, and give students a quality education experience.
"At this time, that's the only way to get a little bit of extra money for their school districts," Molina said. "We are seeing school districts passing by. It deficits, trying to figure out how they're going to ensure that their schools stay open, that their educators aren't rushed out of education in a state where we already have a teacher shortage, not just with the teachers this year, but of a shortage of people wanting to come into education because of all of the different burdens that are being put on our educators at this time."