Led by a school marching band, hundreds of students, parents and teachers rallied outside the Capitol Wednesday to drum up support for public charter schools.

The rally, hosted by the Texas Charter Schools Association, called on lawmakers to get state funding to open and maintain charter school campuses in the state.

“No child should be forced to attend a school that isn’t right for them, every child has a right to attend a school that is right for them,” said Governor Greg Abbott.

The keynote speaker at the rally, Abbott said charter schools play a pivotal role in the state’s education system.

“Because it provides an option to find the best choice for each and every child in every single neighborhood across the state of Texas,” Abbott said.  

A longtime supporter public charter schools, Abbott told the crowd that one size does not fit all when it comes to education.  

A senior at Southwest High School in Houston, Lizette Medrano, said she found the school that best fit her needs outside of her parents’ zip code.

“I feel like it’s way better,” Medrano said. The 18-year-old added, “The teachers know you, your principals know your name and I don’t think you’ll find that at a big school, like a public school.”

Publicly funded but privately operated, charter schools can’t boost local property taxes or hold bond elections like traditional public schools.

“There are a lot of fundraisers,” said Tina Kostman, the mother of a charter school student in Austin.

Without any facilities funding from the state, charter schools rely on private donors, or dip into reserve funds to maintain campus facilities or build new schools. 

Kostman said, “We have to raise money for the school or donate our own money and own time for stuff that a public school get funded by the state.”

According to the Texas Charter Schools Association, 250,000 students are enrolled and more than 141,000 are on a waitlist to get into a public charter school.

Teachers’ organizations said before Texas sends more money in charter schools, the state should invest in traditional public school.

Public charter schools and traditional public schools are after the same funds and there’s only one pot of money.

Amid budget negotiations, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said he will fight to get funds for public charter schools. “I will do all I can in this budget conference to get money for the first time into facility funding for charter schools,” Patrick said.

He added it’s the right and fair thing to do, to level the playing field for all children no matter where they live in Texas.

Patrick said, “We will not stop, session after session until we are victorious I’m getting facility funding that you deserve.”