Texas Sen. Ted Cruz called school choice `` the most compelling civil rights issue of the 21st century '' and suggested it will be a significant focus of the Senate Judiciary Committee 's subcommittee on the Constitution , civil rights and human rights when he becomes chairman in the new Congress . The potential GOP presidential contender made the remarks during a Senate hearing on community policing , scheduled in the wake of racial protests sparked by the deaths of two unarmed African-American men at the hands of white police officers . New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison , both African-American , and Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez , who is Latino , offered testimony during the hearing on the ways in which an uneven application of the law has impacted their respective racial communities . Each Democrat punctuated their testimony with stories of their own encounters with discrimination . But Cruz , in opening remarks before those three panelists spoke , highlighted school choice — a phrase typically used by conservatives to connote the expansion of charter school programs — as a key civil rights issue . `` When it comes to civil rights , I think there is no civil right more important than the right of every child to access a quality education , '' Cruz said . `` And in my view , the most compelling civil rights issue of the 21st century is the the need to expand school choice and educational options so that every child , regardless of race ... has a fair opportunity to receive an excellent education . '' He said while school choice has n't been a focus of the subcommittee , he hopes it will be during the next two years , when he 'll take over the gavel . Though charter school programs have drawn many critics , who believe they siphon needed funds and resources away from public schools , they 've also earned some bipartisan support . Proponents of the policy tout their ability to provide low-income and minority students access to better educational opportunities than they might otherwise have in their own neighborhoods .
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz labels school choice `` the most compelling civil rights issue of the 21st century '' and he is right. The potential 2016 GOP presidential contender will lead a subcommittee on the Constitution in the new Congress .