INSIDER
Some voucher opponents are ready to compromise; others are hoping supporters will fumble over the program's size, eligibility and accountability.
School voucher supporters say they have the votes to get a bill across both the Texas Senate, led by Patrick, and the House, which has repeatedly blocked such proposals.
Last year, Abbott refused to give public schools a major raise without passing a voucher program. His tone was more conciliatory after Election Day.
Gov. Greg Abbott said the primary showed Texans want vouchers. In House District 18, an ad blitz and immigration fears may have played a larger role.
The first-term Republican defending her seat said a private school voucher program will help her community, especially students from low-income families.
The Texas House’s vote to block education savings accounts disappointed voucher advocates and likely spelled doom for additional public school funding. Both bands say they’ll keep pushing for their priorities during next year’s primary elections and the 2025 legislative session.
Vouchers were left without a clear path forward after a decisive vote Friday. Gov. Greg Abbott, who had threatened lawmakers with more special sessions to pass the proposal, seems to have turned his attention to punishing voucher opponents in next year’s primary elections.
Here’s how each representative voted on an amendment that removed school vouchers from the education bill on Friday.
House Bill 1, which stagnated during the previous special session, finally received a hearing in the lower chamber, a crucial step that will decide whether the proposal gets a full vote.
The revised bill promises a significant funding increase for public schools and academic accountability measures for students participating in the proposed voucher program, two of the biggest requests from voucher opponents.
The mothers, who are counting on state legislators to reach a deal on education savings accounts, say their public schools were not equipped to create a learning space that is safe for Black kids.
Like in Texas, voucher programs in other states sparked vigorous debates, came with the same promises and faced similar concerns. Not all predictions came true.
Though lawmakers have drafted a bill to increase public school funding and teacher salaries, it cannot pass during the special session unless Abbott adds those issues to his agenda.
The Senate also approved Senate Bill 2, which would infuse $5.2 billion to school districts to help them with teacher raises and rising costs. Gov. Greg Abbott said he would add those items to the special session’s agenda once lawmakers approve a voucher program.
The Senate’s main “school choice” bill would prioritize vouchers for children with disabilities, among other underprivileged groups. But advocates and parents raised concerns that voucher recipients who choose private school would no longer be protected by federal law.
As Texas lawmakers prepare to fight over school choice, Oklahoma lawmakers say Texans should expect a fight to get it passed.
As a special session starts with a focus on “school choice” but no mention of public school funding, some teachers said they are even considering leaving the profession.
Gov. Greg Abbott called lawmakers back to Austin to try again to pass education savings accounts, which would let families use state funds to pay for their children’s private schooling. Teacher pay was not part of his agenda.
Lawmakers at a Texas Tribune Fest panel found common ground on school funding and teacher pay but took starkly different stances on “school choice.”
The Texas House and Senate were already far apart on “school choice.” Anger over the impeachment trial might make it even harder to find common ground.
The House blocked school vouchers during this year’s regular lawmaking session, but a report released Friday shows some members might be willing to approve such a scaled-back version of the program that doesn’t compete with public schools for funds.
Phelan announced the formation of a House committee that could set the tone in favor of vouchers ahead of an expected special session on education. The move comes weeks after Abbott sided with Phelan on a plan to lower property taxes.
Lawmakers sacrificed school funding to block school vouchers, but the issue could be debated again in a special session. Districts will get new funds for school safety, though Uvalde families were ultimately left disappointed with inaction on gun restrictions.
Texas senators have latched education savings accounts to a school funding bill in a last-ditch effort to avoid a special session. But some House members are furious at the revamped version and have vowed not to let it become law.
The House public education committee chair said Wednesday he currently has no plans to bring the bill for a vote. Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to call a special session if the House doesn’t “expand the scope of school choice.”
Gov. Greg Abbott and other conservatives say families need options to escape “woke” education in public schools. East Texas parents and school leaders say the national talking points are off base.
A Texas House vote earlier in the day suggests Senate Bill 8 might be short of the votes needed to pass in the lower chamber. Senators also passed a bill on Thursday that would give teachers a one-time bonus.
More than 380 supporters and opponents signed up Wednesday to testify on the proposal, which would allow parents to use state funds to send their children to private schools.
The poll from the University of Texas at Austin, released Thursday, found a plurality of voters support redirecting tax revenue to help parents pay to school their kids outside the traditional public education system.
Texas is the latest state to pitch a version of the program, which lets parents who opt out of their local school districts use tax dollars to pay for private schooling.
“School districts, what they have to do if they lose a student, [is] be smart about how they allocate their resources and maybe that’s one less fourth grade teacher,” Steve Lecholop, a TEA deputy commissioner, said in a call with a parent that was secretly recorded.
This comes two days after Gov. Greg Abbott voiced his most explicit support yet of a new school choice policy at a Parent Empowerment Night event in Corpus Christi.
Rural school leaders in Texas have been able to stave off the legislative priority of some of the state’s most prominent Republicans. But private school officials hope this year will be different.
Texas has had public school choice for decades, and the number of options is exploding. But some lawmakers are still trying to create private school choice options, while others are pushing against it.
Advocates say discontent with public schools’ pandemic rules and teachings on race and gender identity have helped raise support for school choice to an all-time high.
O’Rourke is hammering Abbott over vouchers on the campaign trail in rural Texas, where Democrats know they need to do better and where vouchers are a political hot potato for Republicans.
