19 measles cases reported in Upshur County

19 measles cases reported in Upshur CountyUPSHUR COUNTY – The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has confirmed 19 cases of measles at an isolated location in Upshur County. According to our news partner KETK, all of the cases have been linked to two people who visited the county from out of the state and at the moment officials state that no known cases emerged from Upshur county residents.

DSHS Officials said in a release, “All affected persons are isolated from the public and are in quarantine at this same location, and are in daily contact with DSHS and are following all the appropriate guidelines.”

Upshur County has advised residents on what to do if they start feeling any symptoms related to measles. They said, “Seek emergency care if the patient has a hard time breathing or breathing faster than normal, signs of severe dehydration, confusion, decreased alertness, or severe weakness, young children having a blue mouth or crying without making tears, or unusually low energy of loss of appetite.”

DSHS reps also said that none of the cases are critical and everyone currently affected are over the age of 17. They added there are no reports of measles cases at any of Upshur County’s public schools, public buildings, county operations or medical facilities.

Michigan reports first confirmed measles outbreak since 2019

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

(MONTCALM COUNTY, Mich.) -- Michigan is reporting the state’s first measles outbreak since 2019, defined as at least three or more related cases, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

Three cases were confirmed in Montcalm County, according to a MDHHS statement.

Almost 25% of children under 3 years of age in Montcalm County have not received their first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to the MDHHS vaccination data. The state is reporting a total of seven cases so far this year, including those infected in the outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has separately confirmed at least five other states with measles outbreaks, including Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Kansas and Indiana.

Nationwide, there are over 700 measles cases in at least 24 states. That's the highest number since 2019, which saw 1,274 cases. Texas makes up the bulk of those cases with over 560 infections, including two deaths among unvaccinated school-aged children.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles to up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the CDC.

Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the MMR vaccine.

The CDC currently recommends people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective and two doses are 97% effective at preventing measles. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.

In the decade before the measles vaccine became available in 1963, an estimated three to four million people were infected every year, according to the CDC, with between 400 and 500 deaths.

ABC News' Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jay Dean explains his vote for vouchers

AUSTIN – Jay Dean explains his vote for vouchersThe Texas House of Representatives voted Thursday for a school voucher program that will divert some public education money to individual parents in the form of a voucher to be used as a private or parochial school. Among those voting for the bill was District 7 Representative Jay Dean. Dean had opposed such a use of educational funds int the past, and explained to KTBB why he agreed to this version. His full statement follows… Continue reading Jay Dean explains his vote for vouchers

16 arrested as federal authorities break up east Texas meth ring

16 arrested as federal authorities break up east Texas meth ringBEAUMONT – A multi-agency drug task force has arrested 16 people in drug trafficking ring. According our news partner KETK, Operation Take Back America, has teamed up with the U.S. Marshalls Service and the Department of Justice.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office said, “This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
Continue reading 16 arrested as federal authorities break up east Texas meth ring

A season of resurrection.

For Christians this is an important week. It’s when Christians observe the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is the resurrection – rather than the crucifixion or even the nativity – that stands at the heart of the Christian faith. Jesus’s followers couldn’t avoid seeing the brutality of His crucifixion. What they didn’t see coming was the resurrection.

If it weren’t for the resurrection that we celebrate every Easter, it’s unlikely that we would still be celebrating the nativity every Christmas.

Resurrection, the triumph of life over death, hope over despair, lies at the heart of what gives Christianity its appeal. Whether you believe in the literal bodily resurrection of Christ or not, the resurrection story of ultimate triumph – of things working out in the end despite appearing to be hopeless – provides the basis for an optimistic life. (Living pessimistically, to my way of thinking, is to be barely living at all.)

I offer this as predicate to the political commentary that readers and listeners have come to expect in this space. And I say it despite my deep reluctance to invoke theology – any theology – to make a point about contemporary politics. Beyond that general caution I am very specifically cautious to never deify a politician. The blood-soaked pages of history are filled with examples of the bad things that happen when politicians get turned into gods.

But with that disclaimer fully stated, I am struck this Easter by some clear parallels between the politics of Jesus’s day and the politics of now.

Let’s start with the obvious. Jesus was a disrupter. So is Donald Trump.

In Jesus’s day the religious leaders (i.e. the Pharisees and the Sadducees), the lawyers (i.e. the Scribes), and the religious ruling council (i.e. the Sanhedrin) – in other words the entirety of the ‘establishment’ – were uniform in their opposition to Jesus. Jesus’s teachings threatened their power and standing. If you went to Sunday School as a kid you were told of Jesus throwing the moneychangers out of the temple. The establishment was comfortable. Jesus made them decidedly uncomfortable.

The parallel to Donald Trump is almost exact. Trump’s presence in Washington presents an existential threat to the D.C. establishment, an establishment comprised of most Democrats, too many Republicans and career federal bureaucrats.

Trump’s creation of DOGE is nothing less than a latter-day turning over of the tables in the temple.

Thus, the second parallel – persecution.

The persecution of Jesus led to his arrest, conviction and execution. Of those three, Donald Trump suffered the first two and only narrowly escaped the third.

Leading to the third parallel – resurrection. According to the Scripture Jesus was bodily resurrected. According to the November 2024 election, Trump was politically resurrected.

Let me stop and again emphasize that I am not directly comparing Donald Trump to Jesus. Jesus, according to Christian gospel, is the Son of God. Donald Trump is a mere mortal – and a deeply flawed one at that.

The theme of this essay is resurrection. Flawed mortal that he is, Donald Trump is the driving force behind a nascent American resurrection.

It couldn’t be timelier. To quote Lincoln, the occasion is piled high with difficulty. We’re $36 trillion in debt and growing that debt at the rate of about $2 trillion a year. Faith in our core institutions has been shattered. The American middle class is shrinking and losing wealth, even as an elite, entitled and drippingly condescending ruling class is growing and getting richer. The malignant regime of China is enriching itself at the expense of American workers. Administrations of both parties – but most particularly the immediate prior administration – have allowed millions of people into the country who are now living on the backs of already overburdened American citizens.

Having weathered everything that could be thrown at him (figuratively and literally), Donald Trump is stronger than ever and moving at muzzle velocity to address these problems. Our latter-day Sadducees, Pharisees, Scribes, Sanhedrin, et. al. are beside themselves and almost literally foaming at the mouth.

But ordinary, working American citizens – many of whom never voted for a Republican prior to Donald Trump – having despaired, are now hopeful of a 21st century American renaissance.

A resurrection.

How appropriate in this Easter season, when hope is the central theme.

Texas Senate approves $500 million infusion for film incentives

AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would more than double the amount of money the state spends to lure film and television production to Texas.

Senate Bill 22, filed by Houston Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, would direct the comptroller to deposit $500 million into a new Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Fund every two years until 2035. That figure is more than state lawmakers have ever allocated for media production since they first started funding a film incentive grant in 2007.

The bill received heavy praise from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and passed with a 23-8 vote. Those who opposed the bill raised concerns about how the governor’s office will determine which productions to fund. The bill gives the governor’s office complete discretion over which projects receive grant funding.

The bill now moves to the House for consideration.

Since 2007, lawmakers have funded the film incentive program at varying levels, with $50 million during one legislative session followed by $45 million the next. A then-historic $200 million came during the most recent session.

The variability has left producers tentative to film in Texas for fear that the money might vanish at the whims of lawmakers.

The program has boosted economic activity in Texas, producing a 469% return on investment, according to the Texas Film Commission, though economists and some House lawmakers have criticized that metric and denounced film incentives as wasteful spending.

Huffman successfully pushed through an amendment that would give an additional 2.5% incentive to faith-based productions, despite some strong objections from Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, and Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin. The bill already directs the Texas Film Commission to offer extra grant funding to films labeled “Texas Heritage Projects,” as determined by the governor’s office. The law would ask the office to consider whether the project promotes “family values” and “portrays Texas and Texans in a positive fashion.”

Eckhardt said that while she supports the bill’s goal, she worries about the subjectivity of terms like “faith-based” and “family values.”

“Adding subjective criteria would tilt this away from the realm of economic development and into the realm of non-neutral subject matter propaganda,” Eckhardt said on the Senate floor.

“I don’t think the promotion of family values would be propaganda,” Huffman responded.

“Of course, ‘whose family values?’ would be the question,” Eckhardt rebutted.

Texas is one of 37 states to offer a film incentive program, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Industry insiders and Hollywood producers have for years lamented that Texas’ program is not as robust as that of some other states, including Georgia and New Mexico.

SB 22 would make Texas more attractive to producers who have opted to film their projects in other states that have historically offered larger and more stable incentives, Huffman said during a Senate Finance Committee hearing last month attended by Texas-born actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

“Producers who want to film in Texas often have difficulty convincing the capital management side of film production companies to allow filming here when presented with more robust and consistent incentives being offered in other states,” Huffman said.

Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, echoed that sentiment Wednesday, noting that the Netflix series about Selena, the beloved Texas singer, was shot in California instead of Texas. “That should never happen again,” Alvarado said. “We should be the default choice.”

Fueled by endorsements from famous names in Hollywood, SB 22 appears to have widespread support. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have praised the film commission for what they said is a rigorous program that audits film production’s spending and only offers rebates on money spent within Texas. Eligible expenses include Texas workers’ wages, meals purchased from local restaurants, and airfare on Texas-based airlines.

Flanked by Harrelson, McConaughey told lawmakers during last month’s hearing that increased funding would allow them and other actors to tell Texas stories in Texas. Seated behind the duo was Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has declared SB 22 one of his top pieces of legislation.

“All of the filmmakers in the faith and family category say we will become the leader in the world for faith-based and family movies for all faiths and all families,” Patrick said after the Senate voted on the bill. “It’s always a good thing to sell our Texas values, our faith values, and our family values to the world.”

By committing to 10 years of sizable funding, McConaughey said, Texas could grow into a media hub with facilities dedicated to post-production editing, along with a pipeline of film crew, including makeup artists, hair stylists, lighting experts and set designers.

“There’s going to be a point where we are not going to need financial incentives from the state because the infrastructure will be in place, and that will be a major game changer,” McConaughey said.

Despite showing overall support for boosting Texas filmmaking, some lawmakers have questioned whether productions that aren’t “family-friendly” should be supported by taxpayer dollars.

Both Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, and Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, suggested shows and movies that use profanities be ineligible for grants. Bettencourt singled out “Landman,” a popular television series centering a West Texas oil company executive played by Billy Bob Thornton.

“It’s not functionally correct, it doesn’t explain what a landman does, and no offense, having Billy Bob Thornton f-bomb every sentence is not Texas values,” Bettencourt said of the show produced by Taylor Sheridan whose second season is expected next year. “It simply is a bad product and not something the Texas taxpayers would want to be supporting.”

The Texas Film Commission limits what types of projects are eligible for funding, and SB 22 would codify additional rules into statute. The bill would prohibit, for example, funding pornography or obscene material, local events or religious services, and casino-type video games. The law does not propose specific rules about foul language, but the governor’s office has broad discretion to designate a project as ineligible for a grant.

Adriana Cruz, executive director of the Texas Economic Development and Tourism office, said in response to Bettencourt that the office would look to state law and its own rules to determine whether to approve a project.

Stephanie Whallon, the director of the Texas Film Commission, previously told The Texas Tribune that some projects had been rejected but didn’t specify why.

In addition to pumping more money into film incentives, SB 22 would make smaller films eligible for larger grants. Currently, projects that spend between $1 million and $3.5 million in Texas are eligible for a 10% rebate, and projects with a greater than $3.5 million spend can receive a 20% grant. The bill proposes a larger, 25% grant for feature films and television programs that spend at least $1.5 million.

“I’m excited about lowering some of these sliding scale boundaries or limitations because I think a lot of family-friendly, faith-based projects fall into that tier,” said Chad Gundersen, producer of “The Chosen,” a television show about the life of Jesus Christ and his disciples that is mostly shot in the town of Midlothian, about 25 miles southwest of Dallas.

Gundersen said during the hearing that his project was not initially eligible for a grant because it was too small. He added that it has since grown and resulted in more than $75 million spent in Texas.

Campbell urged lawmakers and the film commission approving projects to remember that Texas is “still in the Bible Belt,” and she praised “The Chosen” as “the greatest story ever told.”

Texas’ film incentive program offers an additional 2.5% incentive to productions that are shot in certain “underutilized” or “economically distressed areas,” as well as those that hire veterans as 5% of their total paid crew.

Identical legislation, House Bill 4568, filed by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi has not yet received a committee hearing.

Student who shot four at Dallas high school was targeting specific student, school police chief says

DALLAS (AP) — The student who shot four students when he opened fire at a Dallas high school this week was in and out of the building in less than two minutes and is believed to have been targeting a specific student, the school district police chief said Thursday.

The 17-year-old suspect was able to enter Wilmer-Hutchins High School, which has metal detectors at its entrance, at 1:01 p.m. Tuesday when another student opened a locked side door, Dallas Independent School District police Chief Albert Martinez said at a news conference.

The suspect was taken into custody several hours after the shooting. He was remained in jail on Thursday on a charge of aggravated assault mass shooting.

Martinez said that they believe there was “a dispute taking place,” but they do not yet know what led to the shooting.

“We don’t have that information as to the why, the motivation,” Martinez said.

Martinez said they are looking into “how deep” the culpability is of the student who opened the door.

Four male students were shot and were taken to hospitals, according to officials. Martinez said all of those injured are all expected to make a full recovery.

The shooting drew a large number of police and other law enforcement agents to the roughly 1,000-student campus.

Martinez said that the suspect parked his vehicle at the school just before 1 p.m.

An arrest warrant said that after the suspect was let into the building, he walked down a hallway until he spotted a group of students. The arrest warrant says he then displayed a firearm and began firing “indiscriminately” before approaching a student who was not able to run and walking toward that student and appearing to take a point-blank shot.

The suspect’s bond was set at $600,000. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.

At the same school last April, one student shot another in the leg.

$1 million bond set for Hideaway man involved in police chase

 million bond set for Hideaway man involved in police chaseSMITH COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, an East Texas man is being held on a $1 million bond after a Wednesday police chase where he allegedly shot at officers, buildings and pointed guns at citizens.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, on Wednesday, around 10:55 a.m., the sheriff’s office began receiving reports of a person, later identified as Mason Lowell Ahrens of Hideaway, shooting his gun out of an older model of a black Chevrolet Z71. Officials said Ahrens was shooting at buildings and pointing guns at citizens, and then left out the back gate of Hideaway. At this time, the last known location of Ahrens was on FM 16 heading towards Lindale. A detective located Ahrens and watched him pull into a gas station.

The detective pulls up behind Ahrens with his lights and sirens activated and identifies himself when he sees Ahrens look at him in his rearview mirror and flee from him, heading westbound on FM 16. Continue reading $1 million bond set for Hideaway man involved in police chase

Longview man gets 80 years for assaulting six-year-old girl

LONGVIEW — Longview man gets 80 years for assaulting six-year-old girlOur news partners at KETK report a Longview man was sentenced to 80 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl for four months in 2023. According to the Gregg County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, Justin Taylor Argo, 27 of Longview, was convicted after the ongoing sexual abuse of a six-year-old girl. The testimony at trial revealed that Argo assaulted the child multiple times a week over four months in 2023. Continue reading Longview man gets 80 years for assaulting six-year-old girl

Houstonians express strong desire for a major theme park

HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports that Houston residents are eager for more entertainment options, with a majority expressing enthusiasm for a major theme park and new professional sports teams, according to a new survey by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs. The survey, conducted between March 29 and April 4, polled 1,400 registered voters in Houston about their preferences for entertainment and news sources. The results reveal a strong desire for attractions similar to those found in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which boasts a range of sports teams and theme parks. A whopping 64% of Houstonians are either very or somewhat enthusiastic about the possibility of a major theme park, such as a Disney World or Universal Studios-style resort, coming to Houston. This comes as Houston has been without a major theme park since AstroWorld closed in 2005.

Enthusiasm is also high for new professional sports teams. Sixty percent of residents would welcome a WNBA team, while 57% are keen on the idea of an NHL team. A Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) team garnered 45% enthusiasm, and a Major League Cricket (MLC) team drew interest from 29% of those surveyed. Demographic differences play a role in these preferences. Women are more enthusiastic about a WNBA and MASL team. Black and Latino residents show more interest in a WNBA team, a MASL team, and a major theme park. Additionally, younger residents are more excited about an NHL team, while those with children are more enthusiastic about a major theme park. If Houston were to get a major theme park, 29% of Houstonians say they would visit it more than once a year. The report suggests that Houstonians are hungry for more entertainment options and that city leaders should consider these desires when planning for the future. Houstonians want more entertainment options, particularly a major theme park and new professional sports teams. The survey highlights the potential for these attractions to boost the city’s appeal and quality of life.

House budget defunds the Texas Lottery Commission.

AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports the budget for the Texas Lottery Commission, which brings about $2 billion a year to the state treasury, has been reduced to zero in the 2026-27 spending plan the Texas House approved last week. And the chamber on Tuesday signaled it was serious about ending the 34-year-old agency. The decision to defund the lottery, which for the much of this year has been a magnet for criticism in the Legislature on multiple fronts, was seen as legislative gamesmanship when the House in the wee hours of Friday morning passed its version of the state budget. That’s because several amendments were filed by some House Republicans that would have tapped into the lottery’s budget to fund other projects. Rather than opening the door to potentially protracted debates on those projects, budget managers quietly cut the lottery’s funding and transferred it to a special fund that is managed by the governor’s office, which was also eyed as a funding source for some members.

Therefore, any amendments targeting the lottery funds were moot and not acted upon. State Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, who was among the House members who had sought to tap the lottery funds, told the American-Statesman on Tuesday that House budget leaders had acted with a heavy hand. “It was the uni-party,” said Little, who is among a cadre of conservative lawmakers who have said that the Democratic members, who are outnumbered in the House, have outsized influence in the GOP-dominated chamber. “Republicans and Democrats were working together to shut down conservative government.” But before Little’s comment, the House appeared to double-down on its decision to defund the lottery. Because the House’s budget differs from the one the Senate has passed, the competing versions will have to be reconciled by a conference committee. The House, by an 89-57 vote, largely along party lines, instructed its conference committee members to keep the lottery stripped of its funding. On Friday, state Rep. Andy Hopper, R-Decatur, asked the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Republican Gregg Bonnen of Angleton, if he would commit to keeping the lottery’s budget at zero during the upcoming House-Senate haggling. Bonnen, however, was noncommittal.

The impossibly expensive plan to save Texas’s water supply

AUSTIN – Texas Monthly reports that the year is 1969, and revolution is in the air. Protests clog American campuses and streets. Richard Nixon enters the White House on behalf of his “silent majority.” NASA puts men on the moon. And the hippie counterculture threatens to remake the world in its image. It’s a kaleidoscopic time in which all things seem possible. Even the Texas Legislature—that citadel of chest-forward corruption and gleeful reactionaryism—is dreaming big. Lawmakers advance, with little debate or fanfare, an almost fantastical proposal. Problem: Texas is projected to run out of water by 1985 if something isn’t done, according to a state water plan developed in 1968. Solution: a modest proposal to divert an ocean of water from the Mississippi River below New Orleans, move it across Louisiana, and then harness nuclear energy to pump it more than three thousand feet uphill, in some cases, in open-air canals stretching as far away as Lubbock and the Rio Grande Valley. To store the bounty, vast reservoirs with as much watery acreage as Connecticut’s landmass would emerge from flooded river bottoms in East Texas. The price tag: about $90 billion in today’s dollars, just for capital costs. To help finance this grandiose vision, called the 1968 Texas Water Plan, the Legislature asks voters in 1969 to approve $3.5 billion in bonds, or about $30 billion adjusted for inflation.

Critics blast the proposal as costly, destructive, and unnecessary. The Sierra Club describes the plan, with only a little hyperbole, as “the largest altering of the face of the earth ever yet proposed by man.” There’s also the small matter that, apparently, no one has asked the Mississippi River states whether they’re willing to part with their water. The bond proposal narrowly fails, by about 6,300 votes out of 625,000 cast. And Texas manages to escape calamity. But the idea doesn’t die. It has been kicking around, zombielike, ever since. The year 2025 is too young to call it revolutionary yet. But the Texas Water Plan—or at least a modern facsimile of it—is back. Pointing to looming water shortages, one state senator has made it his mission to scare up vast new supplies, including quantities from neighboring states, and feed the bounty into a state-owned, state-run grid of pipelines. The idea is to move water from where it is to where it ain’t, generally from wet East Texas to the drier west. Instead of a mostly local patchwork of water systems—the reservoirs, treatment plants, and distribution networks that dot Texas—state Senator Charles Perry, a Lubbock Republican, envisions a multibillion-dollar statewide “water grid” to make sure Texas never worries about the resource again. He is proposing investing in desalinating salty Gulf water, cleaning up the chemical-laden fracking water used to coax oil from the ground in the Permian Basin, and injecting fresh water underground for later use. Meanwhile, he is involved in mysterious dealmaking with other states for their reserves. During debate over his legislation in early April, Perry alluded to talks with “one or two” neighbors—probably Louisiana and Arkansas—to contract for water. Perry, who did not respond to an interview request, brings a crusading spirit to his cause.

Google is monopolist in online advertising tech, judge rules

Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) -- Alphabet's Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology, according to a federal judge.

Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a ruling Thursday that Google had broken the law to build its dominance over the largely invisible system of technology that places advertisements on pages across the web.

"Plaintiffs have proven that Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising," the judge wrote in his ruling. "For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets."

The Department of Justice had sued Alphabet claiming Google had a monopoly in ad technology that allowed the company to charge higher prices and take a bigger portion of each sale. The Justice Department has said Google should have to sell off at least its Google Ad Manager, which includes the company's publisher ad server and its ad exchange.

"We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half," Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president for regulatory affairs, said in a statement. "The Court found that our advertiser tools and our acquisitions, such as DoubleClick, don't harm competition. We disagree with the Court's decision regarding our publisher tools. Publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective."

ABC News has reached out to Alphabet for comment.

Google is now facing the possibility of two different U.S. courts ordering it to sell assets or change its business practices. A trial will be held this April in Washington on the DOJ's request to make Google sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end its dominance in online search.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Texas House approves school voucher plan

AUSTIN (AP) – The Texas House gave initial approval early Thursday to a bill that would create a $1 billion private school voucher program, crossing a historic milestone and bringing Gov. Greg Abbott ’s top legislative priority closer than ever to reaching his desk.

The lower chamber signed off on its voucher proposal, Senate Bill 2, on an 85-63 vote. Every present Democrat voted against the bill. They were joined by two Republicans — far short of the bipartisan coalitions that in previous legislative sessions consistently blocked proposals to let Texans use taxpayer money to pay for their children’s private schooling.

“This is an extraordinary victory for the thousands of parents who have advocated for more choices when it comes to the education of their children,” Abbott said in a statement, vowing that he would “swiftly sign this bill into law” when it reached his desk.

The vote came more than 10 hours after the chamber gave preliminary approval to its sweeping $7.7 billion school funding package, which would give local districts more money per student and raise teacher salaries. House Bill 2, which passed on a 144-4 vote, also aims to improve the quality of special education services by allocating funding based on the individual needs of children with disabilities.

Democrats argued the funding boost barely scratches the surface of what districts need to come back from budget deficits or to cover growing costs after years of inflation, but they ultimately supported the bill after a few hours of debate.

The more dramatic showdown came over the voucher bill, which Democrats tried to thwart with an amendment that would have put school vouchers up for a statewide vote in November. But the last-ditch maneuver attracted support from only one Republican — Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont, the former House speaker — spelling the demise of Democrats’ one major play to derail the bill.

The landmark voucher vote marks the first time since 1957 that the Texas House has approved legislation making state money available for families to use on their children’s private schooling. The outcome validated Abbott’s crusade to build a pro-voucher House majority during last year’s primary by targeting Republicans who tanked his previous proposal in 2023. Now, all that is left is for Republicans in both chambers to iron out the differences between their voucher plans, leaving Abbott and his allies on the brink of victory.

The House’s plan would put $1 billion to create education savings accounts, a form of vouchers that families could use to pay for private school tuition and other school-related expenses, like textbooks, transportation and therapy. The bill would tie the voucher program’s per-student dollars to public education funding so the amount available to each participating student would increase when public schools receive more money and dip when public education funding declines.

If public demand exceeds the program’s capacity, students with disabilities and families defined by House lawmakers as low income would be prioritized — though they would not be guaranteed admission to any private school.

Democrats expressed disappointment over the House’s approval of vouchers, saying the outcome represented big money interests prevailing over those of everyday Texans.

“This bill is everything that is wrong with politics,” said Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin.

After Thursday’s vote, the House will still need to cast a final vote to approve both the voucher and school spending bills, largely a formality. The measures would then head to the Senate. At that point, members from both chambers would work to reconcile the differences in their voucher proposals in a closed-door conference committee. The biggest differences center on how much money participating students should receive, which applicants should take priority and how the program should accommodate students with disabilities.

The House debate on vouchers started Wednesday afternoon and ended early Thursday. Lawmakers changed a provision in the bill that would have limited funding for people without disabilities or from wealthier households — defined as a family of four making about $156,000 or greater — to only 20% of the program’s total budget until after the 2026-27 school year. The 20% cap would now apply to each year of the potential voucher program.

The bill now also requires private schools to have existed for at least two years before joining the program; grants the state auditor more power to review the activities of organizations contracted to administer the program; and requires the state’s annual report on the program to include dropout, expulsion and graduation data on participating students with disabilities — broken down by grade, age, sex and race or ethnicity.

Wednesday’s debate over SB 2 covered many of the talking points for and against vouchers echoed throughout the legislative session.

Republicans sought to assure their colleagues that the bill would prioritize low-income children and students with disabilities. Democrats noted that the legislation imposes no admission requirements on private schools, meaning they can deny any student, even those the state wants first in line for the program.

Higher-income families whose children were already attending private schools have primarily benefited from the large-scale voucher programs enacted in other states.

Democrats filed dozens of amendments they believed would make the Texas legislation more equitable for underserved students, but they were all dismissed. One of the rejected proposals came from Rep. Harold V. Dutton Jr., D-Houston, who sought to offer higher voucher amounts to students on the lower rungs of the income ladder. He argued that some families could not afford to send their children to a private school even with $10,000 in state support.

The average Texas private school costs more than $11,000, according to Private School Review.

“If you’re in a 12-foot hole and somebody sends you a 10-foot rope,” Dutton said, “that’s not much of an option.”

Rep. Brad Buckley, the Republican chair of the House Public Education Committee, also received questions Wednesday over a provision recently added to SB 2 that would bar undocumented Texans from participating in the proposed voucher program.

SB 2 would prevent any student whose parent cannot prove that the child is a U.S. citizen or that the child lawfully resides in the country from participating in the program. Several lawmakers raised questions about what state entity would be responsible for checking the children’s citizenship, how the legislation would protect the privacy of applicants and whether it would accommodate students who may find it difficult to access certain documents.

Buckley clarified that organizations helping the state administer the voucher program would oversee applications and that the process would include protections “for all personal information.” If applicants are unable to provide proper documentation, Buckley said, they would not participate in the program. The legislation does not specify exactly which documents families would need to provide.

The Texas Senate also previously considered barring undocumented Texans from participating in the voucher program if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns those students’ constitutional right to a public education, but the change never made it into that chamber’s legislation.

Legal questions remain about the citizenship restriction in SB 2. Every student in the U.S. is entitled to a public education regardless of their immigration status, and the potential voucher program would rely on public dollars.

The House also gave initial approval to its priority school funding legislation. Two years ago, public schools missed out on nearly $8 billion, which Abbott had made conditional on the approval of vouchers.

This year’s public education spending bill would increase schools’ base funding by $395 — from $6,160 to $6,555. That amount, known as the basic allotment, would automatically go up every two years by tying it to property value growth. Forty percent of the allotment would go to non-administrative staff salaries, with higher pay increases reserved for teachers with more than a decade of classroom experience.

In addition, the bill would limit schools’ use of educators who lack formal classroom training, barring uncertified teachers from instructing core classes. It would change the current settings-based model for special education funding by providing schools money based on the individual needs of students with disabilities. Two students placed in the same classroom but who require different levels of support receive the same dollars under the current settings-based model.

Republicans, during hours of debate, celebrated the bill as a worthwhile investment in public education. Democrats also voiced support for the legislation but argued that it barely scratches the surface of what districts need. Many school districts are currently grappling with challenges ranging from budget deficits and teacher shortages to campus closures.

Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, pressed Buckley, the bill’s author, on whether the measure’s $8 billion would be enough to solve Texas schools’ struggles, which have been fueled by stagnant funding and inflation.

Buckley did not directly acknowledge that his bill would fall short of addressing all the financial pressures facing districts. He instead focused on the multibillion-dollar funding boost the Legislature hopes to provide this session, which includes money through HB 2 and other legislation under consideration.

“I just want to emphasize, members, you have an opportunity today to cast a vote for the largest investment in public education in the history of our state, and so we will continue this process as this body returns session after session to make sure the resources are there for our schools,” Buckley said.

Members of the public viewing the debate from the House gallery erupted in laughter and applause in support of Talarico’s questioning. Talarico and those in the gallery did not appear content with Buckley’s answers.

“I’m going to take that as a no until I get a yes,” Talarico said.

The House eliminated an earlier provision of the bill that would have gotten rid of a 2023 “hold harmless” provision, which provides financial relief to school districts that lose funding due to cuts to state property taxes, a major source of revenue for public schools.

Lawmakers sparred over other aspects of the legislation — from whether the Legislature should continue to invest heavily in compensatory education, which offers support to underserved students at risk of dropping out of school, to how the state should hold charter schools accountable for mismanagement.

Upon final passage, HB 2 will go to the Senate for further consideration. That chamber has already passed a number of similar school funding proposals — though top lawmakers there have expressed opposition to increasing schools’ base funding this session.

The basic allotment offers districts flexibility to address their campuses’ unique needs, including staff salaries, utilities and maintenance. The Senate has instead advocated for more targeted funding in areas like teacher pay, school security and special education.