Texas House expected to vote on voucher bill Wednesday

AUSTIN – The Dallas Morning News reports that in what could portend a sweeping change for education in Texas, the state House is set to vote on a school choice bill Wednesday that would create a $1 billion fund for parents who could then use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school education. The vote is one of the few remaining hurdles for the legislation, which has been a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott and passed in the Senate on Feb. 5. The proposal, Senate Bill 2, has been at the center of one of the most intense political fights at the Legislature over the past two years. The bill appears to have enough support to pass the House. More than half of the chamber signed on as sponsors of the bill. Still, school districts and advocates will be paying close attention Wednesday to see if that support holds. Passage in the House would give the bill a clear path to the governor’s desk. Changes could still be made to the bill in a conference committee of lawmakers from the Senate and House who would work out differences between the versions of the bill each chamber passed.

Similar proposals in previous years have failed in the House after rural Republicans sided with Democrats to block school voucher-like proposals. This year could be different after Abbott successfully campaigned to unseat several Republican members of the House who voted against a similar bill in 2023. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said that the bill will pass during a March 25 news conference alongside the governor and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. “We can fully fund public education and do school choice at the same time,” Burrows said, adding that he was “excited” to send the bill to the governor’s desk. The House will also take up a bill Wednesday that will provide teacher pay raises and increase the per-student funding for public schools. It is expected to pass with bipartisan support. The voucherlike proposal the House will consider Wednesday would create a program to provide education savings accounts of roughly $10,000 for participants. Public education advocates generally oppose any legislation that would send public dollars to private education for fear that it will siphon money from the public education system that educates the vast majority of Texas children.