The bill is controversial, and has democrats and public school advocates arguing public dollars should stay with public education.
SAN ANTONIO — The Texas House forwarded a bill to the Senate that would use $1 billion from taxpayers to fund school vouchers. It would create Education Savings Accounts (ESA), allowing Texas families to use public tax dollars to help pay for private school and fulfilling one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s legislative priorities.
The House version of Senate Bill 2 is different from the one that the Senate passed early in the legislative session. The most notable change adds a $1 billion spending cap for the first two years of a potential school voucher program. It attempts to alleviate concerns about how much the voucher program could balloon. Estimates by the Texas Legislative Budget Board found the cost could skyrocket to nearly $5 billion by 2030 – something Abbott has called “nothing but fiction,” claiming the number can only grow as large as much as the Legislature decides to appropriate to it.
Students who apply and qualify for the funding would receive 85% of the average state and local funding public schools receive per student, estimated currently to be a little over $10,000. Up to $30,000 would be given to students in special education, and the bill would provide up to $2,000 for homeschooling. The funding for special education can fluctuate depending on the classroom.
Students living below the poverty line and those with disabilities would be prioritized.
The majority of Republican representatives voted in favor of the bill, including Rep. Marc LaHood who represents part of Bexar County.
“You know, in my heart of hearts, I really do believe it’s going to help the schools and the children in our district, as well as across the state,” he said. “At its core, whether people agree with it or not is really about focusing on education as a whole and giving our children and the parents the opportunity to do what they believe is best for their child to thrive, and that’s why I’ve supported it.”
The bill is controversial, and has democrats and public school advocates arguing public dollars should stay with public education.
“We’ve been here before,” said Alejandra Lopez, president of the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel. “Educators throughout the state being incredibly clear about what we need in order to do our jobs well and meet the needs of our students. And it’s really disappointing that legislators continue to not hear us and instead divert attention and resources towards things like vouchers.”
The bill now heads to the Senate, which if it passes there will go to Governor Abbott’s desk where it will be signed into law.