Texas Senate gives approval to ‘school choice’ bill, but House members say they will block it

Texas Senate gives approval to 'school choice' bill

The Texas Senate gave preliminary approval, once again, to school funding bills that include education savings accounts, but there's no guarantee of a similar outcome in the Texas House.

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Senate gave preliminary approval, once again, to school funding bills that include education savings accounts.

SB1 provides $8,000 savings accounts for eligible students to use on private school tuition and related education fees.

SB2 includes $10,000 raises for teachers in rural school districts, and $3,000 extra for urban teachers.

It also increases public school funding by $75 per student, the first increase in four years.

But there's no guarantee of a similar outcome in the Texas House.

Governor Greg Abbott said he thinks the Texas House is at the "one-yard line" from passing education savings accounts.

But a coalition of Democrats and rural Republicans have historically blocked voucher legislation in the House

Just hours after the Texas Senate approved Gov. Abbott's school choice bill during a third special session, Texas House Democrats once again vowed to block efforts to pass a "universal education savings account program" in the lower chamber.

"Today, we are united with one message: public dollars belong in public schools," said State Rep. Venton Jones, who represents District 100 in Dallas.

"That our public schools would be required to hand over the taxes that they levy to private schools is robbery," said State Rep. Nicole Collier, who represents District 95 in Tarrant County.

Under the bill, Texas parents would get $8,000 per year to send their child to private school.

Critics, who refer to it as "school vouchers," say, among other things, it would take public dollars away from public schools that need them.

Schools like Pinkston High School in West Dallas, where a majority of students come from cash-strapped homes.

"This idea it is not right, it is wrong, so we're saying no," Dallas ISD Trustee Maxie Johnson said. "Keep public funds in public schools."

The Democratic lawmakers believe they have support from rural Republicans to keep the bill from pushing through.

"I will tell you that the fundamentals of the bipartisan consensus remain intact and I believe that they're going to hold this cycle," State Rep. Rafael Anchia said.

Gov. Abbott has now said he would add teacher pay raises and school funding to this special session, but only if school choice is passed by both chambers.

"We will deliver school choice for parents and we will put Texas on a pathway for better education for all students in our great state," Abbott said.

The latest data shows Texas teachers now earn about $8,000 less per year than the national average.

Still, union reps said they won't be held hostage by what they see as a power play by the governor.

"It's a total attitude of disrespect from this governor and state leaders pushing for their vouchers scam," Alliance AFT president Rena Honea said.

For now, the focus for school board trustees, like Nancy Humphrey, remain on keeping those crucial public dollars in their own districts.

Humprey said, in August - due to re-capture - Plano ISD wrote a check to the state for nearly $250 million, and yet passed a budget with a $24 million deficit in order to give teachers a very modest raise.

If school choice passes, she worries things will get much worse.

"I'm concerned about the competition for funds. There's only one pie in the state of Texas, the budget, so our sliver will get smaller," Humphrey said.

Teachers were the only state employees to not receive a raise in the regular session.

The state representatives at Friday's press conference said they've talked to their superintendents and school board members, who tell them they're willing to go without the funding from this cycle to if it means defeating the school voucher bill this session.