Gov. Greg Abbott believes school voucher program will pass during legislative session

The debate between funding for public education and school vouchers is expected to be intertwined during this spring's legislative session.

This week, Gov. Greg Abott, who's been pushing for this program since 2023, says he finally has the numbers in the state house for the initiative to pass.

The governor is pushing the school choice program, saying it's a legislative priority.

Representatives of the state Teachers' Union are saying they will do everything they can to push back on this initiative because they believe it will hurt funding for public education.

"When it comes to education and when it comes to most things in life, one size does not fit all," Abbott said.

Abbott stated this week that thanks to the election outcomes, he now has 79 hardcore school choice proponents in the Texas House that he believes will pass the school voucher initiative.

"Vouchers are a bad idea. They've always been a bad idea, and they're still a bad idea regardless of how many votes the governor claims he now has. We're going to continue to fight it and we'll see how many votes he has when the vote is taken in a few months," the Texas teachers union spokesperson Clay Robison said.

The program would offer taxpayer money to families that qualify to pay for some of their child's private schooling or other educational expenses.

The governor said public education funding would not take a hit, saying the money comes from two separate pots. He says one focuses on public schools and teacher raises and the other on this school choice program.

Some union representatives tell ABC13 they don't buy it.

"Well, there's only one pot of money-it's the state budget, and the only money coming from the state budget for K-12 education should go to public schools, not private schools," said Robison.

Political expert Mark Jones says the legislation will be robust and will pass next year.

"The governor is likely to tone down some of the opposition simultaneously by passing the school choice legislation with legislation that increases funding for public schools across the board and holds many public schools harmless if they lose students to the school choice program," said Jones.

Robison says only time will tell as discussions, decisions, and sessions are still weeks away.

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