School voucher bill gets initial approval from Texas Senate
AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) -- A bill that would create a school voucher program to let parents use state funds to pay for private schools - a longtime conservative goal and a big concern for public education advocates - received initial approval in the Texas Senate on Thursday.
It now needs one more vote in the upper chamber before heading to more skeptical lawmakers in the Texas House, many of whom have opposed vouchers for years but will be under intense scrutiny from Gov. Greg Abbott, who has made the proposal one of his top legislative priorities and promised to campaign against those who get in the way.
Senate Bill 1, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, would create education savings accounts, a voucher-like program that would allow families access $8,000 of taxpayer money to pay for private schools and other educational expenses such as uniforms, textbooks, tutoring or transportation among other things. SB 1 is nearly identical to Senate Bill 8, which passed the Senate during the regular session but died in the House.
The Senate gave tentative approval to the proposal Thursday with a 18-13 vote.
What's happening right now in the halls of the Capitol could impact school hallways for years to come. The Thursday vote came a few days after a special session got underway to allow parents to receive $8,000 in public funds to use for private education. If passed, parents could have access to the money for the next academic year.
"I feel like with the small classrooms, he will be able to get more learning out of being in a private school," parent Teaeric Lattimore said.
"It concerns me because I'm a teacher," Christina Warren said. "So, I think that would take away from teachers."
If passed, here's what would happen: A student pulled from public to private school would receive an education savings account. The money from the account could be used for private school instead of public.
Rice University political science professor Mark Jones said the proposals don't take away money from districts with less than 20,000 students right away.
"They wouldn't lose any money, even if students left," Jones explained. "However, larger ISDs like HISD and Cy-Fair ISD would see a loss (of) income for each student that goes to a private school or home schools."
Arizona has something similar, in which parents receive $7,000.
SEE ALSO: Texas lawmakers debate school vouchers in face of rural Republican, Democratic opposition
Right now, about 11,000 students have taken advantage of it, which is about 1% of the total student body. The majority of students are special needs. In Texas, the details are still being worked out, but it's possible not everyone would have access to the money.
"The plans almost exclusively reduce the use of future vouchers to those people who presently have children in the public schools and in schools that are by in large are failing with campus grades of a C, D, or F," Jones explained.
SEE ALSO: School vouchers long proposed for years in Texas but haven't made it all the way
The education fight in Austin isn't only over vouchers. Lawmakers also want to give teachers raises. However, that isn't on the special session agenda. Jones believes if lawmakers send the voucher bill to the governor's desk, he'll add education funding to the agenda.
Abbott promised as much after the Senate's initial approval.
Abbott said at a parental rights event hosted by the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation that once the education savings account proposal clears both chambers, he would then add teacher pay raises to the special session agenda. He also said he has a team working with House Republicans on a voucher proposal that currently stands at 181 pages. In Texas, the governor dictates what can and can't be legislated during a special session.
The special session runs for another few weeks.
The Texas Tribune's Brian Lopez contributed to this report.
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