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Gov. Greg Abbott has notified the Texas Legislature that a third special session will begin on Oct. 9.
A Sept. 26 letter signed by Abbott and addressed to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, did not indicate the focus of this special session. But the governor has said repeatedly the next special session would focus on public education, including the issues of school vouchers and public school funding.
Abbott’s choice comes after lawmakers were unable to secure additional funds to support school districts grappling with inflation and an unpredictable economy. They also failed to come to a consensus on “school choice,” a term used to describe initiatives that permit parents to utilize taxpayer funds to cover private school expenses. This year, school choice stood as one of Abbott’s primary concerns in the legislative agenda.
Lawmakers will reconvene in Austin on October 9th at 1 p.m. The regular legislative session this year concluded in a deadlock between the House and Senate regarding education savings accounts. This program, similar to vouchers, aims to grant parents the opportunity to utilize a state-managed account for covering private school fees and additional educational costs.
Despite various attempts by the Senate to pass an education savings account program, including attaching it to the sole school finance bill advanced by the House during the session, progress was impeded in the lower chamber due to opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans.
In the end, school districts have paid the price. Many school officials have had to adopt deficit budgets, meaning their expenditures outweigh their revenues. Some school districts have dipped into their savings to offer teachers minimal raises, balance their budgets or simply to keep the lights on. Others are considering closing campuses all together to save money.
The relationship between the House and Senate was also further strained after the Senate acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton on impeachment charges brought on by the House, which could make it even more difficult for the chambers to reach an agreement on school vouchers. But Abbott recently said that if lawmakers fail to pass a school choice proposal, he won’t hesitate to bring lawmakers back. And he promised political consequences for those who get in the way.
“If we do not win in that first special session, we will have another special special session and we’ll come back again,” Abbott said last week in a tele-town hall about the issue. “And then if we don’t win that time, I think it’s time to send this to the voters themselves.”
