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On Thursday, the Texas Senate approved a bill that aims to establish a school voucher program, enabling parents to utilize state funds for private school payments. This move, a longstanding objective for conservatives, has raised significant apprehension among advocates for public education.
It now heads to the 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.
On Thursday, the proposal received final approval from the Senate with a vote of 18-13.
The Senate also gave final passage to Senate Bill 2, also authored by Creighton, which would infuse $5.2 billion into school districts to help them with teacher raises and rising costs. The bill would raise the basic allotment — the base amount of money schools get per student — from $6,160 to $6,235. This money is used to pay for the day-to-day operations of a district and can be used to increase teacher salaries. It also includes more money for schools to spend of security upgrades.
In addition, the legislation provides a single-time salary bonus for educators. Teachers working in districts with fewer than 5,000 students would be granted a $10,000 payment, whereas those in districts with over 5,000 students would receive a $3,000 payment.
Abbott said Thursday 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.
Abbott explained that he wanted to ensure the legislation’s passage by offering an incentive, referring to it as a carrot.
Advocates of vouchers argue that children require a broader range of educational alternatives, as public schools might not adequately cater to their individual requirements. This movement has gained momentum as numerous parents have expressed dissatisfaction with public schools’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and their approach to educating children about race, history, and sexuality.
Critics argue that the departure of students will lead to a decrease in funding for public schools, as state funding is determined by student attendance. They advocate for redirecting the funds allocated for education savings accounts to public schools, which have been facing financial challenges due to the pandemic and widespread inflation.
Earlier this week, certain House members indicated their refusal to support any voucher-like proposal, even if it means sacrificing additional funding for public schools or higher teacher salaries, both of which are important priorities for advocates of public education.
Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters Monday that his group is “very clear: no vouchers and no deals.”
The responsibility of establishing and managing the education savings accounts would fall upon the state comptroller’s office under SB 1. To finance the program, the bill proposes the allocation of $500 million from the general revenue fund over a two-year period. In addition to this, the comptroller’s office would be tasked with preventing fraud and misuse of funds, which is a significant concern for numerous lawmakers. They would also have the authority to select an organization that can assist in processing applications, approving vendors, and overseeing participating private schools.
Creighton says that the program will not siphon money away from public schools as the funding comes from general revenue, not the Foundation School Program, which is the main source of funding for the state’s K-12 public schools. But according to the bill’s financial analysis, school districts are set to receive less money as students sign up for education savings accounts and leave public schools.
The amendment granting $10,000 to school districts with less than 5,000 students for each student lost to the education savings account program was successfully passed, to be active for three years. Previously, during the regular session, Creighton’s education savings account bill included a provision that would have allocated $10,000 to districts with fewer than 20,000 students for every student who joined the savings account program and departed from their respective district.
Critics in the Texas Legislature have argued that the proposed bill should mandate private school students to take a state-administered academic achievement exam for it to be considered, but currently, this requirement is not included in the bill.
If this bill becomes a law, it would make almost every student who attended a public school last year eligible to apply for the program. Additionally, students who are ready to enroll in Pre-K or kindergarten would also be eligible. On Thursday, the bill was amended to include homeschoolers and to prevent any state office holder from being eligible.
If the number of applications exceeds the available funding, SB 1 implements a prioritization system for the program. Under this system, certain groups are given priority. Specifically, the bill suggests that up to 40% of spots be reserved for students who receive free or reduced lunch, up to 30% for families with incomes between 185% and 500% of the federal poverty line, up to 20% for students with disabilities, and 10% for all other applicants who attended public, private, or home-school in the previous school year.
The prioritization system has garnered criticism though. Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, has said the “no more than” language implies there will be a cap on how much funding goes to underprivileged applicants, instead of prioritizing them.
The inclusion of SB 1 entails a provision mandating private schools to inform parents that they are exempt from federal and state laws concerning services provided to children with disabilities. Unfortunately, an amendment proposing equal services for children with disabilities in private schools, as provided in public schools, was not successful.
Rocío Fierro-Pérez, a senior political coordinator at the Texas Freedom Network, a progressive organization that opposes vouchers, emphasized that vouchers mainly benefit students already enrolled in private schools. Fierro-Pérez strongly urged the Texas House to oppose SB 1.
She claimed that this bill is a costly deception that will deprive Texas children of funds and weaken the public education system.
According to Greg Sindelar, the CEO of Texas Public Policy Foundation, SB 1 presents a chance to provide parents with enhanced transparency, quality, respect, and options for their child’s education.
He stated that the ESA to be established through Senate Bill 1 would provide educational opportunities for every child in Texas.
Disclosure: Texas Freedom Network and Texas Public Policy Foundation have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
