The Texas Senate gave preliminary approval on Thursday to a plan that would establish a school voucher programme that would allow parents to use state funding to pay for private schools. This is a longtime conservative objective and is of great concern to many who support public education.
Before moving on to more dubious lawmakers in the Texas House, many of whom have long opposed vouchers, it needs one more vote in the upper chamber. Gov. Greg Abbott, who has made the proposal one of his top legislative priorities and promised to run against those who obstruct it, will be closely monitoring it.
Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, introduced Senate Bill 1, which would establish education savings accounts and a school voucher-like programme that would give families access to $8,000 in public funds to cover private school tuition and other costs like uniforms, books, tutoring, and transportation. Senate Bill 8, which was approved by the Senate during the regular session but was not enacted by the House, is quite similar to SB 1.
With a vote of 18-13 on Thursday, the Senate gave the proposal preliminary approval.
Sen. Creighton’s Senate Bill 2, which would inject $5.2 billion into school districts to help them with teacher wages and mounting expenditures, also received final Senate approval. The proposed legislation would increase the basic allotment, or the base sum of money given to schools per pupil, from $6,160 to $6,235. This money can be used to raise teacher wages in addition to funding a district’s daily operations. Additionally, it provides additional funding for security improvements in schools.
The bill also provides instructors with a one-time wage boost. A $10,000 payment would be made to districts with fewer than 5,000 pupils, and a $3,000 payment would be made to districts with more than 5,000 children.
Abbott stated that he would add teacher pay rises to the special session’s agenda when the education savings account proposal is approved by both houses on Thursday at a parental rights event hosted by the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation. Additionally, he stated that a team of him and House Republicans are working on a 181-page voucher proposal. In Texas, a special session’s legislation can only be approved by the governor.
Regarding vouchers, Abbott said, “I want to make sure we provide a carrot to ensure that this legislation gets passed.”
Supporters of educational vouchers argue that children need additional options since public schools might not be able to meet their requirements. The initiative comes after some parents expressed dissatisfaction in recent years with how public schools handled the pandemic and worries about how they instruct kids about racial issues, history, and sex.
Since state financing is contingent on student attendance, detractors claim that the fleeing pupils would result in less money for public schools. The public schools, which have been financially strained since the epidemic and in the face of rife inflation, are where they think the money being proposed for education savings accounts should go.
Some House members indicated earlier this week that they would oppose any school voucher-like idea once more, even if it meant not increasing teacher salaries, another objective of many who support public education, or providing more funding for public schools.
The head of the House Democratic Caucus, Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, told reporters on Monday that his group is “very clear: no vouchers and no deals.”
The education savings accounts would be established and managed by the state comptroller’s office under SB 1. The school voucher programme is to be funded for the next two years with $500 million from the general revenue pool, according to the proposed legislation. The comptroller’s office would also be in charge of certifying a company to help process applications, authorise contractors, and approve participating private schools. Preventing fraud and misuse of funds would also be a big worry for many MPs.
According to Creighton, the programme won’t divert funds from public schools because it is funded by general income, not the Foundation School Programme, which is the state’s primary funding source for K–12 public schools. However, the financial analysis of the law predicts that as more students enrol in education savings accounts and drop out of public schools, school districts will get less money.
According to Creighton, the programme won’t divert funds from public schools because it is funded by general income, not the Foundation School Programme, which is the state’s primary funding source for K–12 public schools. However, the financial analysis of the law predicts that as more students enrol in education savings accounts and drop out of public schools, school districts will get less money.
School voucher bill filed in the Texas Senate
A change was approved that would pay school districts with fewer than 5,000 kids $10,000 for each pupil they lose over the course of three years due to the education savings account programme. Creighton’s school savings account bill featured a clause that would have rewarded districts with fewer than 20,000 kids $10,000 for each student who enrolled in the savings account during the regular session.
Private school pupils are not required to take a state-mandated academic achievement assessment, as some opponents of school vouchers in the Texas Legislature have argued, in order to even consider the concept.
Almost any student who attended a public school last year and any student who is prepared to enter in Pre-K or kindergarten would be eligible to apply for the programme if it became law. The law was further modified on Thursday to exclude current state office holders from eligibility and to allow homeschoolers.
Although practically every child is qualified for the programme, if there are more applicants than funds, SB 1 has a prioritisation system. The bill suggests allocating a maximum of 40% of openings to students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, a maximum of 30% to families earning between 185% and 500% of the federal poverty level, a maximum of 20% to students with disabilities, and a maximum of 10% to all other applicants who attended a public, private, or home school during the previous school year.
However, the system of prioritisation has drawn criticism. The “no more than” phrasing means that there will be a cap on how much financing is allocated to candidates from poor backgrounds rather than giving them priority, according to Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio.
Additionally, SB 1 has a clause requiring private schools to inform parents that they are exempt from federal and state regulations governing services for children with disabilities. An amendment that demanded private schools provide disabled students with the same level of services as public schools was unsuccessful.
Vouchers benefit individuals who are already enrolled in private schools, according to Roco Fierro-Pérez, senior political coordinator of the Texas Freedom Network, a liberal group opposed to school voucher, therefore the Texas House should oppose SB 1.
This plan, according to her, is a costly swindle that will rob Texas children of funding and jeopardise public education.
SB 1 gives a chance, according to Greg Sindelar, CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, to give parents more openness, quality, respect, and control over their children’s education.
“The ESA that will be created by Senate Bill 1 will offer education opportunity to all Texas children,” he stated.
