How did your East Texas House representative vote on school vouchers?
TYLER, Texas (KETK)– Each East Texas Representative except for one, voted to pass Senate Bill 2.
At the end of a long night on the Texas House floor, East Texas lawmakers help pass the school voucher bill 85-63.
Here is how your representatives voted:
State Rep. Daniel Alders (R) Tyler
Yes
State Rep. Trent Ashby (R) Lufkin
Yes
State Rep. Keith Bell (R) Athens
Yes
State Rep. Jay Dean (R) Longview
Yes
State Rep. Cody Harris (R) Palestine
Yes
State Rep. Cole Hefner (R) Lindale
Yes
State Rep. Brent Money (R) Greenville
Yes
State Rep. Joanne Shofner (R) Nacogdoches
Yes
State Rep. Gary Vandeaver (R) New Boston
No
The vote came after 10 hours of deliberation on the House floor; a vote finally took place around 3a.m.
' A lot of relief, joy and just really excitement for the parents and students of Texas,' State Rep. Brent Money said.
In 2023, the school voucher program was amended from the previous education package, but a big step was made to make education savings accounts a reality.
'It's just a fundamental right of parents to be able to make the choice that best suits their family. This is just another tool in the toolbox,' State Rep. Cole Hefner said.
This is a historic bill, which approved $1 billion of taxpayer funds for families to use to pay for private school tuition or homeschooling.
Rep. Money said many students in his district are homeschooled. He believes the $2,000 allotted can help those students with resources they need and allow students to be homeschooled.
'If they need a little bit of financial assistance to help them get curriculum, computers, supplies and things like that, they'll have access to ESA's to be able to do that,' Rep. Money said.
State Rep. Jay Dean from Longview was a big opponent of school vouchers and voted against it in 2023. He changed his vote early Thursday morning.
'My reaction is this bill was going to pass with or without my vote, we knew this was a priority for the Governor from last Session. Once it was clear the votes were there, I worked to make it the best deal all around for HD 7 that I could. I am proud to have stuck with the negotiations, late into the night, working alongside pro-public education groups and other rural Republicans, to make the bill better,' said Rep. Dean.
Dean continued to explain why he decided to vote yes, ' My responsibility as State Rep is to make the best decisions I can to improve lives of HD 7. This was going to pass. I could vote no, and lose a lot for HD 7. Or I could sit at the table, work, and vote yes for a better bill for HD 7. That's why I worked so hard and why I ultimately voted yes. No, it's not the bill I would have written. But that's not how this place works. It's not always 'my way or the highway.' There is give and take and ultimately this is a better bill because of my work on it and that's better for East Texas,' Rep. Dean said.
Dean acknowledged that some maybe disappointed in his decision, but he believes it was the best vote for the people in House District 7.
The school choice bill is not automatically implemented. The House will amend the Senate's bill and that version will need to be agreed upon by the Senate before it heads to the Governor's desk.
'There's not a lot of daylight between the two, so I foresee a pretty amenable process of coming together and settling on a bill and then send it to the governor's desk in the coming days,' Rep. Hefner said.
Representative Cody Harris' Reaction to the vote:
'This is a huge victory for students and families in the State of Texas. We are educating our future leaders and it is imperative to give families the resources they need so that students are not merely getting by, but getting ahead. This is an exciting time for our educational system and I firmly believe that we do not have to choose between supporting public education and offering choices for families. We can and will do both. As a result our children will reap the benefits as they reach new levels of excellence in the classroom.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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