$1 billion school choice program moves closer to Gov. Abbott's desk
AUSTIN - Texas Governor Greg Abbott has spent a lot of political capital to push for school choice and now legislation is closer than ever to reaching his desk.
After a marathon session, the Texas House passed a bill to create a $1 billion Education Savings Account program. It is the first time that school choice legislation has passed the House, after stalling in previous sessions. The program will allow public funds to be used for private schools.
The bill was approved 86-63. Every Democrat and two Republicans, Dade Phelan and Gary VanDeaver, voted no.
On Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that he will ask the chairman in the Senate to concur with the House version of the bill, meaning there likely won't be any committee to work out the differences between the chambers.
Dig deeper
Proponents of school choice say the legislation gives options to parents.
Senate Bill 2 sets aside $1 billion for savings accounts that allow eligible students to pay costs associated with private schools.
Under the bill, each approved student would get more than $10,000 per student.
President Donald Trump expressed his support for the program before it went to the House floor on Wednesday. The president called the program "forward-thinking."
The goal from Republicans is to prioritize low-income and special needs students. The threshold for low income in the House's version of the bill is a household bringing in about $162,000.
"I think the only way that this could end up hurting Republicans is if it somehow creates chaos in the public school system, or if there ends up being bitterness about who gets to take advantage of these programs if the demand greatly exceeds the supply," said SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson.
Several other states have similar programs in place, but Texas' will be the largest in the country.
The other side
Democrats say the Education Savings Accounts will not help low-income students, with some calling it "welfare for the wealthy."
In the past, Democrats have teamed up with rural Republicans to block the legislation. Rural Republicans have argued that school choice programs do not make sense in areas with few private schooling options.
What they're saying
"This bill is everything that is wrong with politics. It is the interests of big money prevailing over everyday Texans," said State Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin).
Critics say the school choice bill undermined state support for public schools. A separate bill was passed to provide $7.7 billion in funding to public schools in Texas.
Wilson says passing the bills at the same time was intentional.
"They want to be able to say that school choice is not the enemy of public education. That we can both invest appropriate resources into public education, as we just did. They'll say by putting 8 billion additional dollars there and also provide families with these private school options," he explained.
You can watch Texas: The Issue Is on Sunday nights. You can also listen to extended interviews and topics on the Texas: The Issue Is podcast.
The Source
Information in this article comes from the Texas Legislature, comments by Texas lawmakers, SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson and past FOX coverage.
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