Latest news with #SB2
Forbes
13-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Pennsylvania GOP Makes Another Attempt To Pass School Vouchers
Attempting to pass a school voucher bill is an annual ritual in Pennsylvania's legislature, and this year is no exception. But voucher supporters seem stuck in a bit of a rut. In 2017, SB 2, Education Savings Accounts for Students in Underperforming Schools, would have created education savings account vouchers that would allow parents to use the state subsidy intended for their child's school district to provide flexible funding for a variety of education-related costs. The bill offered no oversight, and very broad definitions of qualifying expenses. Students were eligible if their district was in the bottom 15% of Pennsylvania schools. That bill stalled in committee. Until 2018, when the bill emerged from committee with some slight modifications. Some small oversight for spending was added, and a requirement that students spend at least a semester in a public school to be eligible. In 2019, HB 1800 made it out of committee. This was a narrow approach, aimed at provided vouchers for students in districts that were in receivership (a sort of financial takeover primarily for financial issues). It was a hot issue because Harrisburg schools were put in receivership in June, 2019, to gasps from a court audience, as reported by Lawrence Binda for The Burg. In 2022, HB 2169 was proposed. Once again, it was specifically aimed at students in 'failing' schools and was to take the form of an education savings account, a block of money to be used for a variety of education expenses. This time it was called the Lifeline Scholarship. The conservative Commonwealth Foundation had a press release ready to go hours after the bill was introduced. Sean Kitchen, reporting for The Keystone, later unveiled emails showing just how closely state officials had leaned on the foundation for help in crafting the bill. In 2023, Pennsylvania Republicans had a golden opportunity with new Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who is voucher-friendly. SB795 was designed to be Shapiro-friendly. Lifeline Scholarships would now be traditional school vouchers, good just for private school tuition and fees. Money for the vouchers would not be taken from the funding for public schools, but directly funded by the commonwealth. Vouchers would be set at certain dollar amounts depending on the level of the student ($5,000 for K-8, $10,000 for 9-12, and $15,000 for students with special needs). Shapiro was on the receiving end of a full court press from most of the voucher-supporting advocacy groups in existence: American Federation for Children (the DeVos family), Americans for Prosperity (Koch), EdChoice, ExcelInEd (Jeb Bush), and others. A dark money advocacy group, Commonwealth Action, popped up to push for the bill. Rather than watch the budget stall over a voucher fight, Shapiro promised Democrats he would line item veto the vouchers if the budget arrived at his desk. And he did. SB 795 reappeared in 2024, but it was clearly doomed. Now it's 2025, and vouchers are back again. This time, SB 10 proposes the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS) scholarship program. The bill is virtually identical to the old SB 795. The new bill expands eligibility for the vouchers, adding students whose families make under 250% of the federal poverty limit. It adds a responsibility for the State Treasurer to create some regulations which will be deemed 'temporary.' There are new requirements for the private schools receiving vouchers to report data about the voucher students. Otherwise, it is a word for word resubmission of the previous voucher bill. SB 10 passed out of the state senate education committee earlier this month with an 8-3 vote. All seven GOP members of the committee (including former gubernatorial candidate Sen. Doug Mastriano) were joined by one Democrat (Sen. Anthony Williams) in voting to send the bill on. This is, for all intents and purposes, is the same bill that Shapiro vetoed in 2023, this time without the huge lobbying effort (the Commonwealth Action website has not moved on from 2023). It's unclear whether voucher supporters believe something has changed in the political calculus, or whether they are going through motions so as to reassure voucher-friendly supporters that they are doing something. In the meantime, PASS vouchers are treading down a well-worn path, and it remains to be seen if the path will this time lead to something other than failure.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lambert backs $7.7B school bill, explains why he voted for vouchers
BIG COUNTRY, Texas () – As the Texas legislative session barrels toward key deadlines, District 71 State Representative Stan Lambert says lawmakers are making critical progress on major public education bills — some of which stirred strong reactions across the state. Texas governor signs $1 billion voucher bill in milestone for school choice supporters nationally Two major bills — House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2 — have now passed in both chambers. HB 2 focuses on public school funding, while SB 2 includes a controversial education savings account (ESA) program, often referred to as a school voucher system. Despite concerns from rural lawmakers about the potential impact of vouchers, Lambert says the most important takeaway is the $7.7 billion investment in public education. 'We wanted to make sure that before we took up and discussed the voucher bill, the ESA and SB2, we had made strong commitments and a strong investment in public education,' Lambert explained. That basic allotment, increased by nearly $400 per student based on Weighted Average Daily Attendance, now has built-in inflation protection. Lambert noted that about 40% of the increase is now statutorily dedicated to teacher pay and raises. 'There were some additional measures to make sure that even if enrollment drops in some of our schools, which is what we have seen in the last few years, those school districts will continue to be funded. We've ensured, and we have put into statute now, once the governor signs the bill, that those monies will continue to be invested in public education, in addition to the ESA voucher program,' Lambert shared. Lambert flips to support HB2 after changes to voucher program Though Lambert previously opposed ESAs, he voted in favor after key amendments were added to protect rural schools. 'It was very hard for me, because I have been a very staunch opponent of the conceptual idea of using public dollars to fund private education. But again, once the amendments were accepted by the governor's staff and the Senate and our House public education committee chairman, then I felt obligated, once those amendments were accepted and put on the bill, I was obligated to support the legislation,' Lambert shared. He explained that the $1 billion voucher program is divided into tiers—or 'buckets'—starting with the neediest students. 'The lowest bucket is those families with the greatest need, in other words, the lowest income levels, as well as those students with disabilities and special educational needs. Then the buckets increase a little bit up to the final bucket, which is the 20% that basically is the universal one, where any family can apply,' Lambert explained. He emphasized strict guidelines for how voucher funds can be spent. 'There's still a lot of a lot of things that are restricted, as far as how the money can be spent, how if you're a homeschool kid and your parents want to take you on a ski trip and use the $2,000 voucher, you can't do that. It's got to be used for tuition, for educational supplies. There is just a list of things there that will make sure that the money is being used effectively and efficiently, and will be accountable as far as the taxpayers' funding of that program.' Rep. Stan Lambert discusses election integrity, school vouchers & future goals for West Texas Senator Ted Cruz recently stated that competition from voucher programs will improve public schools. Lambert agreed that the competition can improve education, though he believes this is more of an urban issue. 'I think competition can improve and make us better. It gives us a kind of insight as to what others are doing, how they're doing it, and how effective they are,' said Lambert. 'I really think that that though, in West Texas and certainly in our rural areas of the state, we're not going to see as much impact necessarily, because I do think that this is more really of an urban issue, a metropolitan major, major city type issue, versus what's happening in our rural schools. That's why I've been such a strong opponent of a voucher program, because I think that it doesn't really impact what's happening in our schools like Abilene and like Wiley and so forth. While I'm a big supporter of private education, I think we have some private schools in West Texas that are doing a very good job. So I'm not trying to say one is better than the other.' Lambert also weighed in on testing reform, saying the STAAR test may soon be on its way out. 'The fact that we put so much emphasis and so much weight on one day, one test, that's not fair to our students, it's not fair to our teachers. So, anything we can do to try to move away from that kind of system where we put so much weight on one day of testing,' Lambert said. 'I think that's what we'll see come forward as a result of House Bill 4, which has not been on the floor yet… that will be the way that we address the elimination of the STAAR test and introduce some type of norm referenced testing so that all of our public education, and to some degree, our private schools as well, will be held accountable to. That way, we have at least some metrics, some way of evaluation that makes good sense, and makes us be able to at least have data moving forward as we add an additional program that's going to use taxpayer dollars to fund private schools.' Just weeks ago, Lambert joined a bill with ACU alum Representative Caroline Fairly — House Bill 1481 — which limits digital device use during school hours. 'There's way too much opportunity for students to pull out their cell phone, to be playing games or to be engaging with social media. I know that's a very controversial issue, because I know parents are concerned about safety and how they could communicate with their child if they needed to, on an as-needed basis,' explained Lambert. 'I went back and watched the layout of representative Fairley's bill in state affairs, it was a pretty lengthy layout where the idea that these devices would not be allowed in classrooms there, there will be some funding that could allow for some type of apparatus in the classroom for those phones to be placed in so they're going to be within reach if there's some type of situation where parents do need to reach their children.' WATCH: KRBC'S Exploring School Choice in Texas Special He's also proud of legislation moving forward to strengthen Texas's workforce, especially a bill supporting Texas State Technical College (TSTC). 'We were very instrumental and very involved in making sure that Texas State Technical College is going to receive a large endowment that will allow them to expand their campuses across the state. We know how good and effective TSTC is in workforce education, and so we've carried that bill through the House. It was just approved the other day with 129 votes in the House. So it'll move to the Senate now,' Lambert added. 'We're excited about what's happening in terms of not just that bill, but many other bills that are addressing the workforce shortages that we have throughout the state… We talked a lot about this over the last interim, about the workforce shortage and how that would be a very significant thing that we would need to address in this legislative session. So excited to see those bills moving forward, and we're looking forward to the next 32 days here in Austin.' With the session's final weeks approaching, Lambert said lawmakers are bracing for long nights and tight deadlines. 'This is a really critical time in the legislature. We're getting into some deadlines as far as when bills can be heard, how many more calendars we're going to actually see, and we're going to start seeing a backup in terms of the number of bills that are going to be coming out of calendars. There's going to be some long, long nights here in the Capitol, which is fine, that's part of what we signed up to do. I'm very proud of the fact that most of the legislation that we've focused on this session is moving forward.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
03-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Texas House gives initial OK to $1B school voucher proposal, rejects call for referendum
Texas House gives initial OK to $1B school voucher proposal, rejects call for referendum Show Caption Hide Caption TX Senate: Bill gives families $10k for private school The Texas Senate Education Committee approved school voucher legislation... sending it to the full chamber for consideration. Fox - 4 News Proponents of a controversial school voucher program cheered early Thursday morning after the Texas House gave its initial approval to a proposal that had for years been roadblocked by the lower chamber. The 85-63 vote opens the door to the program for the state's 5.5 million school children and, due to Texas' sheer size, has the potential to dramatically out-scale similar programs in states such as Florida and Arizona. Former Speaker Dade Phelan of Beaumont, who in his four years as the House's leader didn't usher a voucher bill through the chamber, was joined by Rep. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston as the only Republicans to vote against Senate Bill 2, the $1 billion proposal that would give students roughly $10,500 in taxpayer money for private school tuition — or the amount they're entitled to in public schools — and up to $30,000 for students receiving special education services. Gov. Greg Abbott, who for years has pushed to pass a "school choice" bill in Texas, took a victory lap just seconds after the vote was tallied. 'For the first time in Texas history, our state has passed a universal school choice bill out of both chambers in the Texas Legislature,' the three-term Republican governor said in a news release. 'This is an extraordinary victory for the thousands of parents who have advocated for more choices when it comes to the education of their children." The prospect of diverting public money to help offset the cost of private K-12 education in Texas has been steeped in politics for decades. And as the debate opened Wednesday on the House's version of SB 2, the politics slammed head on into the personal, as Democratic Rep. James Talarico of Austin openly accused Abbott of threatening any GOP members who did not fall in line with derailing their legislative agendas and with potentially career-ending retribution. 'The last time I checked, we still had separation of powers in this state,' Talarico said. 'The last time I checked, this was still the people's House, not the governor's House." Abbott's office was adamant that Talarico's accusation was unfounded. 'This is absolutely not true," Abbott's spokesman Andrew Mahaleris told the American-Statesman in a text message. "Governor Abbott has been speaking with members encouraging them to vote for school choice." Abbott in 2023 prioritized passing a school voucher program, and he has since thrown his political weight behind the issue, which has continued to hit roadblocks in the House until early Thursday. 'Another tool in the toolbox' Members took their vote around 2 a.m. after hours of heated debate, which laid bare the deep divides over vouchers. Rep. Brad Buckley, the Salado Republican who authored the House's version of SB 2, called it "another tool in the toolbox for parents." However, Democratic members who opposed the bill said it would drain funding from cash-strapped public schools. Austin Democrat Rep. Gina Hinojosa said she felt "cursed by this bill," which will be "the interest of big money prevailing over the interests of Texans." Abbott was active on social media as the House plowed through the dozens of doomed amendments by Democratic members as Buckley and the chamber's GOP leadership guided the landmark legislation over a hurdle that has flummoxed the party steadily since it won total control of state government more than two decades ago. Among the proposed amendments that were sacked was a proposal by Talarico to bring school vouchers to a statewide referendum. The amendment failed 86-62, largely along party lines in the GOP-dominated chamber. 'The governor has said private school vouchers are wildly popular,' Talarico said. 'If that were true, I would think this referendum would have no trouble passing." A report published Tuesday by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas found that 46% of survey respondents strongly or somewhat support a school voucher plan, or an education savings account program, while 34% strongly or somewhat opposed it. A second Democratic proposal, which would have essentially gutted the voucher bill, also failed along party lines, sending a strong signal early Wednesday afternoon that the House was likely to pass the bill. Talarico alleged that Abbott had been threatening Republican House members who voted to put the voucher proposal on a statewide ballot for Texans to decide. Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, questioned Talarico's accusations, insisting, 'It certainly wasn't me.' Throughout the House's voucher debate Wednesday, Abbott sought to blunt Democratic members' arguments that the measure puts at risk state money that would otherwise find its way to local public schools across Texas. "Passing school choice does NOT mean Texas won't fully fund public education," he said on X in mid-debate. "School choice funding and public school funding come from separate pots. We won't take a single penny from our public schools to pay for school choice." While a voucher proposal has easily passed the Texas Senate multiple times, it's continued to meet roadblocks from Democratic lawmakers and a bloc of House Republicans. In 2024, Abbott poured millions into GOP primary races to oust House members of his own party who opposed vouchers in 2023. SB 2, which after its final passage expected later Thursday, will return to the Senate for that chamber to review the House's modifications. 'Let the people vote' Ahead of the combative vote, teachers and public school supporters gathered outside the House chamber and in the Capitol rotunda to protest school vouchers. They wore red to symbolize support of public education and carried signs that said, 'Don't mess with Texas public schools.' They chanted, 'Let the people vote; let the people vote,' calling on lawmakers to put the voucher program on the ballot for Texans to decide. Christy Skinner, a former teacher from East Texas, came to the Capitol on Wednesday to join other educators and parents in opposing vouchers. She taught school for 27 years, but retired when the stresses of the job became too much, partly because of inadequate pay for teachers, she said. 'We really need to bring the pay and benefits into the 21st century,' Skinner said. She opposes school vouchers because she worried the program would divert funding that could otherwise go to public schools. 'You're funneling money to a separate program,' Skinner said. Trump nudges Republicans to support vouchers The years of politicking and campaigning from lawmakers on both sides of the issue culminated Wednesday morning with a call to Texas House GOP Caucus members from President Donald Trump ahead of the vote on SB 2. 'It's a big vote today and I hope you are able to vote in a positive manner,' Trump told members in a video Abbott posted on X. State Rep. Tom Oliverson, who chairs the House Republican Caucus, said Trump told the caucus that the Legislature is about to enact what he hopes will be a model for the nation. 'That was pretty cool,' said Oliverson, R-Cypress. 'I was not expecting that.' This story has been updated with new information.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State of Texas: Senate sends education savings account bill to Governor Abbott
AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Legislation to let Texas parents to use public dollars to help pay for private education has been sent to Gov. Greg Abbott. The Texas Senate voted 19-12 Thursday to agree to changes made by the Texas House on Senate Bill 2. The vote sends the bill to create a $1 billion education savings account program to the governor's desk to be signed into law. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, authored SB 2, after carrying similar legislation that failed to pass in previous sessions. This year, as in previous sessions, opponents of the bill raised concerns that the ESA program primarily benefits wealthier families at the expense of students in public schools. The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus released a statement after the vote, calling the bill 'a deeply flawed voucher scheme.' 'Let's be clear: SB 2 is not about 'school choice.' It's about public subsidization of private schools' choice,' the statemen read. 'It is a step backward for Texas, jeopardizing the very system that supports the overwhelming majority of our children and abandoning our constitutional responsibility to provide every child with a quality public education.' Creighton has called that criticism a 'manufactured narrative.' 'There are 74 school choice programs across the country, nearly 34 states now. One thing that we know for sure from the data is that student outcomes increase, safety increases, college readiness increases,' Creighton said in a interview after the vote. 'We want Texas students to have those same opportunities, and we're going to do our best to deliver on those. So I'm very comfortable with where we've landed for the students that need help the most,' Creighton added. During the debate before the vote, Senators on opposite sides of the aisle raised concerns about aspects of the legislation. Lubbock Republican Charles Perry worried about the potential of online-only schools getting ESA funds. 'I think we've all understood what online instruction is and is not and it's not the answer to educate 99.9% of the kids,' Perry said. Despite that concern, Perry maintained support for passage of SB 2. 'We want students in person learning to the greatest extent that we possibly can. But online learning is also very important as well,' Creighton said of the discussion on the Senate floor with Sen. Perry. 'We have students that have been victims of human trafficking, that have been victims of bullying, that have survived fentanyl, that have certain special needs, where those online learning opportunities are important and they're included in the legislation.' Another concern over the House's version of SB 2 was a conflict of interest amendment the Texas House stripped from the bill. The amendment, which was first proposed last session by State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, prevents lawmakers who passed the bill from participating in the program. 'Fast forward two years, that amendment was no longer called the Gutierrez amendment because Senator Creighton thought it was a good idea, and thank you for that Senator Creighton. It became our amendment at that point,' Gutierrez said. 'In the dark of the night in the committee substitute that was stripped out. Don't need to get into who stripped it out and why, but it was stripped out. House Democrats tried to put that amendment back in to no avail.' While closing on his bill, Creighton said, 'you may be surprised and we could suspend (the rules) on Monday and bring that policy back in a separate bill, so stay tuned on that.' The ESA program is expected to roll out for the 2026-27 school year. Lawmakers will return to the Capitol for the next session in 2027. Creighton indicated that the legislature will revisit ESAs at that time to make sure the program is working as intended. 'What we've seen from data across the nation is for a new school choice plan like Texas will have, we need to build an appropriate runway with the right kind of supports and the framework to truly help the families with a successful launch,' Creighton said. 'So our opportunities within Senate Bill 2 for our families across the state, that will start in '26 and '27 to make sure that there's appropriate time for the Comptroller to build this program. So we'll be back in session in January of '27 to make any needed adjustments or calibrations, as we always do with any bill that we pass.' Getting an ESA bill through the legislature is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of full-court press from Abbott. He first declared the proposal an emergency item in the 2023 legislative session, but couldn't get it through the Texas House of Representatives. Later that year, he called four special sessions — two of them with the specific intent to create ESA legislation — but could never get enough support. He then funded the campaign for 15 challengers to Texas House Republicans who voted against ESA legislation, successfully ousting 11 incumbents. For Creighton, the push for legislation like SB 2 has been in the works for more than a decade. With the finish line in sight, he reflected on what he hopes the legacy of this legislation will be. 'We know who this bill is going to be helping, and we're so happy to be at this point in time to see the passage of the legislation, and the bill soon will be headed to the governor's desk and these families that are going to get help from this expanded option in education, just seeing their faces and understanding the potential and future for these kids is all I'll ever need as a legislator when I look back on my career,' Creighton said. Leading up to the anticipated Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) vote earlier this month, the Texas Tribune reported more than 50 House Democrats threatened to vote against every proposed constitutional amendment if Republicans didn't help them put the ESA legislation to a public vote. The vote to pass mostly followed party lines. On the Republican side, only former Speaker Dade Phelan, R–Beaumont, and Gary VanDeaver, R–New Boston, voted against the bill. Ahead of pivotal vote, Texas leaders share unfiltered thoughts on future of education On Tuesday, the House was scheduled to discuss — and likely vote on — House Joint Resolution 31. The relatively non-controversial constitutional amendment — which unanimously passed the House Ways & Means Committee — would allow the legislature to better define property tax exemptions for farmers. Instead of being brought for debate, Speaker Dustin Burrows postponed the vote. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote from both chambers of the Texas legislature before heading to voters, meaning 51 of the 62 Democratic House members can kill the proposed amendment without any Republican dissenting. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote from both chambers of the Texas legislature before heading to the voters, meaning 51 Democratic House members can kill a proposed amendment without any Republican dissenting. 'Democratic members of the Texas House may be in the minority, but we will use the tools we have to protect the independence of the House and ensure the voices of the millions of Texans we represent are heard and respected in this chamber,' a representative with the House Democratic Caucus said in a statement. Pope Francis had a unique history with Texas. What will his successor do? However, just because the ESA vote passed without a public referendum, doesn't mean there isn't room for compromise according to a representative with the House Democratic Caucus. They say they're working with Burrows to find areas of cooperation; including bringing more Democratic bills to the House floor. To get the gavel, Burrows needed support from 49 Democrats and 36 Republicans to defeat Rep. David Cook, R – Mansfield, who was supported by the Texas Republican Party. He faced his first authority challenge two weeks ago, as a motion to remove him from the speaker's chair was overwhelmingly voted down. Now, it appears he faces a challenge from members of the party who helped put him at the dais. High-priority bills threatened The House Democrats are open to a compromise where they would vote for constitutional amendments. But if no such deal is made, they could kill plenty of high-profile bills. Among them are a pair of high-profile bail reform bills which Gov. Greg Abbott declared an emergency item this session. Senate Joint Resolution 1 would require the denial of bail for undocumented residents charged with a felony, and Senate Joint Resolution 5 would allow the denial of bail for defendants accused of first-degree felony sexual offenses — defendants accused of violent offenses or defendants accused of continuous human trafficking. Will Sunday be the last 4/20 in Texas? While both bills passed with bipartisan support, it's unclear if they had enough Democratic votes in the Texas House — potential protests set aside. Abbott's Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris responded to Nexstar in a statement Wednesday, saying, 'The Democrats' temper tantrum will not stop Republicans in the House from doing the right thing and passing good bills for the people of Texas. If Democrats want to stand in the way of tax relief, water investments and bail reform, we wish them luck explaining that record to Texans.' Later Wednesday, the House pushed forward with a vote on a proposed amendment, despite the stand by Democrats. As the Texas House debated bipartisan House Joint Resolution 72, a proposed amendment to the Texas constitution, State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, stepped up to the microphone with a question for the bill's author, State Rep. Candy Noble, R-Murphy. 'I fully support this resolution,' began Wu, the chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said. HJR 72 grants property tax relief for family members of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), if they own their family member's homes in their name. 'I called you last night and asked you to just have a brief delay in this bill, correct?' Wu asked. 'Yes,' Noble replied. 'You agreed and you gave me your word that you would delay just briefly,' Wu said. 'I did, and after talking with my IDD constituents I decided to choose them and I apologize that that did not happen,' Noble replied. The exchange came after a constitutional amendment discussion was delayed on Tuesday. Ahead of a vote on Senate Bill 2 — the education savings accounts bill — the Texas Tribune reported that Democrats were threatening to vote against all proposed constitutional amendments if Republicans didn't help them put the ESA legislation to a public vote. When HJR 72 got to a vote, 90 members voted in favor, two against with 51 members registering as 'present, not voting' (PNV). Among the 51 PNVs, 50 were Democratic House members with the 51st being Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows, who typically only breaks ties. While 100 votes are needed to pass joint resolutions/constitutional amendments, HJR 72 wasn't killed by the vote, but rather sent to a third reading where it will need 100 votes. The third reading was scheduled for Thursday, but after Wednesday's vote, Noble motioned to move the vote to Monday. 'Maybe I'm being told we are going to vote it out' HJR 72 wasn't the only proposed constitutional amendment on the House docket Wednesday. A couple hours prior, State Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, appeared unsure if he should bring forward Senate Joint Resolution 3 which, in conjunction with Senate Bill 5, would create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. '(SB 5) has a constitutional amendment that's attached to it which we're not going to vote on today. We're going to do like the other constitutional amendments,' Craddick said before turning to State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston. 'We got the votes, we got the votes,' Thompson, a co-sponsor on the bill with Craddick, told him. With a collection of State Representatives gathered near the Speaker's desk, the microphone picked up one saying 'the Ds are deciding.' After SB 5 advanced to a third reading, Craddick ultimately decided to postpone the debate of SJR 3 to Monday. Gov. Abbott was asked about the move at a news conference for the signing of the first bill of the session, which will create the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office. At the time Abbott said he had not yet heard of the move to postpone debate, but he did not expect it to derail priority legislation. 'I have no doubt that when the sun sets on this session, it's going to be viewed as one of, if not the most successful sessions we've seen in more than a decade,' Abbott told reporters. At Rawson Saunders School, administrators use almost every inch of the campus as a classroom. The head of school, Laura Steinbach, explained they converted the main office kitchen into additional classrooms because they ran out of space. The Tarrytown private school serves students with dyslexia. A walk through the campus reveals rooms where students are learning: a student working one-on-one with an Academic Language Therapist and four kids hovering around a table in a math class. 'Our class sizes are unheard of,' Executive Director Laura Steinbach said. Rawson Saunders is one of four private schools in Austin that serve students with disabilities. These schools have been at the center of pitches from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican leaders pushing for a bill that would allow taxpayer dollars to go to private schools. According to a KXAN analysis of tuition information, even with financial help from the state, some private schools will still be out of reach, physically and financially, for low-income students with disabilities without significant financial aid from the private sector. Senate Bill 2 would establish a school voucher-like program in Texas, known as Education Savings Accounts, or ESA. The program that the Comptroller's Office would run would provide $10,000 a year to participating students and a minimum of $11,500 a year to participating students with disabilities. The money can be put towards tutors, uniforms, school supplies and private school tuition. The latest version of SB 2 allows special education students to access up to $30,000 to put towards their education. The amount will be determined by the student's Individual Education Plan, or IEP, which is a plan that lays out accommodations, services, and other needs of students with disabilities and is based on a special education evaluation. The ESA sets no limits on the income of the families who can receive the funds. Rep. Talarico, R-Austin, points out billionaire Elon Musk's children could technically apply, even though the bill prioritizes students with disabilities and those from low-income families to receive an ESA first. Our team reviewed tuition information from the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission and identified 52 accredited private schools in the state that specialize in serving students with disabilities. Ten of those schools do not post their tuition prices online and did not respond to KXAN's request for information. But of the 42 that did, data shows the yearly $11,500 ESA allotment under SB 2 for students with disabilities would only fully cover tuition at three of those schools. 12,000+ Texas kids sent to court for missing class, no one tracks what happens next However, the private schools become more affordable if the student is able to secure a higher ESA amount. The maximum $30,000 allotment would fully cover tuition at 26 of those schools — 62 percent of those that post their tuition amount. Rawson Saunders teaches elementary and middle school-age children, all of whom must have a dyslexia diagnosis. According to the school's website, it is not equipped to serve students who require significant accommodation and support related to behavior and conduct. The tuition is more than $37,595 a year, not including fees. 'If you have 200 students and 92 faculty and staff – you can do the math and say, wow – that's an expensive organization,' Steinbach said. 'We don't have a Jumbotron, but we do have a lot of human beings to take care of, and that makes the tuition pretty high.' Texas Disability Rights Senior Policy Specialist Steven Aleman said SB 2 and similar bills create a false sense of hope for the state's poorest families – and for students with disabilities. 'The reality is that there is such a small handful of schools that are really good at meeting their needs, and their capacity to expand is sort of very unlikely they can turn from serving 20 students to 200 students in a year or two,' Aleman said. 'The consequences were dire': Republican lawmaker alludes to political pressure over school choice vote Under SB 2, which passed a House vote last Thursday, private schools are not required to admit students who receive an ESA and they are not required to provide additional financial aid or scholarships to students who can't make up the difference in costs. Steinbach said her school is uncompromising when it comes to class sizes and student-teacher ratios. She worries about the strings that could be attached to taking state dollars. When asked about a scenario where 20 students with ESAs apply to the school, all of them unable to pay more than the $11,500 voucher allotted to them, she said admitting the students would require intensive fundraising. 'We have a lot of families already on financial aid, so if we have 20 new families coming in that also need financial aid and they need a substantial amount of support, then there are two answers: there is the now and the later. It means now we probably couldn't serve all of them. The later means we need to build toward increasing our financial aid accounts, so we have more money to give,' Steinbach said. Capitol School of Austin is another private school in Central Texas that serves students who learn differently. The school, which has been around for over 30 years, specializes in intensive speech, language and learning services. The tuition ranges from $18,675 to $23,113 a year. 'I think our school-aged kids, they end up finding us because they might be struggling a bit in a traditional learning environment with a large group setting, and that is where our small learning environments come into play,' Capitol School Speech Pathologist Jessica Epstein said. Epstein says right now, the school has more questions than answers about the looming school choice program. 'I think it will be really important for parents to really do their due diligence and make sure that the schools that are maybe appearing can actually offer the services that they are saying that they can offer,' Epstein said. The non-profit, which offers lower tuition prices compared to other schools serving students with disabilities, shared a similar sentiment to Steinbach about the limitations of the school in accepting a large number of students requiring substantial financial aid. 'We wouldn't be able to run the program the way that we do,' Epstein said. 'We do have scholarship dollars that we allocate. And we'll continue the same way that we always have in the past.' Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, attempted to amend the ESA legislation during the nearly 11-hour House vote on S.B. 2. The change would have required the state to pay the full tuition amount, up to $30,000, for students whose families' yearly income is at or below 200% of the country's poverty guidelines — $53,300 a year for a family of three. 'What you are doing and professing is to give them a 10-foot rope, and they are in a 12-foot hole. And so, how do you expect they get out of it?' Dutton said. Texas House passes education savings accounts program Rep. James Frank challenged Dutton, saying the average tuition for a private school in Texas is $9,700. 'Pretending that we can't somehow give people options at the dollar amount we have – we truly can,' Frank said. To which, Dutton said, 'So your argument is: let them all go to average private schools?' KXAN analyzed tuition information from accredited private schools across Central Texas and found that the 10,000 ESA for students without an IEP would not fully cover 72% of private high school tuition rates. Eleven percent of Central Texas schools that teach high school students don't post their tuition information at all. Our analysis also shows private schools are mostly clustered in metro areas in and around Austin, with some of the most affordable schools in rural areas. Llano Christian Academy, which accepts students from Pre-K through high school, charges $5,200 per year. It is also the only private school in Llano County accredited by one of the 19 agencies recognized by the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, or TEPSAC. Blanco, Caldwell, Lampasas, Mason and San Saba counties don't have any private schools accredited by one of those agencies, according to TEPSAC. More Central Texas school districts making cuts due to funding issues It's unclear what will happen to students with an ESA who are unable to find a private school that will admit them, or if they cannot come up with the additional funds to pay for the school. SB 2 outlines how students could lose eligibility if they re-enroll in public or open-enrollment charter schools. It creates a waiting list of other eligible students. At least 20% of spots in the ESA program can be allocated to students from families earning above 500% of the poverty guidelines, which translates to an annual income of $133,250 for a family of three. Despite her concerns about the obligations that could come with accepting state dollars – specifically any requirements to stop focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion or mandating testing – Steinbach is excited about more parents considering educational alternatives that may be better for their child. 'Truthfully – I am afraid of the impact on education,' Steinbach said. 'The concept is amazing – to be able to give money to families that they can devote to schools that make sense for their families. What I worry about is the students whose families are not in a position to take advantage of those funds, and that is a lot of families.' Accountability ratings from two school years ago show Texas public schools saw a decline in performance. A group of Texas Democrats argue the scores are unreliable and inaccurate, but the head of the state's public schools said the assessments are fair. The Texas Education Agency released the ratings from the 2022-2023 school year on Thursday, which give schools an A through F rating based on metrics of student achievement, school progress, and how the school closes gaps between different student groups. Legal battles delayed the release of the information for years after school districts sued the agency arguing it did not give proper notice of how it was going to change the rating system. The data shows 44% of the schools stayed the same letter rating, 13% increased to a better rating and 43% dropped to a lower rating. 'Schools didn't grow students as rapidly as they had the year before,' Mike Morath, the Commissioner of the TEA, explained to reporters in an online news conference. Members of the Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus met with Morath Thursday morning at the Capitol to discuss the scores and their concerns. Immediately following the meeting the lawmakers held a news conference where they alleged the scores were meant to discredit public schools on the same day the Texas Senate gave the final approval on school choice legislation. 'That is a plan to rob our schools of their resources and hand them over to the profiteers so they can make money off of money that should be going to educate our kids,' State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D – Austin, said. The group of Texas Democrats questioned the methodology of the system, which was updated for the 2022-2023 assessment. They allege the new methodology caused some schools to drop from a B rating down to a F. 'They literally changed the goal post,' State Rep. Jolanda Jones, D – Houston, said. The group of Democrats argued the assessment does not highlight all the good work public schools have been doing in the past couple of years after COVID-19. 'They have been starved since 2019, they have gone through COVID. They have had to deal with some unimaginable things without any support,' State Rep. Aicha Davis, D- Dallas, explained. Morath disagrees the TEA moved the goal post. He explained the agency is required to update its methodology every five years in order to 'make Texas a national leader in preparing students for post-secondary success.' He also argued the new methodology did not force schools to have a lower grade than they would have gotten with the previous methodology. The ratings for the 2023-2024 have also not been released as they are pending in a separate judicial proceeding. Morath argued earlier this week that the raw data used to calculate the rating for schools is available for local school boards to review and make public to parents. The lawsuit only prevents TEA from releasing those numbers. Hinojosa said the House Committee on Public Education will most likely discuss an accountability bill, House Bill 4, next week that could lead to changes in how Texas rates its public schools. 'When we see how broken, and how there's no trust in this accountability system, that we remake one that makes sense,' Hinojosa said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘It means so much,' Sen. Creighton reflects on impact of passing education savings account bill
AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Gov. Greg Abbott will soon sign legislation to allow Texas parents to use public dollars to help pay for private education. On Thursday, the Texas Senate voted to send a $1 billion education savings account program to the governor to be signed into law. 'There being 19 ayes and 12 nays, school choice has come to Texas!' Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said as he brought the gavel down on the vote to approve Senate Bill 2. Senators concurred with changes made by the Texas House, speeding the path for the bill to reach the governor's desk. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, authored SB 2, which creates a $1 billion education savings account program. Creighton carried similar legislation that failed to pass in previous sessions. Before Thursday's vote, he reflected on the long path to final passage. 'Many members across this floor have championed school choice your entire legislative careers, and I'm so thankful for you and to have been able to partner with you, because this was a team effort, and we all know as we work together, and I'm proud to have played a role,' Creighton said. 'We all know who we're working for, who we're fighting for. It's our Texas moms and dads and grandmothers and grandfathers and guardians and students that long from now these littles, they will one day understand how they came to receive an opportunity that they never even knew didn't exist prior to their receipt of it, and one day long, down the road, when they are adults and they have a family of their own, they're going to be thankful to each of you,' Creighton added before the vote. This year, as in previous sessions, opponents of the bill raised concerns that the ESA program primarily benefits wealthier families at the expense of students in public schools. The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus released a statement after the vote, calling the bill 'a deeply flawed voucher scheme.' 'Let's be clear: SB 2 is not about 'school choice.' It's about public subsidization of private schools' choice,' the statemen read. 'It is a step backward for Texas, jeopardizing the very system that supports the overwhelming majority of our children and abandoning our constitutional responsibility to provide every child with a quality public education.' Creighton has called that criticism a 'manufactured narrative.' 'There are 74 school choice programs across the country—nearly 34 states now. One thing that we know for sure from the data is that student outcomes increase, safety increases, college readiness increases,' Creighton said in an interview after the vote. 'We want Texas students to have those same opportunities, and we're going to do our best to deliver on those. So I'm very comfortable with where we've landed for the students that need help the most,' Creighton added. Sen. Creighton tried to counter concerns that education savings accounts will take resources from public schools. He emphasized that lawmakers also approved significant increases for public school funding this session. 'Well, it's clear in the numbers and in our budgets that with the nearly $100 billion of investment that we're putting into Texas public schools across our 5.4 million public school students, you can do the math right there on how much that is per student,' Creighton said. 'Our public schools are going to get better with school choice. But on the funding, we normally average about $2 billion a biennium in new dollars for our public schools. We're at between six and eight billion now. So nearly, nearly a three to four times factor on the amount of new dollars we put into our schools,' Creighton added. He also touted legislative efforts to raise teacher pay. 'The largest teacher pay raise in Texas history was also my bill. That is permanent. It's not a bonus or a stipend, but the Senate plan makes that permanent. So I think that as we land the plane at the end of session, with all the policies and the funding and the supports for our public schools and public school teachers, we will have so much to celebrate, and it will be a model for the nation,' Creighton said. Another concern about the plan is that the ESA will not fully cover the cost of many private schools, particularly for families with lower household incomes. 'What you are professing is to give them a 10-foot rope, and they are in a 12-foot hole,' State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, said during debate in the House. Creighton maintains that the average tuition for private schools in Texas is $9,500, slightly below the $10,000 provided under the ESA program. Students with disabilities and other special needs can receive up to $30,000. But even that amount falls short of the cost of many private schools. Creighton noted that some schools and private donors could provide funding to help make up the difference for some students. 'You have some of the greatest amount of philanthropy in the great state of Texas, as an example, compared to any other place in the nation,' Creighton said. 'I believe that if there's a delta and an additional need for what a private school would cost for tuition, I believe that need will be served, and we've got impressive organizations that are ready to provide that kind of assistance.' The ESA program is expected to roll out for the 2026-27 school year. Lawmakers will return to the Capitol for the next session in 2027. Creighton indicated that the legislature will revisit ESAs at that time to make sure the program is working as intended. 'What we've seen from data across the nation is for a new school choice plan like Texas will have, we need to build an appropriate runway with the right kind of supports and the framework to truly help the families with a successful launch,' Creighton said. 'So our opportunities within Senate Bill 2 for our families across the state, that will start in '26 and '27 to make sure that there's appropriate time for the Comptroller to build this program. So we'll be back in session in January of '27 to make any needed adjustments or calibrations, as we always do with any bill that we pass.' Getting an ESA bill through the legislature is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of full-court press from Abbott. He first declared the proposal an emergency item in the 2023 legislative session, but couldn't get it through the Texas House of Representatives. Later that year, he called four special sessions — two of them with the specific intent to create ESA legislation — but could never get enough support. He then funded the campaign for 15 challengers to Texas House Republicans who voted against ESA legislation, successfully ousting 11 incumbents. For Creighton, the push for legislation like SB 2 has been in the works for more than a decade. With the finish line in sight, he reflected on what he hopes the legacy of this legislation will be. 'We know who this bill is going to be helping, and we're so happy to be at this point in time to see the passage of the legislation, and the bill soon will be headed to the governor's desk and these families that are going to get help from this expanded option in education, just seeing their faces and understanding the potential and future for these kids is all I'll ever need as a legislator when I look back on my career,' Creighton said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
