AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Just days after Governor Greg Abbott laid out his priorities for lawmakers in his State of the State address, Senate lawmakers pushed through one of his top priorities.
Abbott earmarks session priorities, calls on Texas Lege to be ‘guardians of freedom’
Texas Senators voted Wednesday evening to approve Senate Bill 2, the piece of legislation carrying an education savings accounts (ESA) program. The final vote was 19 for to 12 against, with all 11 Senate Democrats voting against the bill. Republican Sen. Robert Nichols also voted no.
Before the vote, State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, the author of the bill, blasted opponents of the legislation. His impassioned speech on the Senate floor came after an hour of speeches by Senate Democrats, many raising concerns about the effect the bill could have on public schools.
“This bill does not jeopardize public schools. In fact, the data shows that public schools have done better in other states that have expanded school choice,” Creighton said.
Creighton argued that students are trapped in inadequate public education environments because of their zip code, and cited a recent poll that shows 67% of Texans support education savings accounts. He also noted that the bill’s funding does not come from public school funding—a key point of contention in the debate—but from budget surplus.
Creighton outlined the bill’s potential impact on 100,000 students across the state. He highlighted that 80% of positions in the program are reserved for income-vulnerable students and students with disabilities, while the remaining 20% are allocated by lottery to all other students. Budget proposals from both the Senate and House call for allocating $1 billion to education savings accounts.
The ESA program would provide $10,000 a year to a student who attends an accredited private school in Texas. It would also provide $11,500 for students with disabilities and $2,000 for students who are homeschooled.
Although a momentous step for the legislation, it is not the first time we have seen this. Prior attempts to pass an ESA program came up short in the House of Representatives.
Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, questioned Creighton on the Senate floor about whether school choice will effectively prioritize students in disadvantaged schools or zip codes. He argued that a majority of private school students are white, and that the state must make sure that this program does not use state money to fund segregated schools.
Creighton referenced national data from other school choice programs that show similar programs raised the percentage of minority students in private schools. Nathan Cunneen, the Texas State Director of the American Federation for Children, an organization that advocates for school choice, shared the national data with Nexstar.
| RACE | White | Black | Hispanic | Asian | Other |
| SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM | 50.5% | 20% | 22% | 1.6% | 5.6% |
| PRIVATE SCHOOL SELF-PAY | 65.5% | 9.4% | 11.8% | 6.6% | 6.6% |
The table above shows the data shared by American Federation for Children. Cunneen said the data comes from eight racial integration studies performed in Ohio, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Washington D.C., and Ohio. The second-row percentages show the demographic of students in private schools in the studied areas that are taking advantage of a school choice program. The third row shows the percentage of students in these areas who pay for their private school tuition without any type of voucher or ESA.
Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio questioned how the legislation defines low income families. Eighty percent of the funding from the program is set aside for students with disabilities or from low income families. He noted that the bill defines low income as 500% of the federal poverty level.
“In the state of Texas, that would be over $160,000 for a family of four. Is there any other program in the state where we define low income as 500%?” Menéndez asked. He pointed out that the threshold for free school lunch funding is 130% of the federal poverty level.
Menéndez filed an amendment to create a tiered system that he said would prioritize economically disadvantaged students. Under his amendment, 50% of the available funding would be reserved for students at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, 30% for students between 185% and 500% of the level, 20% for students with disabilities, and 10% for any other applicant. The amendment failed.
“If you asked a family who’s total income was $50,000 if their life would drastically change with a $160,000 a year, they’d say yes,” said Danielle Bryant, a former teacher who opposes the ESA program. “That is a life-changing amount of money difference. So, we’re just talking about people who are having different lived experiences — different families who have different needs.”
Bryant thinks the state should be focusing on funding public schools in the most robust way possible instead of pulling money to more privatization. She not only is worried about equity of the program when it comes income, but also with access to resources. She points out that some Texas counties don’t even have a private school.
Creighton argues the threshold was set at 500% above the FPL because there are still middle class families that are also struggling to make ends meet and he did not want to cut them out of the priority.
“It would be a teacher and a firefighter with three or four kids, and certainly if you would interview them they would say that they’re doing the best they can to make ends meet, and make life make sense, and they certainly need educational opportunities for their kids,” Creighton explained.
The other 20% of the bill would be available for any family, no matter their income, and decided based on a lottery system.
The Texas House of Representatives has a history of killing legislation like SB 2.
Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, filed an ESA bill in 2023 that created a tiered structure for priority. The priority is broken down below:
| Tier 1 | Students with disabilities with income at or below 400% of Federal Poverty Line (FPL) |
| Tier 2 | General education students with income below 185% of FPL |
| Tier 3 | General education students with income between 185% and 400% FPL |
| Tier 4 | General education students with income above 400% FPL |
It’s possible the House could file a similar bill this session. Creighton said he is open to considering certain income categorizations if that bill is presented and passed through the House.
“We’ll work out the details once we see them,” Creighton said.
The push for education savings accounts was one of three education-focused proposals on Abbott’s list of emergency items. He made teacher pay raises one of his emergency items.
“We must fund and train the best teachers,” said Abbott during his address. “That starts with giving our teachers a pay raise this session. To increase teachers’ average salary to an all-time high.”
The governor did not mention how large of a pay raise he wanted to see or how it was going to be paid.
Career training opportunities are another of Abbott’s emergency items. He said that technical jobs, like welders, plumbers and electricians, were some of the most prosperous and in-demand career opportunities. Abbott said high schools need to offer more career training programs to help students graduating high school enter higher-paying fields at a younger age.
The first emergency item the governor announced in his address was property tax relief. Abbott referenced the legislature’s 2023 property tax relief cuts in his speech, while outlining plans for $10 billion in new relief this session. However, the governor added stipulations must be made to prevent municipalities from “loopholes” to raise taxes.
“No taxing entity should be able to raise your property taxes without two-thirds approval by voters,” he said. “No approval, no new taxes.”
Investments in water projects and infrastructure also made the governor’s list of emergency items. As the state continues to grow, Abbott acknowledged some water supplies are drying up, impacting local communities, agriculture producers and other industries.
During the 2023 session, lawmakers approved a $1 billion investment in water projects. This time, Abbott said state leaders will “Texas-size that investment” including a focus on new water supplies and infrastructure repairs to save billions of gallons annually.
Bail reform was also named one of Gov. Abbott’s emergency items for the 2025 legislative session.
“Activist judges simply have too much discretion to let repeat offenders out on bail only to see them harm more Texans,” Abbott said in his address.
Abbott claims that these judges have contributed to repeat offenders returning to the streets by frequently setting their bail at low amounts. By declaring this an emergency item, he aims to enforce tougher standards for imposing bail and violating bond, including prohibiting criminals charged with a violent offense from being released on a personal recognizance bond.
Governor Abbott also made protecting against cyber attacks an emergency item. He called for creating the Texas Cyber Command to achieve that goal.
“We must deploy cutting edge capabilities to better secure our state,” Abbott said during his address.
Will Congress repay Texas’ border efforts?
In his State of the State address, Abbott reemphasized that he would work with the Trump administration on efforts to stop illegal immigration. He is also ramping up efforts to get the federal government to cover some of the cost incurred by Texas along the border.
Abbott visited the White House to witness President Trump sign an order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports. Afterwards, the Governor said he met with the President to discuss reimbursing the state $11 billion for efforts under Operation Lone Star.
“He understands that in part, this is in a way a real estate transaction, because Texas can transfer to the United States of America value of well over $5 or $6 billion of real assets on the ground,” Abbott told reporters outside the White House.
He listed border wall built by the state, as well as bases built near the border and 4,000 prison cells as “tangible assets” in Texas for the federal government.
“There are ways in which there’s valuable real estate that can be transferred ownership from the state of Texas to the United States of America,” Abbott said.
The Governor told reporters he plans to return to Washington next week to discuss reimbursement with members of Congress. Texas Republicans including Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Rep. Chip Roy have voiced their support for Abbott’s proposal.
“Texas took a beating with $11 billion and we need to have that consideration and reconciliation and and, or any disaster package. You know, you’re gonna talk about California. We’re going, ‘Well, how about us?'” Rep. Roy told reporters on Capitol Hill.
“That’s money that cam out of all of our other resources in Texas,” Roy added.
Congressman Roy said the funding could come as part of ongoing negotiations about funding for border security efforts.
“We’re talking about, you know, $175, $200 billion of additional border money between the two sides in the House and the Senate. So we think the 11 billion for Texas ought to be part of that,” Roy said.
School district policy prevents parents from seeing video of alleged crimes against kids
On Sept. 11, Diana Briggs’ son was at home and she was at his elementary school looking for a video. The night before, her 6-year-old told her an upsetting story.
He said his first-grade teacher trapped him behind a classroom door at Margaret T. Reilly Elementary School and then pushed on it with his weight. Briggs said it lasted long enough that her son looked around the hallway for someone who might have seen them. She shared what her son told her with his school, and then the police.
“He looked really sad,” Briggs said. “I said, ‘Hey, you’re not going to school tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about it. I’m going to go in and see what happened.'”
Briggs learned a school security camera recorded what took place, and at the urging of her principal, Briggs said she made a public information request to view the hallway footage. She did not know then it was just the beginning of a frustrating, months-long battle to better understand what happened to her child.
In the days after her request, Briggs said a district police officer told her the video would be ready once they redacted other children’s faces. The district’s open records division told her the video should be ready in a couple of days. She said administrators at the school repeatedly asked her if she had seen the video yet.
“So, I keep thinking, ‘OK, I am going to see it any day now,'” Briggs said.
But nearly a week later, Briggs got an email from the district, saying it was denying her request. In the message, the Executive Director of School Leadership told Briggs the district was “bound” by the law because of the ongoing investigation into her son’s teacher.
Records show Austin ISD’s legal counsel cited an exception to the state’s Public Information Act, giving governmental bodies the choice to withhold video and other evidence from the public if they believe it could interfere with an active investigation. The statute is often used when third parties, like journalists, request police records.
“How am I going to interfere with this investigation?” Briggs asked. “Do you understand it is part of the process of getting our son help? To be able to tell a mental health provider ‘this is exactly what happened’ because we saw it with our eyes.”
The district told Briggs, in an email, it was following an internal Austin ISD Police Department policy, which prevents them from releasing video during open investigations.
“The parents should be an exception to that. It makes no sense why we shouldn’t be. Our child was involved,” Briggs said.
KXAN reached out to more than 50 school districts in Central Texas about policies for parents viewing videos of suspected abuse against their students. Most school districts did not respond to our questions about their policies for inspecting videos related to a criminal investigation.
However, several school districts across Central Texas described similar policies of withholding videos and other records from parents at law enforcement’s request. Hays Independent School District officials said parents can view video of their own child, but if there is a criminal investigation the district would defer to the investigating agency and whether it wants the video to be released.
Officials with Flatonia ISD, Schulenberg ISD, Hutto ISD, Eanes ISD, Thorndale ISD and Burnet ISD all explained during a criminal investigation, parents’ access to video footage of their children might be delayed depending on law enforcement guidance or directives.
Education attorney Martin Cirkiel says parents are an exception under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act and the Texas Public Information Act, which gives parents a “special right of access.”
“If I want information about you, I may not get it, but if I want information about myself or my kid, I’m supposed to get it under the Open Records Act anyway,” Cirkiel said. “Information where, once again, this is video of my child being abused.”
Austin ISD declined multiple interview requests from KXAN. After our questions, district officials said they reviewed the policy but do not plan to change it, at this time, because they believe the protocol preserves the integrity of investigations.
In a statement to KXAN, district officials said, “In the past, we have had families publicly release videos that are a part of an open investigation. When cases are judged in the court of public opinion, that can jeopardize how the case ultimately gets prosecuted.”
“I was never trying to take the video home. I wanted to go and view it there,” said Briggs. “They told us ‘Once the investigation is over, you will be able to view the video.’ Once it’s no longer an active investigation,” Briggs said.
In October, the Briggs family thought that time had finally come. The teacher at the center of the case, who resigned from the district later that month, was arrested on a charge of unlawful restraint of Briggs’ son.
Detectives explained in the arrest affidavit, on video the teacher is seen “quickly and forcefully opening the door towards the wall…while the student victim is standing in between the door and the wall.”
The teacher, and his attorney, have not responded to a request for comment from KXAN.
“It’s not an active investigation anymore — allow me and my husband to come and view the video,” Briggs said, recalling how they again asked the district for access.
But once again, records show, the district denied their request. This time, because the case is pending prosecution. In response to the request, the district said it believed the video was still confidential under the same exception.
Diana Briggs reads over public information requests to Austin ISD. (KXAN Photo/Chris Nelson)
“We are unsure of how long the case will be prosecuted for, but after the case is closed in court, you can make another request,” the district’s Open Records Division responded.
Records show that since Briggs sent her original request to view the video, the district’s legal counsel sent at least three letters to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) asking whether the district was right to withhold the video.
In response to the district’s initial letter, state attorneys said they would not issue an opinion because the district had not provided all the relevant information.
On Dec. 5, an employee with the OAG left a voicemail for Briggs explaining the agency’s decision to not rule on the matter, including a suggestion that she “follow up with the district and see whether they will release the information.” The OAG did not respond to our questions, and the case is still under review by the state’s attorneys.
More than one Texas lawmaker has filed legislation this session that could change how districts respond to parents seeking records on their children.
Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, filed House Bill 728 which would require school districts to respond faster once parents ask to view video of their student.
Sen. Bob Hall, R-Rockwall, also introduced legislation that would ensure school districts cannot withhold written or electronic student records from parents, including counseling and psychological records.
Diana Briggs standing outside Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center after a hearing in her son’s case. (KXAN Photo/Kelly Wiley)
Nearly five months after Briggs’ report, the criminal prosecution of the teacher’s case is underway and the district is still not allowing her to watch the video at the center of the case.
“Multiple people have said ‘Have you seen the video yet? Well, once you see it, you are going to have a lot of feelings’…OK, show it to me then,” Briggs said. “It should be something that they just want to provide to us to help us — to help this student.”
Lawmakers consider action as TxDOT defends TxTag-HCTRA transition
When Mike Stratton racked up more than $1,000 in toll bills and late fees, he refused to pay.
“I don’t owe it,” said Stratton from his home in Briggs, Texas. “I’m a disabled veteran. I earned that right and I’m not going to pay something that I’m not supposed to be paying.”
As a disabled Vietnam veteran, Stratton is able to drive some toll roads for free. But a mix up with another toll agency, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, labeled him a “habitual violator” and he was turned over to collections. Then, he discovered another problem: TxTag said his account — like 1.4 million others — wouldn’t be transferred to the Harris County Toll Road Authority because it wasn’t in good standing.
CTRMA apologized and cleared Stratton’s balance days after KXAN reached out. Now, he has to sign up for a new EZ TAG account.
After a KXAN investigation revealed 60% of TxTag users were not transferred to HCTRA, and millions of dollars still owed to many drivers, some state lawmakers are taking notice as the head of TxDOT defended how his agency handled the process.
“Do you worry there are more people like Mike Stratton out there?” KXAN investigative reporter Matt Grant asked TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams at Thursday’s Texas Transportation Commission meeting.
“Well, with all customers, and with the gentleman that you’ve talked about,” Williams said, “we certainly want to make sure that we accommodate what the issues are with their particular account.”
“I’ll look into the particular issue that you raised today and understand what may have occurred on that particular account,” he added. “And we’ll be sure to reach out to that gentleman to resolve it.”
Williams defended the overall transition, including the decision not to transfer every TxTag account to HCTRA — including ones that owed money or were inactive.
“Many of those are just dormant accounts that haven’t been used in months, if not years,” he said.
“We don’t want to transition that customer and those issues over to HCTRA and have them have to try to sort through and resolve it,” he added. “We feel that that’s best for us and to serve those customers, to try to reach out, and resolve those issues with them.”
TxDOT has said the shift, which took effect in November, will streamline billing, ease the customer experience and reduce overall costs.
“If this is such a benefit, why not do it sooner?” asked Grant.
“It is something that we have to be very deliberate about,” Williams said. “When we’re talking about transitioning millions of different accounts, you can image that that’s not something that you just want to, you know, rush through.”
Customers that weren’t transferred to HCTRA can call TxTag customer service, or visit a service center, to settle or dispute any money owed. Ultimately, they will need to open a new EZ TAG account on their own with HCTRA, or from another tolling entity.
At his Capitol office, State Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, said the TxTag-HCTRA transition is “absolutely” something he wants to keep an eye on.
“Because it’s causing an inconvenience for people,” Hall said.
Hall wants to standardize bill procedures and fees across all toll authorities. Along with State Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, he authored Senate Bill 137.
The legislation would provide standards and caps on toll fees and civil penalties. Tolling entities would not be allowed to charge a person more than “$48 in administrative fees in a 12-month period,” according to the bill. The administrative fees could also not exceed the cost of collecting the toll — measures Hall said are “more than reasonable.”
A civil penalty for failing to pay two or more invoices by their due date would be capped at $25, and only one such penalty could be issued per six-month period, the bill states.
Stratton’s past-due toll bills show he was charged $29 in late fees on every statement.
“A lot of the problems people have in paying their bills come from the toll companies,” Hall said . “Because of their mis-mailing of the bills. So, we’re going to fix that.”
Right now, the state can block habitual toll violators’ vehicle registration — which happened to Stratton — and, eventually, suspended their license. That’s something Hall wants to see stopped.
“To have a criminal penalty for being late in paying a toll road,” he said, “I think is absurd.”
“You think blocking them from re-registering their vehicles goes too far?” asked Grant.
“Oh yeah, yes,” said Hall. “That’s really going way too far.”
While researching Stratton’s case, KXAN learned different tolling entities have separate rules and applications for disabled veterans to get their tolls waived. These separate rules can create a patchwork of toll exceptions for disabled veterans driving across the state.
A disabled veteran like Stratton could fill out an application and get approved for free tolls on certain roads in one section of the state, but those fees wouldn’t be waived on other toll roads.
For example, TxDOT told KXAN it does not require customers to register an account or tag to participate in its veteran discount program. TxDOT’s program allows qualified veterans to drive on numerous toll segments free of charge, and the list of roads is here.
At CTRMA, qualified veterans can apply for the discount program here. If qualified, they can drive on almost all of the Central Texas system’s toll roads, but not the MoPac Express Lane, which has a variable toll rate based on demand.
Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority also has its own registration, and, notably, its website has the following disclaimer:
“Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) and other toll roads in Texas also offer discounts for qualifying license plates, however, each toll road is unique in their procedures for registration. Please be advised that not all Toll Roads in Texas participate in the Veteran Discount Program.”
Hall wants to see this process, which he called “particularly burdensome,” streamlined under TxDOT.
“That’s when government needs to step in and say no we need to protect our veterans,” Hall said.
“So, something you’d be willing to look into?” Grant asked.
“We will be looking into that,” Hall said.
At least two other lawmakers on the Senate Transportation Committee are looking into tolling problems stemming from our coverage, including Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, whose office said they “value the work KXAN is doing in this space.”
“Senator Johnson greatly appreciates your investigative reporting,” said his spokesperson and district director Brenda Allen. “These are significant concerns, and the Senator is committed to ensuring he is fully informed on the complexities of this issue before engaging in any public discussion.”
KXAN has been reporting on TxTag issues for years, and we conducted an extensive investigation of billing issues in 2023, which you can read here. Leading up to that report, KXAN received hundreds of viewer emails complaining about a variety of TxTag billing miscues.
TxDOT, after years of trying to straighten those problems out, opted last year to move all billing, customer service and toll processing under HCTRA. KXAN discovered that shift resulted in 1.4 million TxTag accounts not being transferred because they were not in good standing – either inactive over a year or had a negative balance. Meanwhile, approximately 945,000 were migrated to HCTRA.
TxTag customers who weren’t transferred over can sign up for an EZ TAG or other toll transponder. Toll bills for TxDOT roads in Central Texas will be sent by HCTRA.
As for Stratton, he hopes his story can help drive change and lead to toll improvements for other drivers.
“I’m glad that all this did stir that up,” he said. “Now, maybe we can get something done.”
