Texas Senate bill sparks debate over school vouchers, public funds for private education
A bipartisan group of rural Republicans and Democrats killed the idea in the legislature two years ago. This year, Governor Abbott believes he has the votes.
One of the primary sponsors of a far-reaching overhaul to education in Texas filed Senate Bill 2. Sen. Brandon Creighton’s bill would create a school choice voucher program allowing families to use public school dollars on private and home schools.
It will be one of the most closely watched bills after a coalition of Democrats and mostly rural Republicans voted down a similar idea in the Texas House. The bill is expected to easily pass the Texas Senate, as one of the top priorities of the chamber’s leader, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
The version filed is seen as the starting point in negotiations with members of the legislature and Governor Greg Abbott. The governor campaigned against roughly a dozen fellow Republicans, knocking them out of the legislature in 2024 after they rejected the plan the year before.
As of now, both the House and Senate budget proposals have $1 billion set aside for the program. According to a bill analysis on SB 2 80 percent of the vouchers, or education savings accounts, will go to low-income households or students with disabilities currently enrolled in public schools. The other 20 percent will be a lottery with other applicants with no income limit.
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An education savings account would be worth $10,000 per student, or $11,500 if the child has a disability, according to the analysis document. The student must attend an accredited private school. If the student is homeschooled, the benefit is set at $2,000 per year.
Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposal before sending it to the full Texas Senate, where it is likely to pass. Under the proposal, roughly 100,000 students out of the 5.5 million public school students would have access to the program.
The program aims to help parents like Greta Alexander in Fort Worth. She’s sent her daughter Miracle to Temple Christian School. She began in fifth grade with the help of the non-profit ACE scholarships. She’s now in the eleventh grade.
Lone Star Politics
Covering politics throughout the state of Texas.
At $11,000 a year in tuition – per school leaders – Alexander could not afford the program by herself, without the aid of ACE. She tells NBC DFW, a school choice voucher would help with the financing. She argues that many low-income people cannot afford the same schooling.
“I know for a fact that the financial part of it is a hurdle because it takes a lot of financial sacrifice from the parents. Especially in the neighborhood that I live in, they cannot afford it,” said Alexander.
This is an important issue for Alexander. She says one of her older boys was introduced to drugs while attending a public school, something she partly blames for his death last year.
“Had I had an opportunity to send him somewhere else and let him see something else, other than what he saw at the school that we had to attend, he’d probably still be here,” said Alexander.
She’s now a “school choice” advocate, who plans to testify to state lawmakers later this week.
Bipartisan opposition
While the proposal has its supporters, there’s also wide-ranging opposition. A big fear for the program’s opponents is that the program will divert resources away from Texas public schools over time. Also, opponents point to similar programs in other states that allow wealthy families to use state resources to help them pay for schools they’re already enrolled in.
“Vouchers are a scam. They look great on the face of it but as you peel off the layers it’s going to be so bad for our state,” Rep. Salman Bhojani, D – Euless, told NBC 5 and the Dallas Morning News on Lone Star Politics.
Rep. Bhojani argues the state should put more money into public schools first – before beginning a new benefit program.
And last year, some Republican lawmakers fought back against Gov. Greg Abbott by arguing a new state benefit could attract illegal immigrants.
Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R – New Boston, cut a political ad saying “Last year, I stopped a bill that would have handed out school vouchers, your tax dollars, to illegal immigrants.”
“Border security is about more than just walls. It’s also about the incentive which encourages illegal crossings in the first place,” said Rep. VanDeaver.
