AUSTIN (KXAN) – Tuesday night, a Texas Senate committee approved a plan to help parents pay for private school for their children. Senate Bill 2 would create education savings accounts, a voucher-like program.
The vote in the Senate Education Committee was 9-2. All Republicans on the committee voted to approve SB 2, and Democrats Royce West and José Menéndez voted against the bill. The committee vote sets the stage for the full senate to approve the bill as soon as next week, if Gov. Greg Abbott declares education savings accounts, or ESAs to be an emergency item.
Under the Texas Constitution, the House and Senate cannot pass legislation during the first 60 days of a regular session, except for bills related to the governor’s emergency items. Gov. Abbott will announce his list of emergency items on Feb. 2, during his State of the State Address.
SB 2 carves out $10,000 per student per year to help pay for private school. Students with a disability could receive $11,500. Lawmakers plan to put $1 billion in the budget to start the program.
Projections released Tuesday by the Legislative Budget Board estimate the cost of the program could grow to $3.75 billion by 2030. Similar universal voucher-like programs in Florida and Arizona also saw cost increases.
The lead author of SB 2, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said the LBB estimates are flawed.
“That is fun to see how they would extrapolate the numbers,” Creighton said, adding that Texas lawmakers would be able to control costs.
“But we as a body would have to approve the growth of the program as appropriators and on the Senate floor before those fairy tale projections beyond the $1 billion plan that we’re talking about now would be anything but a cartoon,” Creighton said of the projections.
During the hearing, Sen. Menéndez, D-San Antonio, raised concerns that the ESA program would do little to help students from lower-income families. He noted that the $10,000 available may not fully cover the cost of private school.
“If the parents can have this $10,000 but they can’t afford to make up the difference, then are they really eligible?” Menéndez asked. “It’s like, almost like a bridge that’s three-quarters of the way built. It’s not really good enough for them.”
Creighton said private groups could help cover some of the gaps through scholarships and grants. He also pointed to data showing that $10,000 would cover tuition for “a large majority of the private schools in Texas.”
Menéndez also raised concerns that the ESA plan could negatively affect public schools.
“My concern is that we’re setting aside a billion dollars for this new education savings voucher. But I haven’t seen the same level of investment in our public schools,” he said during the hearing. “I just think it concerns me that we’re creating a tilting of the playing field in terms of our public schools.”
“We put $39 billion new dollars into public education in the last 10 years,” Creighton responded. He also cited budget proposals that call for an additional $5 billion in new funding for public schools this session.
“By investing in our teachers and our parents, we give future generations the greatest chance at keeping this Texas economic engine alive,” Creighton said.
