The Texas Senate adjourned the first day of the third special session on Monday with two new proposals outlining how Governor Greg Abbott’s call for a private school voucher program plan could be enacted.
According to Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), who authored Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 2, the legislation goes “hand-in-hand.” However, it does not tie funding for public education and families’ ability to subsidize private school tuition or related expenses together.
Instead, Senate Bill 1, the “voucher bill,” allocates $8,000 to Texas families that move their children from a public or charter school to a private institution to help them cover tuition and other related costs.
The Senate’s school finance bill, Senate Bill 2, distributes $5.2 billion to increase the state’s basic allotment – the amount of money that the state awards a school district – by $75 per student, provides teacher retention payment, raises teacher salaries and assist schools to pay for their rising expenses.
The “education savings accounts” proposed in Senate Bill 1 would be authorized and administered by the Texas Comptroller’s Office, to ensure that participants aren’t misappropriating funds.
Creighton said the comptroller’s office will also be tasked with establishing an organization that handles the applications of families, schools and education vendors wanting to participate in the voucher program.
House and Senate Democrats and rural Republicans who historically oppose private school vouchers program have long argued that such a plan takes taxpayer dollars away from already underfunded public school districts.
In addressing these concerns, Creighton pointed out that the plan proposed in Senate Bill 1 would use $500 million from the state’s general revenue fund for the next two years – not the Foundation School Program or the primary funding source for most Texas public schools.
Although it seemed like the Senate was laying the groundwork for an agreement by drafting a measure that included public school funding – critics of vouchers in both legislative chambers did not appear to shift their opposition.
Senate Democrats opposed Creighton’s Senate Bill 2, because of the separate proposed voucher program in Senate Bill 1. The group filed Senate Bill 40, a public school funding measure, which left out any mention of education savings accounts, and instead increases the per-student funding to more than $1,200 per student to index it to inflation.
Senator Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) said Senate Bill 2 has a $3,000 pay raise for teachers not through the basic allotment, while the Senate Democrats’ bill would add additional funds to the basic allotment which would result in at least a $4,000 pay raise to teachers.
At the same time, Senate Bill 40 aims to also finance more of the expansive issues that public school districts need funding for, including special education funding, safety and mental health programs, paid parental leave, additional pre-K funding and more– not just teacher pay raises.
“We’ve said that they’re (vouchers) not a solution. They haven’t been anywhere. I think it’s a little bit of a cruel, false promise,” Johnson said. “The narrative falsely causes people to believe that this is going to solve all their problems when really, the problems that we face are much more complex and difficult than merely passing out tuition waivers to private school parents.”
Despite some senators being actively against voucher-related legislation in past sessions, these bills have died primarily in the House because of the strong opposition from many Democrat and rural Republican representatives.
Representative James Talarico (D-Austin) said during a House Democratic Caucus press conference on Monday that such proposed plans place money in the hands of the families that likely already have the means to afford private schooling for their children.
“The voucher doesn’t even cover the full cost of tuition at most private schools, which is why in Arizona, 85 percent of their voucher program went to subsidize wealthy kids who are already in private schools, to begin with,” Talarico said. “That’s not even acknowledging that 151 counties in Texas don’t even have a private school.”
Talarico and fellow Representative Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) said they are also wary of private school vouchers as these institutions are not held to similar accountability standards as public schools because there is no requirement for private school students to take any state-administered academic achievement exam.
The members of the House Democratic Caucus echoed their unwillingness to compromise on any legislation that included a private school voucher plan.
“We’re united,” Representative Trey Martinez Fisher (D-San Antonio) said. “No vouchers, no deal.”
“We’re united.No vouchers, no deal.” — Representative Trey Martinez Fisher (D-San Antonio)
If the House strikes down proposed voucher legislation like Senate Bill 1, a repeat of what occurred during the regular legislative session will likely happen.
Creighton proposed similar legislation during the regular session, to create an education savings account program and give teachers pay bonuses – but both were unable to gain traction in the House due to disagreements over vouchers and how to provide teachers these raises.
He tried again to get education savings accounts passed by tacking it onto House Bill 100, a school finance package. But, the House was ready to give up the proposed public school funding to block vouchers from passing, and they did.
However, House Speaker Dade Phelan seems to be working to prevent a blockade from occurring again. As he addressed the media after the House adjourned on Monday, Phelan said that the legislative body was working to agree with those who oppose vouchers as it is likely that the Legislature will have to pass one measure to get the other accomplished.
Although Democrats have said they would not be willing to support legislation that included a voucher program, according to Phelan, the House is likely to pass a bill that proposes such a plan this session as long as it comes with a boost in funding for public schools and pay raises for teachers.
Other House Democrats are more inclined to compromise, such as Representative Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio), who said vouchers need to pass to move along to other legislative matters.
During the regular session, the governor said he would veto any legislation limiting who could participate in the voucher program. As Abbott requested, if passed into law, the proposed voucher program outlined in Senate Bill 1 would allow almost any public school student enrolled last year to apply for the program and any ready to enroll in Pre-K or kindergarten.
However, it does set aside a certain percentage of spots for student populations if insufficient funds are available to provide money to all those applying.
Abbott declared vouchers or education savings accounts as one of his top priorities for this special session, alongside immigration-related legislation and COVID-19 vaccine mandates for private employers.
Much to public education advocates’ dismay, the governor left out funding for public schools for teacher or employee pay raises and special education programs.
This complicates how proposed public school funding legislation could pass, as Abbott’s only request that touched on allocating taxpayer dollars for education was to create a private school voucher program.
Under the Texas Constitution, lawmakers can only pass bills related to items on the agenda that the governor outlines at the start of the session unless the governor modifies the call to include additional agenda items, which can happen at any point in the session.
Later on Monday, Senate Bill 1 was referred to the Senate Education Committee and Senate Bill 2 was voted unanimously out of the Senate Finance Committee to be taken up in the full Senate.
Ahead of gaveling in their respective chambers, Patrick and Phelan were at odds, starting the day with tension.
Patrick called for Phelan to resign, while Phelan slammed Patrick for taking money from Defend Texas Liberty PAC, a political action committee known to donate to conservative politicians.
Patrick called for Phelan to resign, while Phelan slammed Patrick for taking money from Defend Texas Liberty PAC, a political action committee known to donate to conservative politicians. This back and forth was spurred by a Texas Tribune report that the organization’s president, Jonathan Stickland, met with Nick Fuentes last week, who is known white supremacist who promotes antisemitism.
Phelan has long battled the Defend Texas Liberty PAC and requested that every politician who has received donations – including Patrick – redirect them to their charity of choice.
This furthered an already strained relationship between the leader of the House and Senate, who have been at odds since the regular session when their feud ignited over property tax relief and heightened during impeachment proceedings.
Patrick condemned Fuentes and also took a jab at Phelan for connecting the meeting between Fuentes and Strickland with the ongoing international conflict in Israel.
Defend Texas Liberty PAC also spoke out against Phelan’s accusations, claiming that they do not affiliate themselves with Fuentes, and did not address why the meeting occurred.
Phelan addressed Capitol reporters on Monday and said his ongoing fight with the lieutenant governor would not prevent the House from passing agenda items on Abbott’s special session.
The House and Senate adjourned until Tuesday at 9 a.m. and Thursday at 10 a.m. respectively. The House did not send any bills to committees on Monday.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
