The Texas House on Wednesday is poised to debate a contentious bill that would create a voucher program where public funds could be used towards private schools.
Senate Bill 2, which was already passed by the Texas Senate in February, would create Education Savings Accounts, or ESAs, allowing parents to use over $10,000 of public funds per student towards private school tuition and other approved educational expenses. The proposal bill was fast-tracked through the Senate just days after Gov. Greg Abbott made what he calls “school choice” an emergency item for the current legislative session.
Earlier this month, the Texas House Education Committee amended SB 2, essentially combining the proposed bill with the chamber’s own ESA legislation.
Abbott — along with other state Republican leaders like Lt. Gov. Dan Partick — has championed the proposed voucher program for years. Supporters argue that the measure empowers parents to choose the best educational setting for their children, especially those in underperforming schools. Opponents argue the plan would divert state funding away from public schools and that the legislation doesn’t have enough accountability mechanisms built in to track student outcomes.
The House has historically been a challenging arena for voucher-related legislation. Previous versions of the proposed bill stalled during the regular 88th legislative session and multiple special sessions in 2023 due to resistance from Texas Democrats and some rural Republicans, prompting Abbott to back pro-voucher candidates in the last year’s election.
Last week, lawmakers allocated $1 billion to establish the program — if SB 2 passes. Were the bill to clear the Texas House, the legislation would then be heading to a conference committee where both chambers will attempt to reconcile any differences.
The Texas House will also take up House Bill 2 on Wednesday. That school finance bill would increase the state’s per-student funding from $220 to $395. That would bring what’s called the basic allotment — which hasn’t been increased since 2019 — to $6,555. It would also raise teacher pay, prioritizing pay increases for educators who have been teaching for 5 or more years, among many other changes.
