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Returning from their failed attempt to enact a school voucher program in 2023, Republican lawmakers in Texas continued their efforts to transform education options in the state.
AUSTIN, Texas (CN) — The Texas Senate Committee on Education K-16 gave initial approval on Tuesday to Senate Bill 2, a sweeping piece of legislation that would be the largest school voucher program in the country.
The bill authored by Senator Brandon Creighton — a Republican from Conroe and the committee’s chairman — would create an education savings account for eligible children from pre-kindergarten through undergraduate college and trade schools. Families who would like to participate in the program would have to apply through the comptroller’s office.
“Senate Bill 2 will serve more students this time around, with more funding than ever, allowing nearly 100,000 students to receive an education savings account that would be larger than any other state school choice program in the first year of operation,” said Creighton.
Creighton told his colleagues that his legislation has evolved from 2023 when he first drafted and the senate passed four similar bills that ultimately died in the Texas House.
Passing a school voucher bill has been a top priority of Creighton as well as Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. They have long argued that such legislation would give Texas parents more options to provide their children with a high-quality education that matches their values.
If approved, families could receive $10,000 a year per student to pay for tuition at private schools certified by the comptroller, educational supplies, textbooks, transportation, tutoring and even therapy. Children with disabilities would get an additional $1,500. While the bill places much focus on those children looking to transfer from public school to private school, it would also provide $2,000 a year for those families looking to homeschool.
Compared to Republicans’ efforts in 2023 to enact a school voucher bill, Creighton’s bill increased the amount to be deposited in education savings accounts. The senator also touted other additions that he said made this a better bill.
“Senate Bill 2 builds upon the last version of this legislation from the 88th legislature and special sessions that many members on this dias supported,” Creighton said. “As a result, the key provisions that we’ve worked on, like our anti-fraud provision safeguards, mandatory criminal history checks for any vendors, rigorous reporting requirements and robust data protections have been retained or expanded.”
Despite all these changes, school voucher legislation remains a divisive topic among Republicans and Democrats in the statehouse. Democrats have long criticized voucher programs as harmful to public schools. It was that very concern that led many rural Republicans in the Texas House to play an instrumental role in killing the 2023 version of the bill.
Senator Royce West of Dallas, one of the only two Democrats on the 11-member committee, pushed Creighton on the aspects of his bill.
West asked whether private schools that accept state funds will be allowed to reject students with disabilities. Creighton answered that private schools cannot be forced to take on students that they cannot accommodate. However, the funds eligible for those disabled students could also be used to pay for tuition at a private school that specializes in providing for disabled students.
The committee was also confronted with sizable public testimony.
Nicole Hutchison, a parent from Joshua, Texas, waited hours to voice her opposition to SB 2. She was one of several homeschooling parents who saw the bill as a threat to their independence. Hutchinson told Courthouse News in an interview that despite the money she could receive under the proposal, she prefers “freedom over funds.”
“While SB2 currently limits regulatory oversight, it creates a very scary precedent for future interference,” Hutchinson told the committee. “As the state’s involvement expands, I worry about new regulations or restrictions placed on families who refuse government funding and prioritize their independence.”
Despite concerns, the writing is on the wall for SB 2 — having cleared its first hurdle in the committee with a 9-2 vote, it is expected to receive full approval from the Republican-dominated Senate. Moreover, the Texas House is expected to have the numbers required to support legislation like SB 2.
“The die has been cast, the bill will be passed,” West said in the meeting.
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