After seven hours of debate yesterday, the Texas Senate passed legislation creating a school voucher-like program for Texas. If passed, Senate Bill 2 would create Education Savings Accounts which allow for public funds to be used toward student’s private school tuition. This has been a key priority for Governor Greg Abbott since last session, in 2023, when the proposal failed. But the legislation Senators just passed last night has some key differences compared to what the chamber approved two years ago….like exactly who the program will prioritize and how much money it’ll start with. The Texas Newsrooms Blaise Gainey explains.
Last time around, in 2023, the Senate’s proposal set aside most ESAs for students who were in failing public schools. But during yesterday’s debate, Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, pointed out that this year’s version of the bill no longer does that. “In the past you’ve articulated that the priority should be going to kids that are in low performing schools and impoverished communities.” The way the bill is now written, 80 percent of ESA's will be reserved for families under a certain income threshold — about $160,000 a year for a family of four — a cap West criticized as being too high. Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican, is one of the bill’s authors. He told West — that change was made because of how Texas Democrats voted in 2023. “You voted against the bill that limited it to D and F schools, so I took that as a signal that that was not important to you.” The bill now heads to the Texas House.
