Education issues are top of mind for Texas lawmakers, who are meeting in Austin right now. And the Texas House has just filed two related bills: House Bill 2 would invest millions into public education. And House Bill 3 would create a school voucher-like program. As The Texas Newsroom's Blaise Gainey reports, House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced the filings at an event this morning.
When the House released its budget proposal last month, it was obvious the chamber wanted to increase funding for public education and bring what's called "school choice" to the state. With these bill filings, it's now clearer how they want to do it this session. Speaker Burrows calls it the Texas Two Step.
Burrows: “Two bills, two steps forward, to a better education. We can and we will do both.”
HB 2 calls for adjusting school funding formulas in a way Burrows believes will benefit school districts. And HB 3 outlines the House's plan to create a program that would allow for state funds to help parents pay private school tuition. It's a different plan than what the Texas Senate's already approved. While that chamber wants to set aside 10-thousand dollars per student in the program, the House proposal would be tied to how much funding public schools get per pupil. Given the differences - and that passing school choice legislation is a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott this year - we could see a lot of wrangling between the state House and Senate in the months to come. In Austin, I'm Blaise Gainey
