A school voucher bill is moving forward on the Texas House floor as lawmakers advanced the Senate's bill out of committee in a party-line vote.
The passage of the bill did not go without controversy as the committee did not livestream the vote. This is something that has been the standard procedure for the past few years. What is known is that the committee voted to advance Senate Bill 2 on what is known as a committee substitute.
Texas School Voucher Bill
What this means is that lawmakers passed the bill, but it still has some language from the House version of the bill. While there are mainly cosmetic differences between the two, the bill would ultimately allow students to attend private school using public school funds.
The state is planning to set aside a $1 billion fund for the effort to support students who wish to make use of it. Republicans who support the measure argue that it provides a path for parents to have more choices about their children's education, according to Fox4News.
On the other hand, Democratic lawmakers are pushing back against the bill, arguing that parents already have a choice. They also said that they should have a greater focus on making public schools better instead.
Democrats held a news conference before the committee vote on the proposed measure and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he is confident vouchers will pass. This is something that did not happen in the last session.
Senate Bill 2 will be eligible for all K-12 students and will provide funding of $10,000 for each one, with additional funds for special needs. Furthermore, 80% of the funds will be allocated to students from public schools, which include low-income and special needs, while the remaining 20% will be distributed via lottery, KHOU reported.
Funding for Students
On the other hand, another measure, House Bill 3, is also open to all K-12 students but has a focus on low-income and special needs students. It will have 85% of the average public school funding, which is roughly $10,000. It will be available to both public and private school students with tiered priorities.
Brandon Rottinghau, a political expert, believes the two bills will likely be merged moving forward as their differences will be worked out in committee. The changes to House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2 will now head to the full House for further consideration.
The proposed measures come as critics raised concerns that lawmakers are simply downplaying the amount of money Texas could spend on school vouchers during the initial rollout. A budget analysis estimated that costs could go as high as $5 billion by 2030, as per KfoxTV.
