AUSTIN 性视界传媒 Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to veto the House school choice plan, saying he would call lawmakers back for special sessions if they don性视界传媒檛 expand the scope.
The governor性视界传媒檚 warning shot comes hours before the House education committee is set to take up the voucher-like bill that性视界传媒檚 struggled to get momentum in the Republican-led chamber. It would give families taxpayer money to send their children to private schools. But it only applies to students with special needs or who attend low-performing public schools, according to a summary of the proposal obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
Abbott, who性视界传媒檚 thrown his political weight behind the push for education savings accounts, said the proposal doesn性视界传媒檛 apply to enough Texas students.
性视界传媒淓mpowering parents to choose the best educational path for their child remains an essential priority this session,性视界传媒 the third-term Republican said in a written statement issued late in the evening. 性视界传媒淭his latest version does little to provide meaningful school choice, and legislators deserve to know that it would be vetoed if it reached my desk.性视界传媒
The legislative session ends on Memorial Day. A spokesperson for House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The GOP-led Senate has already passed legislation giving public school students an annual $8,000 education savings account to spend on private school tuition, tutoring or other educational materials.
But there性视界传媒檚 been little movement in the House, where rural Republicans and Democrats have historically united to kill voucher-like efforts over concerns they would divert money away from public schools.
The latest House plan is scaled back from one floated last week. The chamber voted to block the House Public Education Committee from convening a late-night meeting to take it up.
On Monday, the committee held a public hearing at 8 a.m. to consider the new proposal. Only invited testimony was allowed.
The new version applies only to about 703,000 students with special needs and an estimated 90,000 students who attend public campuses rated 性视界传媒淔性视界传媒 by the Texas Education Agency, according to a two-page summary of the proposal.
It性视界传媒檚 not clear how much funding each student would receive, but overall, the initiative would cost roughly $200 million in the first year. In addition to the education savings accounts, the bill would replace the STAAR test despised by many teachers and parents.
