The Texas House filed priority legislation on Thursday that would allow some families to use taxpayer dollars to fund their children性视界传媒檚 private school tuition, a bill that will likely rest at the center of one of the most contentious battles of this year性视界传媒檚 legislative session.
Under House Bill 3, the state would distribute funds through state-managed education savings accounts that families could use for private school tuition and other educational expenses, like textbooks, transportation and therapy. Most participating students would receive 85% of the amount public schools get for each student through state and local funding.
The exact amount the state would make available to families is not immediately clear. The Texas Education Agency calculates that the state性视界传媒檚 public schools receive roughly $15,503 per student, but that number includes funds from the federal government and other sources that may not directly support classroom instruction.
Children with disabilities would have eligibility to receive the same funding, plus additional dollars the state regularly provides for special education services in a public school.
The House性视界传媒檚 plan would put $1 billion toward the voucher-like education savings accounts, a priority for Gov. Greg Abbott. The program性视界传媒檚 future growth would be tied to public education funding increases.
Any child eligible to attend or already attending a public school could apply to the program. So could those enrolled in a public school性视界传媒檚 pre-K program and families with children already attending private schools.
性视界传媒淗ouse Bill 3 delivers what Texans have been asking for: a true universal school choice program,性视界传媒 said House Speaker Dustin Burrows at the Texas Public Policy Summit. 性视界传媒淎nd let me be clear, we have the votes to get it done.性视界传媒
The House性视界传媒檚 voucher proposal has been much anticipated since the Senate passed its own package, Senate Bill 2, earlier this month. Though similar proposals have sailed through the Senate several times under Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the chamber性视界传媒檚 Republican leader, each have died in the House against opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans.
After a bruising primary last year, in which Abbott went after House Republicans who had opposed his priority voucher legislation in 2023, the chamber has more voucher supporters than ever. In November, a day after the general election, Abbott claimed to have 79 性视界传媒渉ardcore性视界传媒 voucher supporters, more than the majority threshold to pass the long-time conservative priority issue.
But in recent weeks, there have been questions about the strength of that support. Some lawmakers, including former Speaker Dade Phelan, have said publicly they haven性视界传媒檛 made their mind up on whether to support a voucher program. Teachers性视界传媒 unions and public school supporters have been lobbying lawmakers hard against vouchers, saying such a program would drain resources away from their already struggling public schools.
Texas budget experts recently concluded in their analysis of the Senate voucher proposal that public schools, which receive money based on attendance, may experience a decrease in funding due to students leaving the public education system to participate in the voucher program.
Burrows pushed back against that argument Thursday, saying the state can both increase funding for public education and provide an alternative that would allow some families to put public dollars toward their children性视界传媒檚 private education. He called the approach the 性视界传媒淭exas two-step plan性视界传媒 and noted the House had also filed House Bill 2, which would increase public school funding by raising the basic amount of funding public schools receive per student from $6,160 to $6,380.
Lawmakers have not increased that amount, known as the basic allotment, since 2019.
性视界传媒淲e性视界传媒檙e going to make historic investments in public education, because, despite what detractors say, you can provide meaningful opportunities to parents to choose where their child is [educated] and also take care of public education,性视界传媒 Burrows said.
He noted the House性视界传媒檚 voucher bill would provide 性视界传媒渦niversal eligibility,性视界传媒 meaning most school-aged children in Texas would be able to apply. He also said the state性视界传媒檚 education savings accounts program would prioritize students with disabilities and low-income students.
One possible point of contention between the House and the Senate might be who qualifies as a 性视界传媒渓ow-income性视界传媒 family. The Senate性视界传媒檚 proposal prioritizes access to students with disabilities and those with families whose annual income is up to 500% of the federal poverty level. That would include any four-person household earning less than roughly $156,000.
Burrows said students with disabilities would receive their 性视界传媒渇ull state entitlement,性视界传媒 which he said would increase under the House性视界传媒檚 legislation to increase public school funding.
Burrows called the education savings accounts proposed by the House性视界传媒檚 legislation a 性视界传媒渢rue savings account性视界传媒 that would give parents the flexibility to 性视界传媒渦se funds when and how they need them.性视界传媒
He said the legislation would create options for parents who feel like their children are in bad public schools.
性视界传媒淪chool choice doesn性视界传媒檛 damage public schools or take money away from them,性视界传媒 he said. 性视界传媒淪chool choice is important to the education ecosystem, creating more options for those who have none.性视界传媒
But he stressed the lower chamber性视界传媒檚 two-pronged approach.
性视界传媒淔amilies deserve options, schools deserve resources,性视界传媒 he said. 性视界传媒淥ne without the other leaves Texas short.性视界传媒
