The Texas Senate has already referred school choice legislation to committee and has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, January 28.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick sent Senate Bill 2 on Friday to the Committee on Education K-16 chaired by State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), who is listed as the measure’s primary author.
The measure would create education savings accounts for parents with students in Texas schools from pre-kindergarten through high school.
It would provide $10,000 annually per pupil to fund accredited private school tuition, textbooks, transportation, and other expenses. Families of students with disabilities, meanwhile, would be allotted $11,500 annually per pupil.
Given that $1 billion has been proposed in the preliminary House and Senate budgets for school choice over the next two years, only around 50,000 children would qualify annually. The Texas Education Agency projects that the state currently has more than five million students enrolled in the school system.
The education savings accounts would be attached to a program fund administered by the Texas Comptroller’s office. The fund would include general revenue (mostly from taxes) specifically transferred to it, appropriated money, received gifts or donations, and other money available to the program.
While the vast majority of Texas students qualify for the program, up to 80 percent of funds are prioritized for students from low-income households or with disabilities who previously attended public school if demand outpaces availability. The remaining 20 percent would be determined via a lottery system.
A certification process for educational assistance programs would be established to help parents connect with resources made available by the program fund.
Lawmakers with children in Texas schools would not qualify for the school choice program.
Unlike proposals discussed last session in 2023, there is no reimbursement to school districts for students leaving.
Creighton was at the forefront of pushing for school choice legislation in Texas last session, helping the Senate pass school choice once during the regular session and twice in the fifth special session.
While the House proved to be a significant hold-up to all of those efforts, the inclusion of $1 billion for school choice in the 89th House’s preliminary budget proposal indicates it could be less of a hurdle this time around.
Still, the degree of pushback from House Democrats and more moderate Republicans remains to be seen.
“This morning, I filed the Texas Education Freedom Act, SB2,” wrote Creighton on X. “This session, we are fully committed to passing universal, comprehensive school choice legislation, ensuring every Texas family has access to the educational opportunities they deserve.”
The committee could schedule further meetings after Tuesday to iron out potential changes to the legislation. However, the committee cannot vote on the legislation until either the 30th day after the legislative session began or until Gov. Greg Abbott announces it as a priority.
Abbott is expected to announce his priorities during the State of the State Address in early February, which is when they are typically released.
School choice will likely be a top priority for Abbott, who spearheaded the successful primary challenges to a slate of House Republicans who opposed his school choice agenda during the last election.
Patrick already stated in November that school choice legislation is his number-one priority this session, emphasizing that there is “absolutely no reason why Texas children and parents should be left behind.”
While the Republican Party of Texas did not list school choice as a legislative priority for the 89th Legislature, the State Republican Executive Committee passed an August resolution supporting the initiative.
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