The Republican-led Texas Senate on Wednesday voted along party lines to spend $1 billion on education savings accounts parents can use to pay for private education expenses, setting up a showdown in the House where past school voucher bills have failed.
Rural GOP lawmakers in the House have teamed up with Democrats to reject school voucher bills five times since 2015. Opponents argue that such subsidies are too costly and take money away from public schools, which are vital to rural communities.
But the dynamics are different this year. Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) political committees and conservative allies spent millions to get House Republican school choice skeptics voted out of office in 2024. Abbott has said the chamber now has enough supporters to get an education savings account bill passed.
Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) agrees.
“I believe the political winds have shifted, and the votes are there for ESAs,” Burrows told the Texas Tribune late last year.
House Minority Leader Gene Wu (D) told Pluribus News in January that the details of a school choice bill could still be contentious and rural Republican support isn’t guaranteed.
Republican state leaders nationwide have rushed in recent years to allow all families with school-age children to apply for taxpayer funding to help cover the cost of private education. Supporters say so-called universal school choice programs allow parents to customize a child’s education to suit their individual needs.
Culture-war fights also play a role. Abbott has for years held events at Christian private schools to promote school vouchers. He was in Athens, Texas, on Monday to give a speech at Athens Christian Preparatory Academy.
Universal school choice opponents, meanwhile, argue that the programs primarily benefit wealthy families who can already afford private school. They say the programs siphon education dollars away from public schools and don’t do enough to make sure recipients receive a quality education.
Thirteen states have created school choice programs open to all families regardless of income or disability, according to EdChoice, an Indiana-based school choice advocacy group.
Tennessee is set to join the list after lawmakers last month voted to spend $400 million on universal vouchers. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) has proposed making his state’s expansive school voucher program fully universal. Wyoming lawmakers also are considering creating a universal program.
The Texas Senate is sending the House its biggest proposal yet. It “will serve more students with more funding than any previous proposal in Texas history,” sponsor Sen. Brandon Creighton (R) said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.
The bill passed would allow families to receive $10,000 a year to pay tuition at an accredited private school and cover other education expenses, such as textbooks, tutoring and test fees. Children with disabilities could receive $11,500 a year.
Homeschooled children could receive $2,000 a year to pay for approved education expenses, and homeschooled children with disabilities could receive $2,500.
Families would be able to apply for the cash regardless of their income or whether their child has ever previously gone to public school, although low and middle-income families would get priority. The Senate’s fiscal analysts estimate that the vast majority of program applicants — 95% in the program’s first year— would be homeschooled or already enrolled in private school.
Families receiving subsidies would have to ensure participating children sit annually for a national norm-referenced or state standardized test.
Abbott has declared expanding private school subsidies to be an emergency item this year. That means the legislature can pass a school choice bill in the first 60 days of the session.