This legislative session, a number of Texas Republicans have staked their political futures on passing voucher and school choice legislation. After an important House vote, their initiatives might be at risk.
The California House of Representatives approved an amendment on Thursday evening that forecloses school voucher programs, which utilize public funds to pay for private education, from being included in the state budget. Although that amendment might not be accepted during budget talks with the Senate, it, more importantly, indicates that the House does not support vouchers.
The Texas Politics Project
According to James Henson, the director of the Texas Politics Project, “One of the parts of the strategy of introducing the amendment and forcing the vote on it is to send a signal to the Senate and to activists that the votes are still not there in the House for this.”
And yesterday night, both houses delivered contradictory signals, which confirms what we already knew: that the chambers have very diverse opinions on this and that the subject will be hotly debated.
The Senate voted to pass its own legislation on the matter at the same time the House was debating the contentious amendment: Senate Bill 8 is a comprehensive school choice bill that would allow parents to open education savings accounts, thereby enabling the use of public monies for private education.
One Republican, Sen. Robert Nichols, joined the Democrats in opposing the measure, making the vote, which took place along party lines, one of the closest of the current legislative session, 18-13. Also read the The Wichita Falls Tornado 44th Anniversary.
With a budget surplus of $32.7 billion, we have a historic opportunity to show our public schools are our top priority by making long-overdue investments in public education,” the caucus said in a written statement. “Instead of providing teachers a meaningful pay raise… SB 8 siphons off more than $500 million per year for private entities – making a future pay raise for educators less feasible.
The conflicted reaction to school vouchers foreshadows a problem for proponents of school choice in the coming months. Based on what we’ve seen, Henson said, “I think it’s going to be very tough for them to gain the votes in the House.”
“The question will therefore be how much pressure the Lieutenant Governor and the Governor are ready to use on lawmakers, especially the House, in order to pass a bill like this given that they are not very close. Although they are not all that near, they are closer than they were two years ago.”
Los Angeles Times tweeted that the vote faces an uphill battle in the Senate. You can see below:
The House this week voted 267-157 to codify marriage equity.
The vote faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats would have to pick up the support of 10 Republicans to overcome a filibuster. But there are signs some will cross party lines.https://t.co/zuMhHYY2SQ pic.twitter.com/b8eehdaA42
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 20, 2022
Greg Abbott, the governor, has endorsed school choice this legislative session. Given the House’s lack of support, he may decide to change his political goals going forward or intensify his efforts.
With a budget surplus of $32.7 billion, we have a historic opportunity to show our public schools are our top priority by making long-overdue investments in public education,” the caucus said in a written statement. “Instead of providing teachers a meaningful pay raise… SB 8 siphons off more than $500 million per year for private entities – making a future pay raise for educators less feasible.
When the House Public Education Committee convenes to examine the measures pertaining to the education savings account on Tuesday, it will be one of the first tests for school choice in the House of Representatives. At the end of the newsyou can check the latest news also about Texas Targets Renewables Despite Advantages.
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