Texas lawmakers return to legislature for third time to discuss school vouchers
HOUSTON - Texas lawmakers returned to the state capitol for a third special legislative session to discuss border security and school vouchers on Monday.
School vouchers have been a controversial topic throughout the legislative session. This marks the third time Governor Abbott has tried to implement the program known as education savings accounts. The proposal would allow families to use taxpayer dollars to pay for private schools.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Abbott sets agenda for Special Session - School Choice tops the list
During the regular session, House Republicans sided with Democrats to block the program.
"This is not a partisan issue. We have a strong coalition of Republicans and Democrats that believe in public education. It is that simple," said Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, Chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus.
"Vouchers are not school choice. In fact, it’s the schools’ choice because private schools can deny admission to any kid for any reason that they want. They can deny admissions for academics, because of behavior, because your parents don’t make enough money, or because you’re not the right cultural fit," said Rep. James Talarico, (D) from District 52.
"As a pediatric neurologist, I am very concerned for kids with neurodevelopment disabilities getting lost in the shuffle," said Dr. Audrey Nath.
Nath, who has two young kids at HISD, has spent her entire career helping special needs children. She worries school vouchers could be a major setback during a critical time in their development.
"Even as is, there’s limited funding and not enough funding for special education. Even as it is without siphoning away that money to a voucher system.
"I am against school vouchers. There’s no need to be siphoning money out of our public school systems into charter schools or public schools who are not accountable to elected school boards or to taxpayers," Nath said.