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TX House meeting to hear public opinion on school choice
The Texas House of Representatives will meet to hear public testimony related to school vouchers.
AUSTIN - The battle over school choice in Texas moves to the House on Tuesday morning.
School choice legislation has been a priority for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but it failed in the House last regular session and in multiple special sessions.
Texas House hearing on school choice
(Photo by Tony Savino/Corbis via Getty Images)
Happening Today:
The House Public Education committee will meet to discuss House Bill 3, which would establish an education savings account program to use public funds to help pay for private schools.
The bill is slightly different from Senate Bill 2, which passed last month.
Gov. Abbott says the legislation has enough support to pass the House. Texas Democrats plan to oppose the bill.
If HB3 passes the House, both chambers will work to resolve the differences between the two bills.
H.B. 3 vs. S.B. 2
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Texas Senate sends school voucher bill to the House
A school voucher bill passed the Texas Senate, but the future fate of the bill remains uncertain in the Texas House. This bill would use $1 billion taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition for families.
The Differences:
The Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 2 in February. That bill also establishes savings accounts for families to use public money for private education.
House Bill 3 is similar to Senate Bill 2 in that both bills would require a $1 billion investment from the state to establish the accounts.
Under both bills, families chosen for the program would be allowed to use the funds on private school tuition, textbooks, transportation and other education expenses.
READ MORE: Texas Senate passes SB2, would allow parents to use tax funds for private schools
The bills start to move away from each other when it comes to who is considered for the accounts and how much each student would receive.
While Senate Bill 2 would add a flat $10,000 to a student's savings account, the House version sets the number at "85 percent of the estimated statewide average amount of state and local funding per student in average daily attendance for the applicable school year."
The other difference is in how the programs choose who gets a spot if more applications are received.
Who didn't co-author?
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Speaker Burrows & Crenshaw's threat to Tucker Carlson
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows sits down with FOX 7's Rudy Koski to discuss school vouchers, concerns over the Texas lottery and mending fences. Then, FOX 26's Greg Groogan talks with Rep. Dan Crenshaw about his hot mic "threat" towards Tucker Carlson.
Lawmakers traditionally sign on as co-authors of a bill to publicly show support for the bill. If all the co-authors remain on the bill as it evolves, then the bill would pass the 150-member House, 76-74.
There were some notable names left off the co-author list.
None of the chamber's 62 Democrats were among those who signed, and 12 Republicans were also not on the list.
Among those not on the list is House Speaker Dustin Burrows, though he has previously signaled support for school choice and was thanked by name in Abbott's statement.
The other 11 were:
- Gary VanDeaver
- Jay Dean
- Brian Harrison
- Dade Phelan
- Jeffrey Barry
- Ryan Guillen
- Stan Lambert
- Drew Darby
- Ken King
- Charlie Geren
- Sam Harless
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Texas House Committee on Public Education, Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 3. More information comes from Gov. Greg Abbott, House Speaker Dustin Burrows and past FOX coverage.