School Voucher Bill Passes Texas House

Late last night the Texas House passed the controversial school voucher bill Senate Bill 2. The bill, a major priority for Governor Abbott, would allow families in Texas to use tax dollars to send children to private or charter schools.

The vote was nearly on party lines: 85 for and 63 against. Two Republicans, former speaker Dade Phelan and State Rep. VanDeaver voted against it.

Ahead of the vote, the rotunda of the Texas Capitol was awash in red on Wednesday. That’s because hundreds of public education supporters descended on Austin. Many Texas House Democrats addressed the rallygoers, many of whom were affiliated with organizations like Texas Freedom Network, the Texas AFL-CIO and the Texas American Federation of Teachers.

State Rep. James Talarico called the voucher bill, which allocates $1 billion for private schools, a “scam” that will bankrupt public schools in years to come. Talarico also noted that many in the crowd were from all parts of Texas (rural, urban and suburban) and opposed to school choice legislation. Recent polling about school vouchers do show they are universally unpopular in Texas.

As Democrats were rallying against the voucher bill, Governor Abbott received a phone call of support for his voucher bill from President Trump. The president referred to the bill as a “forward-thinking vote.”

Debate began on the Texas House floor later in the afternoon. State Rep. Brad Buckley, who is the Chairman of the Public Education Committee, said passing the bill was “right for kids.” He also said that all members should feel confident in voting for the bill.

Democratic State Rep. Ron Reynolds asked Buckley about some of the criticisms of private and charter schools from certain stakeholders in the state. Reynolds noted that private schools are not obligated to admit students with special needs or who speak a language other than English. Buckley did not directly address those concerns. 

Then it was time for amendments, and nearly one by one Republicans swatted them all away. One of the biggest came early from Talarico, who offered an amendment to put school vouchers on the ballot in November. He challenged Abbott that if vouchers were truly popular among Texans, he should welcome a referendum at the ballot box. 

Talarico also alluded to the fact that several Republican colleagues had been threatened by Abbott over this vote, so he understood the plight. But he called on them to truly represent their districts. “The last I checked this was still the people’s house, not the governor’s house,” he urged over his amendment. His amendment was tabled.

Another amendment from State Rep. Chris Turner would essentially strike the amending clause of SB 2. With his amendment, Turner brought up the school voucher program that Arizona implemented. Their former governor Doug Ducey was in Texas cheerleading the legislation, which led to a budget shortfall in the state and has not improved student outcomes. 

Eventually all the amendments proposed by House Democrats were voted down, and the final vote came late Thursday morning. Abbott released a statement congratulating the House for passing one of his big priorities. “I applaud the legislators who took a stand with the overwhelming majority of Texans who support school choice,” he said.