After a stunning Wednesday night vote in the Texas House that tapped the breaks on an education savings account bill’s path forward, the fate of the hotly contested proposal faces high hurdles from some lawmakers.
The proposed accounts, which would let parents use state money for private school tuition, have enraged many public education administrators while gaining remarkable support from Gov. Greg Abbott, who has made school choice one of his signature priorities this legislative session.
A House Committee on Public Education vote expected Monday could set the stage for a school choice showdown in the House, where members are sharply divided on the issue.
The Monday meeting comes after a surprise Wednesday night uproar in the House, when members shot down committee Chairman Rep. Brad Buckley’s attempt to call a last-minute hearing to vote on Senate Bill 8, which would create an education savings account program.
SB 8, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, passed the Senate on April 6.
It’s common for committees to meet without following the usual posting rules, so the 76-65 vote Wednesday to prohibit Buckley's move to call a meeting is unusual and highlights the divisiveness of the proposal.
Seven of the 13 members on the education committee — including two Republicans — voted against meeting during the House poll.
More:Texas House blocks Public Education Committee chair's attempt to vote on school choice
'Give Texas students' options
In a statement Wednesday, Creighton said he remains committed to passing SB 8.
“I am confident there is still time to empower parents, lift up Texas teachers and to give Texas students the options they deserve,” Creighton said.
Wednesday’s vote had a narrower margin than an April vote that also highlighted some House members' opposition to education savings accounts.
At that time, House members adopted an amendment to House Bill 1, the chamber's budget proposal, that would prohibit any state spending on education savings accounts or vouchers.
The amendment, introduced by Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, passed by an 86-52 vote. On Wednesday, only 76 members signaled opposition to SB 8 by voting against allowing the public education committee to meet to discuss the measure.
'Is this the right way to do this?'
During Wednesday’s House debate, Rep. Ernest Bailes, R-Shepherd, raised an issue with Buckley’s motion to meet because the committee hadn’t heard public comments on the new version of SB 8, an 80-page proposal full of revisions.
“They are unheard in committee,” Bailes said. “Is this the right way to do this?”
Buckley, R-Killeen, insisted the committee had taken public comment on education savings accounts when members heard four House bills on similar topics during an April 11 meeting.
The push to give parents money for private schooling has dominated much of the education-related deliberations this session.
Though Abbott has made school choice a priority, some House members — particularly Democratic lawmakers and Republicans from rural areas — aren't on board.
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Will Texas Senate Bill 8 pass?
Whether the new version of SB 8 could pass the House remains unclear.
Opponents worry the accounts could peel students, and the money that comes with them, away from public schools. Supporters insist the measure gives choice to parents who can’t afford private school. Both have been vehement in their advocacy.
A bill more acutely focused on providing special education students with access to education savings accounts could draw more support from lawmakers, said Laura Colangelo, executive director of the Texas Private Schools Association.
“I am optimistic that we're going to get something done in the regular session,” Colangelo said. “The governor has put a lot of energy into this.”
Many education advocates have speculated that Abbott would call lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session if SB 8 or a similar bill fails to pass. The regular session ends May 29.
For weeks, many supporters and opponents of education savings accounts have speculated that the bills' authors would trim down the scope of their proposals to apply only to special education students.
In other states, those special education-specific programs have often been the precursor to full-blown voucher programs, said the Rev. Charles Johnson, founder and executive director of Pastors for Texas Children, which opposes SB 8.
“We see those in other states,” Johnson said. “That generally starts in a small program with a small allocation. Down the road, it becomes a full-on voucher. It's the camel’s nose under the tent.”
Abbott, however, has been insistent on a sweeping school choice program, said Scott Jensen, a senior adviser with the American Federation for Children.
For months, Abbott toured private schools around the state to rally for education savings accounts in a campaign unlike that of any other governor, Jensen said.
“I think it may be the most remarkable advocacy effort of any governor in the country,” Jensen said. “That's why I think he's not likely to take the door prize. He wants something more.”
The new bill
Part of Bailes’ opposition to Buckley's motion to meet to discuss SB 8 on Wednesday centered on the new 80-page committee substitute, which drastically changes the contents of what the Senate passed last month.
The revised SB 8 would create a program available to more than 3 million of Texas' 5.5 million school children and would make at least $7,500 available to students annually, mostly for special education students and children eligible for free or reduced lunch.
More money would be available to economically disadvantaged and special education students.
The bill would also significantly overhaul the state’s standardized testing program, removing the graduation requirements tied to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test. Instead, older students would take the Texas Success Initiative Assessment, which is more geared toward college readiness.
Gone from the House's version of SB 8 is an attempt by the Senate to assuage rural Republicans by giving a $10,000 credit annually for two years to school districts with less than 20,000 students for every student who leaves to take advantage of the savings account program.
The bill also abandons a host of measures Creighton, the bill's author, said would address parents’ rights, like a ban on instruction about sexual orientation.
If Texas approves an education savings account program, it would likely be one of the largest in the country because of the size of Texas student population.
“I guess everything’s bigger in Texas,” Jensen said.
