SENATE SENDS SCHOOL CHOICE BILL TO HOUSE

(AUSTIN) — Following Governor Greg Abbott’s declaration of school choice as an emergency issue over the weekend, the Senate moved quickly to pass a plan to create savings accounts that parents can use to pay for non-public education services with state funds on Wednesday. SB 2, titled the Texas Education Freedom Act by author and Conroe Senator Brandon Creighton, would use $1 billion in surplus revenue to create an estimated 100,000 education savings accounts administered by the Office of the Comptroller. Creighton said that there are too many parents of school children who have needs that can’t be satisfied by their home district, whether they be about safety, lack of services, or academic quality. “We understand why families many times across this state are constantly searching for opportunities for a path in education for their specific student, and a customized path that fits their student’s needs,” he said. Creighton said while Texas would be the 33rd state to roll out some version of a school choice program, SB 2 represents the largest first-year outlay for such a program in the nation

Conroe Senator Brandon Creighton won passage of a plan to create education savings accounts for up to 100,000 Texas students that would allow them to use public funds to pay for private education services.

The bill approved Wednesday is similar to legislation passed five times in 2023 by the Senate, but twice as big. Applications would be open to any parent of a school age child in Texas. If applications don’t exhaust capacity, said Creighton, everyone who applies gets in. Should applications outstrip demand, however, 80 percent would be reserved for students who demonstrate financial or special educational needs. The bill defines financial need as household income less than 500 percent of the federal poverty level, about $160,000 annual income for a family of four. The remaining 20 percent would still be open to all applicants, regardless of need, and slots for both tiers would be awarded by lottery. Accounts would start at $2,000, which could be used by homeschooling families. If a student is enrolled in an accredited private school, then accounts could hold $10,000, with an additional $1,500 available for students with special education requirements.

Though school choice programs are colloquially known as “voucher programs”, Creighton emphasized that this program is not a handout of cash to Texas parents. Parents would never actually touch the money; the funds would remain in accounts controlled by the comptroller. The comptroller would also be responsible for verifying that service providers meet state standards, including conducting criminal background checks for applicant vendors. Parents could then choose from among these approved services those they think would benefit their children the most. The comptroller would also be responsible for annual audits of providers to ensure compliance with state requirements, and students using the funds would be required to take accepted norm-reference tests to ensure they are indeed receiving adequate services.

Opponents of the bill raised concerns regarding transparency and accountability at private schools, which don’t have to admit all applicants. “A family that has ...a special education student and receives an ESA, and they present it to a private school, that school does not have to accept that student,” said San Antonio Senator José Menéndez. “They could deny that student, even though a public institution could not.” Other members worried that the financial need threshold, well above the state median household income of $76,000, isn’t targeting families with real financial need. “If indeed what we’re trying to do…is provide academic opportunity, shouldn’t we be prioritizing those persons within the lower income,” asked Dallas Senator Royce West. Creighton replied that he didn’t want to lock out middle class families from the program. “What we don’t want to do is exclude…the middle class of a firefighter and a teacher with a few kids from that prioritization,” he said. “But the bulk of it will be income thresholds down to that 100 percent of the poverty level.”

Upon passage, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick called on the House to do likewise. “And now we look for the House - this being the sixth time we’ve passed school choice - to finally step up and give this opportunity to every child in Texas,” he said.

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