AUSTIN (Nexstar) — After nearly 11 hours of debate, the Texas House voted to approve its version of SB 2, which would create a universal education savings account program, allowing families to use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school tuition. The vote came shortly after 2:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. The only Republicans to vote against the bill were State Reps. Dade Phelan, R - Beaumont, and Gary VanDeaver, R - New Boston.
“This is an extraordinary victory for the thousands of parents who have advocated for more choices when it comes to the education of their children," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release following the early morning vote. "Texas could not have accomplished this without the hard work and unwavering support from Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dustin Burrows, Chairman Brandon Creighton, and Chairman Brad Buckley. I applaud the legislators who took a stand with the overwhelming majority of Texans who support school choice."
Gov. Abbott said he will swiftly sign the bill into law once it makes it to his desk. Now the House's version of the bill will likely head to conference where a final version of the bill will be negotiated behind closed doors.
House tables amendment to get rid of STAAR testing in public schools -- 11:00 p.m.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D - Austin, did not hold back her dislike of SB 2, starting her amendment layout by saying she thinks the bill is awful, but saw it as an opportunity to get rid of the STAAR test in Texas public schools.
READ MORE: Texas leaders share unfiltered thoughts on future of educationThe bill requires private schools to select a nationally norm-referenced assessment to test its students. Nationally norm-referenced assessments compare students scores to other scores around the country. Hinojosa's amendment would require private school students take the same test as public school students. Hinojosa said this change would guarantee the STAAR test would end.
STAAR test is a criterion-reference test, which compares a student's scores to predefined standards. It has faced criticism from many in the state. Rep. Buckley motioned to table the amendment and said he would bring back legislation later in the session that would create policy to end STAAR testing in Texas.
Landgraf breaks gavel during amendment debate - 8:36 p.m. Wednesday
Tension started to boil over during an exchange between Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston and Rep. Brent Money, R-Greenville. Wu introduced an amendment to prevent members of the legislature from taking part in an education savings account program. Wu and Money were speaking over each other, with Wu at one point shouting "I'm not done with my answer!"
Acting speaker Rep. Brooks Landgraf brought down the gavel to try to restore order. The head of the gavel snapped off, sparking applause and laughter in the chamber.
Members then voted to table Wu's amendment. Moments later, Speaker Dustin Burrows, using a new gavel, called for the House to stand at ease until 9:00 p.m.
Earlier today, Rep. Money posted video on social media of the phone call President Donald Trump made to Gov. Abbott and House members during this morning's meeting of the House Republican Caucus. The video clip shows Gov. Abbott holding a microphone up to a mobile phone.
"School Choice for, you know, various reasons, but it's, it's one of the most important elements of the Republican Party," President Trump said on the call. "It's very interesting. But I'm gonna up it, because really, we're doing school hopefully we're doing school choice, but I'm also moving education back to the States. So we're gonna, and we've started the process. The Democrats are going absolutely crazy, but we're starting the process, and we'll be moving it back to Iowa, we're moving it back to Texas, we're moving it back to all the states. So not only you have school choice, you'll also have but I mean, the best of all, you're going to be running your own education department," Trump said.
Amendment to put income cap on ESA eligiblity tabled by House - 8:20 p.m.
House members voted to table an amendment to limit eligibility in the ESA program to students whose families have incomes below 500% of the federal poverty guidelines.
Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin proposed the amendment. House members voted 83-60 to table the amendment.
House rejects proposal to protect public school funding in case of a downturn - 7:09 p.m.
Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, proposed an amendment to create what she called a "safety valve" for public school funding.
"This amendment says that if we don't put enough money in the bucket to fully fund our schools, we at least give the comptroller the authority to top it off in the interim, to the extent possible, before the legislature returns and can make a needed supplemental payment for our schools," Howard said in the layout for her amendment.
Rep. Howard cited the funding cuts to public education during a recession in 2011 as an example of what could happen to schools in a downturn.
"What this is suggesting is that if there is a downturn and we do not have the revenue to meet the formula required amounts that we are supposed to provide to our public schools, that we will use the money for private schools to put back into our constitutionally required public schools to ensure that they do not have the shortfall that they would otherwise have," Howard said.
"I cannot speak to the actions of future legislature, but I do know that this bill requires that the legislature take action to appropriate any dollars for this program. And I trust those future legislators to do what is right and what's best by Texas families and their kids," Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, said, speaking in opposition to the amendment.
House members voted 85-61 to table the amendment.
Amendment to prevent ESA funding from exceeding public school funding tabled - 6:52 p.m.
An amendment from Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, aimed to prevent funds being appropriated for education savings accounts exceed the amount that is appropropriated for public schools. Fischer said that some projections show that by FY 2030, ESA funding could top public school funding.
The amendment was tabled by a vote of 85-59.
House rejects amendment to tie ESA funding to teacher pay - 6:46 p.m. Wednesday
Rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons, D-Houston proposed an amendment to prevent the state from spending funds on an ESA program unless Texas teacher pay and per pupil funding are on par with at least 95% of other states.
"Members, this amendment says we don't fund this program until we've done right by public school teachers and students," Simmons said.
House members voted 85-59 to table the amendment.
Amendment to cap ESA spending fails to advance - 6:43 p.m. Wednesday
Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Plano, brought an amendment to cap spending on education savings accounts to $1 billion for each biennium. House members voted 85-59 to table the amendment.
House rejects amendment to call referendum on education savings accounts - 5:51 p.m. Wednesday
Lawmakers voted to table an amendment to allow Texas voters to decide whether to implement an education savings account program. Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, brought the amendment, which would have called for a vote in November.
"Texans have been fighting about vouchers for 70 years. The first voucher bill was proposed in this Capitol in 1957 and we've been fighting about it ever since. So if any issue should go to the voters, it's this one, we're sending a lot less to the voters for their approval this session alone. And believe me, this body has been very clear that any time taxes may go up, the taxpayers should have a say," Talarico said, while laying out his amendment.
Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, made the case that allowing Texans to vote on the ESA proposal would violate the Texas constitution. He also raised a more philosophical objection. "If we're going to delegate our lawmaking authority directly to the people, why do we need to be here at all? Why don't we just do that with every bill?" Little asked.
The motion to table Talarico's amendment passed with 86 ayes to 62 nays.
Rep. James Talarico calls for referendum — 5:30 p.m. Wednesday
Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, proposed an amendment to allow Texas voters to decide whether to implement an education savings accounts.
In his laying out his proposal, Rep. Talarico alleged that Gov. Abbott's push to pass education savings account legislation compromised the fairness of the legislative process and included threats to Republican lawmakers to secure their support.
He referenced the influence of big money on the topic, referring to a $12 million campaign donation to Abbott by billionaire Jeff Yass, a prominent proponent of education savings accounts.
“The last time I checked, this was still the people’s house, not the governor’s house,” said Talarico.
Before the meeting, some lawmakers started calling to turn SB 2 into a referendum — allowing Texas voters to have the final say on their ballots in November.
“The Governor keeps saying this is what Texans want,” Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, posted on X. “But that’s not what we’re hearing. We should be putting this to a vote of all Texans.”
Gov. Greg Abbott, who declared ESA legislation an emergency item for two consecutive sessions, said the voters already decided.
“This is just another desperate distraction from out-of-touch Texas Democrats,” Abbott’s Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement. “School choice was on the ballot last November, and Texans elected a school choice majority in the Texas Legislature. When it comes to education, parents matter, and families deserve the ability to choose the best education opportunities for their children.”
House begins debate on SB 2
After passing HB 2, the school finance legislation, House members turned their attention to school choice. Representatives proposed various amendments.
Rep. Brad Buckley proposed an amendment clarifying that students in military families have access to the choice program. It requires private schools to be in operation for two years before accepting Education Savings Accounts. It also clarifies residency requirements and how to prove residency. The amendment passed 145 to 1.
Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, put up an amendment to place income limits for eligibility. The amendment failed.
Gov. Greg Abbott congratulates House on HB 2 passing — 4:28 p.m. Wednesday
Gov. Abbott released a statement congratulating the passing of the public school finance bill.
“The Texas House took a monumental step to increase education funding and teacher pay raises that puts Texas on the path to education excellence for our students,” said Abbott.
If passed in the Senate, the bill must be signed by Abbott to become a law.
Public school finance bill passes - 3:22 p.m. Wednesday
With a final vote of 144-4, the Texas House votes to pass HB 2 and increase public school funding by $7.7 billion. The bill now heads to the Texas Senate.
Fully funded pre-K added to HB 2 - 1 p.m. Wednesday
After the House laid out HB 2 (highlights below), a pair of amendments were laid out.
Public Education Vice Chairman Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, laid out an amendment to take money from the compensatory education allotment and the early education allotment to fully fund full-day, pre-Kindergarten services.
State Rep. Alan Schoolcraft countered by offering an amendment completely taking out the compensatory education allotment and adding $1,104 extra dollars to the basic allotment per student.
Schoolcraft argued the compensatory allotment is unfair and confusing, while the basic allotment is distributed evenly and straightforward. His proposal drew heavy criticism, including from fellow Republican State Rep. James Frank, Wichita Falls, for being added without a chance to examine what the amendment would mean for each district's funding numbers.
"You don't completely rewrite, reimagine and change school finance now," Bernal said about Schoolcraft's amendment. "It would result in a massive cut to about two-thirds of the districts in this state."
"It's a good amendment but a bad idea," Harold Dutton, D-Houston, said. He said he shares Schoolcraft's concerns over the compensatory education allotment system and said he and Education Committee Chairman Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, will work to fix those issues in the future.
Schoolcraft's amendment failed 25-121. Immediately afterwards, Bernal's pre-K amendment passed 128-18.
Dueling Speeches - Noon Wednesday
Before the pivotal vote, over a hundred advocates against SB 2 gathered in the Capitol rotunda, wearing red to support public education.
"First, they're going to have to come through us," State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, told the crowd. "We've got teachers and parents. We've got Republicans and Democrats. We've got rural Texans, urban Texans, suburban Texans, all here standing for our neighborhood public schools, and that is making some folks pretty nervous here in the Capitol."
At one point the rally got so loud, House security held up a noise reader and said the protesters would have to disperse if they got louder than 85 decibels.
The break in the noise allowed speakers, like House Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, a chance to be heard by more people.
"People know what this means. People know that this means we're going to defund our schools. People know that this means our local schools are going to close. People know that if our education system shuts down, that is the end of the middle class. That is the end of America," Wu said.
At the same time upstairs in the House Press Conference room, Speaker Dustin Burrows and members touted HB 2.
“Texas students deserve our best, and this bill delivers. Today's vote marks an important step for the future of Texas,” said Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, the bill’s author and Public Education Committee Chairman. He spoke along with Public Education Vice Chairman Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio and Burrows.
The key elements of HB 2 include:
Providing nearly $8 billion in new funding to Texas Public Schools. Increasing the basic allotment, including an automatic increase annually based on statewide property values. Raising teacher pay and differentiating increases based on experience. Increasing funding for the Teacher Incentive Allotment that aims to put more Texas teachers on a pathway to earning six figures. Funding for bilingual programs, Pre-K students, and special needs students. Funding for the Grow Your Own Program to recruit and develop teachers to assist within their own communities.As they announced the move to bring the school finance to the floor before bringing ESA legislation, Burrows emphasized public education remains a priority.
“School finance deserves its own moment. It is so important, no matter what happens on SB 2,” said Speaker Burrows. “The vast, vast majority of our children will be in public education, and we've got to talk about it and not be distracted. There'll be plenty of time for us to talk about SB 2.”
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