Texas Senate passes bill to allocate $1 billion in tax dollars for private school tuition
The Republican-led Texas Senate passed one of Gov. Greg Abbott's top legislative priorities Wednesday: school choice.
The vote came closely along party lines, 19-12. It came after hours of debate that began after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Lawmakers approved a number of amendments to Senate Bill 2.
"The Texas Senate's passage of SB 2 is the biggest launch of any universal school choice program in American history, with $1 billion in funding for 100,000 students," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement Wednesday night.
Under this proposal, students would receive $2,000 a year. If they enroll at an accredited private school, they will get $10,000 a year. Students with disabilities will receive $11,500 each year. Republicans say the students will be given preference are those with disabilities and those from low-income families, but that it would be open to all students.
During the debate over the measure, Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, expressed concern that students in low-performing public schools wouldn't be given a preference.
"I've consistently heard you say in the past that we want to make certain to take care of the kids in disadvantaged schools first," said West. "This doesn't do that. This puts them into a group with everybody else and if it's your luck of the draw, you may be able to get a scholarship, but if it's not, you don't get a scholarship."
In response, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said, "Will cover all walks of life, all income-vulnerable students and students with disabilities in many different categories. But they may not be in a school that's rated 'D.' They may just themselves personally not be thriving in that school or there may be a safety concern or a fentanyl concern or a bullying concern."
Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-District 19, voted against the bill.
"We know that school shootings happen in private schools as well, we've seen it in Tennessee twice. These private schools do not have to comply with anything that is a prerequisite of the School Safety Commission that we dropped over $100 million to, to make sure that our children are safe," Gutierrez said in a statement.
From the Senate, the bill will head to the House. Patrick told CBS News Texas last week that it would go to the chamber "like a rocket ship."
"This is the sixth time the Texas Senate has passed school choice, with every previous bill dying in the Texas House. The Senate will pass school choice over and over again until the House passes this bill," Patrick said in his Wednesday night statement. "The days of limiting millions of Texas students to a one-size-fits-all approach are over."
The leading Republican in the House on education matters, Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, told CBS News Texas that a separate bill will be filed in the House for members to consider.
Abbott said Monday that he remains optimistic the bill will pass in the House this year, unlike two years ago when it was rejected.
"I feel very confident it's going to pass in the House. Speaker Burrows, every time I've talked to him, he says school choice is going to pass. I feel good about the Speaker's perspective. I worked closely with Representative Brad Buckley who will lead the charge in the Texas House. He feels very confident about it."
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