Texans who are invested in or concerned about the possibility of lawmakers diverting public education dollars to private schools could get some more information this week.
Republican state leaders 鈥� including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick 鈥� are pushing for a program that would allow families to send their kids to private school with public funding.
This concept, often called school vouchers, has never gained enough traction in Texas to be signed into law. But this session lawmakers in favor of the idea are taking another stab at it. Historically, that鈥檚 been resisted by Democrats and rural Republicans who say such a move would undermine public schools.
Senate Bill 8, which was introduced earlier this month, creates education savings accounts, which would give families up to $8,000 to use for private school tuition and school related other expenses. This bill will be discussed in committee this week.
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Sergio Mart铆nez-Beltr谩n, who covers the statehouse for the Texas Newsroom, said not every family is eligible for the money.
鈥淓ligible children means those who are currently enrolled in a public school,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o a kid in a private school right now would not qualify for this program.鈥�
Mart铆nez-Beltr谩n said the creation of education savings accounts might be more appealing to lawmakers who have traditionally opposed vouchers. This is in part because the money can be used for expenses beyond tuition, he said.
鈥�If you have a kid, you might know that textbooks tend to be expensive; uniforms tend to be expensive. So that money can be used for that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 do think it鈥檚 also important to be frank about this whole thing, because when we talk about $8,000, some people might say, wow, that鈥檚 a lot of money. But the tuition in private schools tends to be way higher than $8,000. So this amount that the state would be giving kids might not even cover for the whole tuition.鈥�
Despite that, this initiative could have an impact on how much funding public schools receive. Public schools in Texas are funded based on student attendance, so if students leave a district, that district loses money. However, Mart铆nez-Beltr谩n said this bill has a temporary mechanism to keep funding certain schools after students leave.
鈥淯nder the measure, school districts with under 20,000 students would receive $10,000 per kid who leaves to a private school, and this will happen for the first two years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t seems like GOP leadership is betting on this cash to create a miracle and flip some of these Republicans who have opposed this in the past.鈥�
Abbott has also been visiting towns represented by Republicans who oppose vouchers.
鈥淭he governor has been going around the state, going to these towns where some of these Republicans that have opposed vouchers live. And he has hosted what he calls parent empowerment nights. And these events take place in private schools, many of them Christian schools, and serve as a rally,鈥� Mart铆nez-Beltr谩n said. 鈥淚t has influenced some of these Republicans who have opposed vouchers in the past. And now we鈥檙e seeing some of them making appearances at this event and even saying that they will support the vouchers bill this time around.鈥�
This week, during the committee hearings, the public will get to hear from the bill鈥檚 sponsor as well as the opposition, Mart铆nez-Beltr谩n said. The bill was put forward by Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican who represents Conroe.
鈥淲e know that we expect to be able to go through some robust discussions this week and in the next few months,鈥� Mart铆nez-Beltr谩n said. 鈥淭hose discussions will likely lead to amendments. So there鈥檚 going to be more that we have to learn throughout the next few weeks.鈥�
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