Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday he has reached an agreement with House Speaker Dade Phelan that would create education savings accounts in Texas 鈥� a school voucher-like program opposed by Democrats and most rural Republicans.
Abbott鈥檚 announcement comes exactly one week before the last day state lawmakers can pass any legislation during Texas' third special legislative session this year.
This deal is , the school voucher proposal passed by the Texas Senate earlier this month.
According to the agreement outlined by Gov. Abbott, every student 鈥� including those enrolled in private and public schools 鈥� would be eligible to participate in the program. Each student would get about $10,400 per year.
Tuesday鈥檚 agreement between Abbott and Phelan came the same day the governor agreed to for the special session to also include funding for teacher raises and school safety, something that was not on .
Abbott鈥檚 expanded call also includes changes to statewide testing in public schools. The 鈥淪TAAR Test will be phased out to be replaced with an improved assessment system,鈥� Abbott said.
In a text message to The Texas Newsroom, Cassi Pollock, Phelan鈥檚 spokesperson, stopped short of saying there was an agreement. Instead, she said the Republican speaker 鈥渓ooks forward to having robust discussions on school funding, teacher pay, and other critical issues with his House colleagues.鈥�
鈥淎ll members will have the opportunity to make their voices heard,鈥� Pollock said.
Opposition to vouchers is still strong
But school vouchers still face an uphill battle 鈥� most Democrats oppose school vouchers as well as .
In the past, similar efforts have failed due to a lack of votes.
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Texas House Democratic Caucus Chairman Trey Martinez Fischer slammed Republicans for not deciding to include teacher pay raises until now.
鈥淒emocrats have known since day-one of the regular and special session: our teacher pay is priority,鈥� Martinez Fischer said. 鈥淯nlike Republicans, it hasn鈥檛 taken House Democrats 280 days to realize that raising teacher pay is a priority.鈥�
The Texas House of Representatives adjourned Tuesday morning until Wednesday evening due to a lack of quorum.
Republican lawmakers blamed Democrats鈥� absences as the reason some of these measures had not moved forward.
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