On Saturday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill Two (SB2) into office, officially instating the bill as a permanent piece of Texas legislation. One key aspect of SB2 is that it will allow some families to use taxpayer dollars to fund their child’s private school tuition through the use of education saving accounts (ESA).
The bill will utilize one billion dollars in state taxpayer funds to provide roughly 100,000 ESAs to students; with students receiving a different amount of money depending on their circumstances.
If more families apply for ESAs than the funds can provide, the recipients will be randomly selected through the form of a lottery. Eighty percent of the lottery recipients will be disabled and low income students, and the leftover 20% of ESAs will be raffled to the remaining families who applied.
Most students with an ESA will receive $10,000, disabled students will receive $11,500, and homeschooled students receive $2,000.
When SB2 was passed by the house on April 17, Abbott stated in a press release that the passing was an “extraordinary victory” for parents who advocate for school choice, and that he will “swiftly sign [the] bill into law” when it reaches his desk.
Abbott also claimed in the release that an “overwhelming majority of Texans support school choice.” This is potentially supported by a 2024 survey conducted by Southern Methodist University and the University of Houston. The survey found that out of 2,257 adults, 65% supported school vouchers.
Supporters of school vouchers believe that the bill will assist in funding a private education for their children. Private schools can offer benefits that public schools may not be able to provide for some families; such as smaller class sizes, religious teachings and a more rigorous educational experience.
However, most private schools have a tuition fee, and some require potential students to undergo an application process; meaning that not all students who apply may be accepted.
Taxpayer dollars that are typically used for funding public education will now be allocated to school vouchers. Because of this, some against the bill argue that it may take away money, and therefore valuable resources away from public schools.
For example, an opinion piece written by the nonprofit Raise Your Hands Texas stated that vouchers “siphon public dollars away from public schools without the accountability and transparency required of traditional public schools.”
SB2 was introduced to the senate on Jan. 24, 10 days after both the Texas House and Senate began their legislative session. After a series of amendments and voting sessions, the bill was passed by the senate on Feb. 5.
That same day, superintendent Bruce Gearining announced that Leander ISD would be forced to make budget cuts through the reduction of resources and staff across the district. Currently, the district faces a $34.4 million deficit, and has not had a budget increase since 2019; despite Gearing admitting in the letter that there has been a 22% rise in inflation.
How is a bill passed?
The Texas Legislative session runs from Jan. 14 to June 2, and occurs every odd-numbered year. Within Texas legislation are two chambers. The Texas House has 150 members and are considered the “lower chamber,” and the Texas Senate has 31 members and are considered the “upper chamber.”
Republicans currently hold the majority in both chambers, with 88 out of 150 in the House, and 20 out of 31 in the Senate.
According to the Texas Tribune, only about a thousand bills will pass out of the thousands that are introduced.
When a lawmaker files a bill, the House Speaker must assign the bill to a committee within the House. If the committee chooses to advance the bill, a debate must be had between all House members. Once the debate occurs, a majority of the chamber members must approve the bill twice.
Once the bill is approved, it is then passed on to the opposing house, where it must go through a very similar approval process. In order for the bill to officially be passed, both the House and Senate must agree on the circumstances and changes made to the bill. When this finally occurs, the bill is sent to the Governor and can finally be set into law.