Today is a sad day for public education in Texas.
After 12 hours of intense debate, the Texas House granted preliminary approval to two of the most scrutinized bills of the legislative session: a $7.7 billion public school funding initiative and a contentious proposal to establish a pathway for families to utilize state tax dollars for private school tuition.
The Texas House's decision on the latter, Senate Bill 2, represents a significant triumph for prominent Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who have been trying to pass vouchers for so many years now. He even primaried anti-voucher republicans from last session, putting up candidates to take their place who of course were in the count in support of vouchers.
It's noteworthy that an amendment that recommended that this decision be put to the voters got voted down. This is unfortunate since voters would surely have voted against this. Texas voters have a long history of opposing vouchers. Their only way was to railroad it, and they did. Ultimately, this is a billionaire-class agenda against everybody else, "come hell or high water."
Due to discrepancies between the Senate and House versions of the bill, it must return to the Senate for another vote, leaving Lt. Gov. Patrick and the Senate with a critical decision. If he decides to make any changes to the just-approved version, it'll have to go back to the House for further deliberation.
Alternatively, Patrick and the Senate may accept all changes made to the bill by the House in which case it will go directly to Gov. Greg Abbott for final approval.
The governor is clearly happy about this, but this is terrible news for public education. And ultimately, it's so sad that they are undermining our democracy. I think of all the many small Texas towns that are already stretched for funds but whose communities' lives circle around that of the school and how they will be adversely impacted by this decision.
This is a betrayal of theirs, and everybody's, trust. IDRA provides guidance on next steps for the advocacy community below. Remember, we do have a vote, and it's not a good thing to vote to undermine public education, our "laboratories for democracy," as the late John Dewey once eloquently phrased it.
-Angela Valenzuela
Texas House Approves Multi-Billion-Dollar Discriminatory Voucher Scam |
IDRA Statement on the Passage of Senate Bill 2 |
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Today, the Texas House passed Senate Bill 2, a $10 billion voucher bill that would threaten resources for the public schools that serve 5.5 million Texas children. SB 2 vouchers would support private school costs for a small number of families, with very few requirements for public accountability and transparency. Public schools serve children of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, immigrant students, emergent bilingual learners, and students from rural, urban and suburban communities. But SB 2 would send public money to private schools that could refuse to admit students because of their disability, religion, sexual orientation or simply because they or their family are “not a good fit.” Some Texas lawmakers continue to do the dastardly dance of the Texas three-step: defunding, demonizing and privatizing our public schools. But Texas needs to strengthen our public schools, not weaken them, to ensure every child has a fair shot at a quality education. State proposals like House Bill 2, which also passed the House today, will be immediately undercut by this costly voucher program. We will never stop demanding investments that strengthen public schools for all students. Call to Action: Senate Bill 2 is not law unless it passes a few more hurdles. The measure will now go to a conference committee, where legislators from both chambers will finalize the specifics of the bill. Stay tuned! Once the conference committee members are announced, we will let you know how to contact them. |
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Texas Should Not Throw Away $10 Billion on Vouchers – Infographic |
| The Big Cost of Proposed Voucher Legislation – Data Map |
| 5 Reasons Private School Vouchers Would Hurt Students – Infographic |
| Tools for Making Change – IDRA SEEN Website |
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Follow IDRA on social media for news updates and advocacy tools |
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| IDRA is an independent, non-profit organization. Our mission is to achieve equal educational opportunity for every child through strong public schools that prepare all students to access and succeed in college. |
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