On Friday a much anticipated vote on HB1, the omnibus school funding legislation, was set on the House floor. There was a lot of speculation about what the outcome would be on the package which included Governor Greg Abbott’s top public policy priority, education savings accounts (ESAs).
Earlier this year, Governor Greg Abbott made ESAs a top legislative priority and said he would keep calling back the legislature until they passed his priority legislation.
ESAs are a school choice initiative which establishes a publicly funded, government-authorized savings account for parents with children in school. Parents must use the funds to pay for expenses including school tuition, tutoring, online education programs, therapies for students with special needs, textbooks, or other instructional materials, according to Ed Choice, an organization backing the legislative concept.
Opponents to the idea, such as Every Texan, an organization in Texas that believes social justice requires public policy, say that ESAs take funding away from already underfunded public schools in Texas and “vouchers of any kind undermine our democracy by instituting division into our public schools.”
Early in the debate on Friday, an amendment to HB1 to strip ESAs from the bill was offered by Representative John Raney (R - District 14), according to Brad Johnson of the Texan. The amendment was supported by 21 other House Republicans (Reps. Allison, Bailes, K. Bell, Burns, Clardy, Darby, Dean, Geren, Holland, Kacal, K. King, Kuempel, Lambert, Murr, Price, Raney, Rogers, Shine, Smith, E. Thompson, Van Deaver). These mostly rural Republicans combined with the overwhelming support of House Democrats led the adoption of the amendment on a vote of 84-63, according to Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune.
A subsequent motion by Rep. Four Price (R - District 87) passed which prohibits any motion to reconsider the Raney amendment, meaning supportive members could not add the provisions back into HB1, according to Brad Johnson of the Texan.
Many Texas House Democrats, including Rep. Sheryl Cole (D - District 46) took to Twitter to celebrate the vote saying “a bipartisan majority in the Texas House just defeated Greg Abbott’s voucher scam.”
HB1, for the time being, was sent back to committee.
Governor Greg Abbott responded to the vote saying: “Today’s vote is just another step on the path to provide school choice for parents and students across Texas. I will continue advancing school choice in the Texas Legislature and at the ballot box, and will maintain the fight for parent empowerment until all parents can choose the best education path for their child. I am in it to win it.”
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who presides over the Texas Senate, issued a statement as well: “The Texas Senate Has led on school choice since I became Lt. Governor. The Senate has passed school choice in 2015, 2017, and 4 times this year. I’m stunned that 21 House Republicans would continue to fight against parents and deny them the right to choose a school they think is best for their child. These members apparently think their own view is more important than the views of their voters, of which over 80% of Republicans support school choice, along with the majority of Independents, and many Democrats.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has been increasingly vocal since the Texas House voted to impeach him in May, also took to Twitter to point blame. He said “The [Texas] house doesn’t want to work for Texans. Over 87% of Texans support school choice. This is a parental right to choose how their money is spent to educate their children, but [Speaker] Dade Phelan, his democrat and Republican leaders don’t care about parental rights. Dade Phelan needs to resign.”
