Impeachment aftermath could spell hostility for school choice session. Here's what we know

Divisions between the Texas House and Senate grew further entrenched during the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and could overshadow an upcoming special legislative session on school choice and other education issues.

The hostility between the two chambers is likely to mar their working relationship and could throw a wrench in the two sides' already contentious school choice debate.

The proposed program to pull public money for students’ private school costs already split Republicans during the regular legislative session in the spring, coloring all other education-related conversations.

After months of disagreement on key issues such as property tax relief, the two chambers are set up for a confrontational month of education policy discussions, though when that session will be remains unclear.

What happened during the impeachment?

The jury of senators on Saturday acquitted Paxton of 16 articles of impeachment after hours of deliberation. Paxton faced allegations hat he’d misused his office to help a friend and campaign donor who was in legal trouble and improperly fired top aides who alerted federal authorities of the attorney general’s actions.

After the announcement, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — who oversaw the impeachment trial and remained largely silent on the matter — slammed House members for bringing the charges before the Senate at all.

House Speaker Dade Phelan and his team “rammed through the first impeachment of a statewide-elected official in over 100 years,” Patrick said.

The House overwhelmingly voted to impeach Paxton on May 27, after an investigative committee of House members looked into Paxton’s request that the Legislature pay the $3.3 million settlement to whistleblowers who were former top Paxton aides.

More: Paxton acquittal deepens split between Texas House, Senate ahead of school voucher session

Had the House followed a more rigorous process before impeaching Paxton, the issue might never have come before the Senate, Patrick said.

“Millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted on this impeachment,” he said.

Why are the House and Senate at odds?

Phelan didn’t mince words in his response. He called Patrick’s speech a “tirade” that “disrespects the Constitutional impeachment process.”

“The inescapable conclusion is that today’s outcome appears to have been orchestrated from the start, cheating the people of Texas of justice,” Phelan said.

The House and Senate leaders have been bickering for months. Unable to reach a deal on property tax relief in the regular session, lawmakers had to come back for two special sessions before the two chambers reconciled their visions to compromise.

The school choice issue has already divided the Republican Party.

Rural Republicans — who represent districts where the local public school is often a community building block — have largely sided with Democrats in opposing school choice, much to the chagrin of Patrick and other supporters.

What’s next for the school special session?

As of Monday afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott still hadn’t announced when the school session would begin.

Last fall and spring, Abbott spent weeks traveling to private schools statewide to promote school choice and spoke passionately about a need for a broad, universal program.

He remained relatively quiet on the topic all summer but will hold a virtual town hall Tuesday to discuss school choice issues with faith leaders, hosted by the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation.

“Now is the time to deliver on our promise to bring school choice to every family in Texas,” Abbott said in a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

The education session is also expected to bring up issues of school funding, teacher pay and student testing.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas House, Senate impeachment divisions could affect school session