Texas Senate panel advances school choice, education funding bills to full chamber

On the second day of the third special legislative session this year, a Texas Senate committee advanced two major pieces of education legislation — school choice and education funding — to the full chamber for a vote.

Senate Bill 1 would create a $500 million education savings account program, which would use public money to help pay for children’s private school costs. Senate Bill 2 would inject more than $5 billion into public school funding. Both bills were authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe.

After a lengthy hearing Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Education moved SB 1 — the school choice bill — on to the full Senate by a 10-3 vote. The three Democratic senators on the committee voted against it.

During the regular session, which wrapped up May 29, a similar bill sailed through the Senate before hitting a roadblock in the House. Democrats and rural Republicans in the House have opposed any proposal to use public money for private tuition.

Creighton’s new school choice bill is very similar to what he introduced during the spring. The bill would create a universal education savings account program that would make $8,000 per student available to parents to pay for private school tuition.

The program, which would be housed in the Texas Comptroller Office, would use general funds, according to the bill. Students could use the money for textbooks, uniforms, transportation or a private tutor.

While the program would be open to all students, it would prioritize those who receive free or reduced lunches, who are low-income or who receive special education services.

“Not every student can thrive in the same educational environment,” Creighton said during a hearing about the bill Tuesday. “That diversity of need is something we need to support.”

Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, questioned whether an education savings account program could be distributed equitably and worried it would strip students of protections against discrimination.

Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, called for more transparency about the races of students who take an education savings account, and he said the original purpose of school vouchers in Texas was based in racism.

“The purpose of it was to separate Anglos from Hispanics and Blacks,” West said.

During the hearing, several dozen people spoke both in favor and against the school choice proposal.

A group of teachers drove in from the Lufkin school district to oppose the bill.

Lufkin art teacher Denise Davis has watched young teachers leave the profession because they don’t make enough or have enough resources to do their job, she said. She worries an education savings account program would take even more resources away.

“They say that the ESA is not a voucher, but it doesn’t matter what pot you take it out of,” Davis said. “These are public funds. If you have that money, why haven’t you been funding us properly?”

Those in support of SB 1, advocated for an expanded program. Giving students education options could open new opportunities for them, said Nathan Cunneen, communications strategist with the American Federation for Children, a group that promotes school choice.

“I became the first in my family to graduate from college, and I strongly believe that was because of the school choice scholarship I received,” Cunneen said. “If the only way to protect public schools is to deny families a choice, then we need to severely reevaluate what we’re doing here.”

Despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session call for lawmakers to focus on school choice issues, senators spent much of the first days of the session talking about school finances.

During a Senate Finance Committee meeting Monday, senators discussed SB 2 — Creighton’s $5.2 billion school funding proposal.

The bill would increase base-level per-student funding by $75, from $6,160 to $6,235, and would give teachers a $3,000 bonus. The bill would also increase per-student safety funding from $10 to $20 and per-campus safety funding from $15,000 to $30,000.

Unlike in the regular session, the funding issues have been separated from a bill on school choice.

The bill is meant to give students more resources and give much needed raises to teachers, especially those in rural districts, who typically make less than those in urban areas, Creighton said.

“There are many districts in this state that are still paying in the 30s,” Creighton said, referring to a teacher salary less than $40,000. “That's not something we're celebrating.”

SB 2 passed out of the finance committee and could be heard on the Senate floor as early as this week.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Legislature: School choice, funding bills sail to full Senate