Texas senators fast-track school voucher bill for full vote

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The Texas Senate Education Committee on Tuesday night voted to advance school voucher legislation for a full vote in the Senate after hours of public testimony largely focused on whether the proposal would live up to its promise of prioritizing low-income families and children with disabilities.

A 9-2 Republican majority on the committee pushed the bill forward days before Gov. Greg Abbott takes the stage Sunday for his State of the State speech. It is expected that Abbott will declare the school voucher bill — his top legislative priority in recent years — an “emergency item,” allowing lawmakers to pass the proposal within the first 60 days of the ongoing legislative session, which started earlier this month.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at a Tuesday event the Senate would pass the bill as soon as Wednesday of next week if Abbott declares it an emergency item Sunday. The House, where voucher legislation has hit a brick wall in recent years, has not yet filed its priority voucher bill. Abbott has expressed confidence that the House has enough supporters for the measure to pass this year.

A conversation among state senators and guests invited to the Texas Capitol to speak Tuesday about legislation to create the voucher program largely focused on whether the proposal would live up to its promise of prioritizing low-income families and children with disabilities.

Senate Bill 2, a bill authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican from Conroe who chairs the Senate Education Committee, would create an education savings account program. It would provide families with $10,000 a year per student in taxpayer dollars to fund their children’s tuition at an accredited private school and additional expenses like textbooks, transportation and therapy. The legislation would provide $11,500 per student for children with disabilities. It also would provide at least $2,000 a year per student for home-schooling families who participate in the program.

Any child eligible to attend or already attending a public school could apply to the program proposed by the Senate, as well as those enrolled in a public school’s pre-K program. Families with children already attending private schools could also participate. Using a lottery system, the bill would prioritize students in low-income households and children with disabilities if demand for the savings accounts exceeds the funding available.

But during Tuesday’s hearing Democrats on the Texas Senate Education Committee raised questions about whether the bill would actually help underserved students.

The lawmakers discussed details of the bill over the course of roughly eight hours, with more than 100 people signing up to testify. The list of public speakers included several voucher advocates who testified in support of the bill. It also included many Texans not convinced that a voucher program would serve their communities.

The two Democratic lawmakers who opposed the bill during the hearing took issue with how the proposal considers a family “low income” if its total annual income sits at or below 500% of the federal poverty level — a number far above the 130% threshold the federal and state governments use to determine whether a student is “economically disadvantaged” and eligible for free lunch.

A Senate voucher bill considered during the last legislative session also would have prioritized some families with an annual income at or below 500% of the federal poverty line if demand for the program exceeded funding available. However, that legislation would have only reserved 30% of spots for those families, while a higher percentage would have gone toward students who received free or reduced-price lunch.

If the recent proposal passed into law as it currently stands, a household of two making roughly $105,750 per year would fall under the definition of a low-income household. The state would prioritize 80% of the program’s spots for families making at or below that annual income, as well as students with disabilities.

The bill says organizations that help the state run the program would have to notify parents that private schools do not have to follow federal and state laws regarding special education that public schools must abide by, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. The federal law, among other requirements, has long protected families and their children by working to ensure students with disabilities receive thorough evaluations and educational services.

On Tuesday, Sen. José Menéndez said the bill seems like it “doesn't really have a priority” because of the high income threshold. The San Antonio Democrat expressed concern about families of children with disabilities waiving their protections under federal law.

Menéndez also sought clarity from Creighton, the bill’s author, about whether a private school could deny a student admission because of their disability.

Sen. Royce West, a Democrat from Dallas, raised similar worries about the bill’s broad definition of a low-income household not prioritizing the neediest students. He also shared concerns about the history of school vouchers in the South, which included an attempt in Texas to establish such programs in opposition to school desegregation in the 1950s. West also noted that many of the children who benefit from expansive school voucher programs elsewhere in the country come from wealthier families already sending their kids to private schools.

“So frankly, we're subsidizing students that were already involved in the program?” Royce asked.

Creighton said only examining recent demographic data of voucher-like programs may not provide an accurate picture of who they benefit because some of those programs have existed for decades. Addressing concerns about the bill’s definition of a low-income household, the education committee chair said the 500% threshold would include people who play essential roles in their communities while raising their families.

“That's the number we ended up at to make sure that if a teacher and a fireman that are working hard every day to just make life make sense, and they have three or four kids, that they would be eligible within the framework and prioritized first,” Creighton said.

The Conroe Republican also said he intended for the bill’s generous income provisions to make education savings accounts available to a wide range of families. He cited some parents’ desire to explore other educational options because of challenges their children faced in their public schools, like bullying.

Regarding the potential for private schools to deny admission to students with disabilities, Creighton said private schools have to base their admissions decisions based on the types of services they offer. He noted a difference between a “reasonable” rejection and discrimination, which he said could have “serious implications” for a private school relying on a tax exemption.

Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, said he didn’t think parents would place their children with disabilities in private schools that don't meet their needs. He also said he thinks the program would create opportunities for more private schools to open that specialize in providing special education services.

“I am anticipating that,” Creighton said.