Texas Senate Passes Education Savings Accounts, Could Face Challenges in House

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shares his plans for school choice at Power Empowerment Night in Tyler, Texas, on March 10, 2023. Courtesy Office of the Governor

The Texas Senate approved a bill that would allow parents to direct state education funds for their children to be used outside the public school system, but it could face challenges in the House.

Republican state Sen. Brandon Creighton authored Senate Bill 8, known as The Texas Parental Bill of Rights, which would create an $8,000 education savings account (ESA) per student per year for parents to put toward private school tuition or home school. (pdf)

“I have always believed in our public school system of over 8,000 campuses. Many schools are great, most are good, but we also have those that are failing our students,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a press release. “That is why we need school choice for parents who want options other than their failing public school. As Lt. Governor, we passed school choice through the Senate in 2015 and 2017. Sadly, both bills died in the Texas House without a hearing.”

Sen. Robert Nichols was the only Republican to vote against the measure.

Senate Bill 8 calls for the ESA funding to come from the state’s general revenue rather than the public school fund.

Funding would cover up to 62,500 ESAs, and applicants would be prioritized based on the ranking of the school the student is leaving, “with two-thirds of the slots open to students currently attending schools ranked C, D, or F on the state’s A-F campus quality scale.”

The bill, which passed in a vote of 18–13 on Thursday, is headed to the House for a committee hearing, where it will likely face opposition.

On the same day Senate Bill 8 was approved, the Texas House adopted an amendment to House Bill 1, the state’s biennium budget.

The amendment filed by Democrat Rep. Abel Herrero would prohibit the use of public monies to fund ESAs or similar programs. (pdf)

Two dozen Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the amendment that passed 86–52; several others voted present, The Texas Newsroom reported.

Top Priority

School choice has been a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott this session. He has traveled across the state this legislative session promoting parents’ rights to choose the best education for their children.

“Freedom is a word that resonates with Texans—it’s who we are and what we believe in,” Abbott said on March 28 at a Parent Empowerment Night event in Denton. “Structuring education for the future has to be focused on one thing: the students. When you combine freedom and focusing on students, education comes down to one six-word sentence: mom and dad are in charge.”

The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a conservative think tank, also backs Abbott’s efforts to put parents in charge of their children’s education.

“It is long past time for Texas to give parents the ability to choose the best educational options for their children,” TPPF CEO Greg Sindelar said in a statement after the bill passed. “Senate Bill 8 is an important step towards empowering all Texas parents, and we applaud Sen. Creighton, Lt. Governor Patrick and parental empowerment advocates for making parents a priority.”

Opponents have argued that ESAs would negatively affect smaller public school districts.

Losing four or five students could force such districts to cut programs, staff, or services, such as cafeteria workers and bus drivers, Bob Popinski, senior policy director at Raise Your Hand Texas, told The Epoch Times last month.

“Each of those kids is worth $10,000 in terms of how we fund them,” Popinski said. “That’s $50,000 leaving that campus where you still need those services.”

However, the bill would provide funding to school districts with 20,000 or fewer students for five years if a student chooses to participate in the ESA program.

Others argue that public and charter schools are held to a higher academic standard than private schools.

“It is a disservice to our parents for lawmakers to allow public taxpayer dollars to be spent on private or religious schools that are not held to the same standards,” said Diane Frost, superintendent at Corsicana Independent School District.

Other Provisions in the Bill

Senate Bill 8 would prohibit classroom instruction, activities, or programs on sexual orientation or gender identity for students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

Parents could request classroom curriculum audits to ensure they are following district-adopted material.

The bill also allows for free student transfers between schools, subject to capacity, and establishes a public school grievance process timeline to take 14 school days or a maximum of 42 days.

Parental consent would be required before changes could be made to a student’s health and wellness activities at school.

“Parents are the single most important factor to the success of their child in education, followed by a teacher,” Patrick said. “Republicans, Independents, and Democrats all support school choice because Texans agree that families must have choice in education so every child has the chance of success.”