Texas Lawmakers Advance School Choice Bill

All 62 House Democrats oppose the bill, but pro-school choice Republicans who won their first terms in last year’s elections are expected to push it through.

A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, on Dec. 3, 2020. LM Otero/AP Photo

Texas lawmakers are poised to pass universal school choice legislation that funds private school vouchers.

House Bill 3 was debated during a March 11 hearing by the House Committee on Public Education in Austin. It would allocate up to $10,000 per selected child per year for private school tuition and up to $2,000 per child for homeschool expenses.

The bill also proposes up to $30,000 per year for qualifying special education students who choose a different school. In addition, the bill covers some expenses related to school choice, including transportation to attend other schools, public or private, and money for therapy.

The legislation, which already passed the Texas Senate, provides $1 billion for the first year. Based on the demand, lawmakers could consider increasing education savings account program funding.

Low-income students and those with special needs would be prioritized.

Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to sign the bill into law if it passes the House.

Five hearings on the proposal have been held in the past two years, but the House did not pass it in part because of opposition from rural Republicans whose districts don’t have private schools or charter school options.

All 62 House Democrats still oppose it, but pro-school choice Republicans who won their first terms in last year’s elections are expected to push this legislation through ahead of the 2025–26 academic year, according to Texas Policy Research, a nonprofit agency that reports on the state Legislature.

Rep. Brad Buckley (R-Salado), House Public Education Committee chairman and the bill’s author, said annual tuition for the average private school in Texas is less than $10,000. Private schools are not subject to special education laws that govern public schools, he said, but families who have children with special needs can contract with private schools to receive acceptable services.

“We want kids to get into an environment where they can thrive,” he said.

Democrats argued that the bill is unfair because private schools can deny students admission and the vouchers are paid with taxpayer dollars that would otherwise go to public schools. They also said many schools in urban areas and suburbs charge more than $40,000 per year and wouldn’t be attainable for low-income recipients.

Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock) said the legislation would benefit students already enrolled in private schools, and without income limits, it could also cover children from wealthy families.

“This is not about education,” he said. “It’s about politics.”

Robert Enlow, president of EdChoice, a school choice advocacy organization, told the committee that the overwhelming body of research dating back to the mid-1990s indicates that student performance at all school types improves when school choice creates competition and public schools do not lose funding.

“Everyone benefits,” he said.