The Texas House voted 86-63 in the early hours of Thursday morning to approve Senate Bill (SB) 2, a universal private school voucher bill. House members also rejected, on an 86-62 vote, an amendment that would have put the voucher concept before voters in a referendum this November prior to implementation of SB 2. Both votes were taken almost entirely along party lines. Wednesday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) visited with House Republicans behind closed doors to whip votes. Because Abbott was able to successfully strong-arm House Republicans into not voting for any amendments, voters will not have an opportunity to weigh in on SB 2, and it is significantly more likely the Senate will accept the House language and forego the conference committee process, while other education priorities have yet to make it to this stage of the legislative process. 

Earlier in the day Wednesday, House members also passed school finance bill House Bill (HB) 2 on a 144-4 vote. ATPE supports HB 2 as a first step toward providing additional funding for public schools, though it could do far more if the Legislature committed billions of additional state funding to existing public schools rather than to a voucher experiment that will create a parallel school system Texas cannot afford. It is also worth noting that unlike SB 2, HB 2 has no Senate companion and thus has a long road ahead in its potential passage and enactment into law. With no voucher bargaining chip remaining, HB 2’s fate is far from certain. 

ATPE Executive Director Dr. Shannon Holmes offers the following statement: 

“This is a sad day for Texas, no matter where you stand on the voucher issue. What we saw yesterday is not the type of government we want in our state nor the type of government we deserve. 

“When we enter the ballot box, we do so with the good faith that we are voting for the individual who will best represent us as constituents. Yesterday we saw members of the Texas House vote not for the beliefs of their constituents but for the beliefs of Gov. Abbott’s billionaire friends, voting in lockstep with the new representatives Abbott and his megadonors installed in the 2024 elections to oust voucher opponents. 

“The governor’s unwillingness to let the voucher question go to voters shows he knows how deeply unpopular vouchers are with Texans. Otherwise, he would have confidently let voters show their support for his plan. Instead, he chose to threaten House members with all his political might. 

“For more than 20 years, ATPE has opposed vouchers in all forms, and we will continue to do so. 

“Our state’s resources are limited and must be protected, whether those resources are taxpayer dollars or the children we are charged by our Texas Constitution with educating. 

“We will fight for accountability to taxpayers and for all public school students to receive a quality education.”