Texas Senate predictably passes its private school voucher bill
Date Posted: 2/06/2025 | Author: Mark Wiggins
The Texas Senate passed its priority voucher bill, Senate Bill (SB) 2 by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe), Wednesday night by a 19-12 vote that broke largely along party lines. The vote was not unexpected, despite the thousands of ATPE members who took the time to contact their senators using ATPE’s Advocacy Central to express opposition to the bill.
Sens. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston), Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels), Creighton, Pete Flores (R–Pleasanton), Brent Hagenbuch (R–Denton), Bob Hall (R–Edgewood), Kelly Hancock (R–North Richland Hills), Adam Hinojosa (R–Corpus Christi), Joan Huffman (R–Houston), Bryan Hughes (R–Mineola), Phil King (R–Weatherford), Lois Kolkhorst (R–Brenham), Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston), Tan Parker (R–Flower Mound), Angela Paxton (R–McKinney), Charles Perry (R–Lubbock), Charles Schwertner (R–Georgetown), and Kevin Sparks (R–Midland) voted for the voucher.
Sens. Carol Alvarado (D–Houston), Cesar Blanco (D–El Paso), Molly Cook (D–Houston), Sarah Eckhardt (D–Austin), Roland Gutierrez (D–San Antonio), Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D–McAllen), Nathan Johnson (D–Dallas), Jose Menendez (D–San Antonio), Borris Miles (D–Houston), Robert Nichols (R–Jacksonville), Royce West (D–Dallas), and Judith Zaffirini (D–Laredo) voted against the voucher.
Under the direction of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), the Senate has moved SB 2 with unprecedented speed. The Senate Education K-16 Committee, chaired by Creighton, heard and passed SB 2 in a single day just two weeks into the 2025 legislative session.
The House and Senate are constitutionally prohibited from passing most bills during the first 60 days of the session; however, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) cleared the way for Wednesday’s vote by declaring private school vouchers one of seven emergency items for the 89th Texas Legislature.
The Senate voted down several proposed amendments to SB 2, including one by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D–McAllen) that would have required private schools to comply with the same reporting requirements as public schools related to sexual misconduct, drug use, and other criminal activity by educators.
Sen. Jose Menendez (D–San Antonio) pointed out the deficit budgets, closures, and staff reductions experienced by school districts across the state as a result of the Legislature’s failure to pass a school finance bill in the 2023 session.
Senators voted down an amendment by Menendez that would have held school districts harmless from lost funding for three years and would have required the state to match any federal voucher dollars with contributions to the Foundation School Program (FSP).
Senators also voted down a Menendez amendment that would have required any schools receiving public tax dollars to hire certified teachers, adopt minimum standards for school safety and bullying, recognize Holocaust Awareness Day, and have transparent curriculum as in the public schools.
Senators approved a number of Republican amendments, including one by Creighton to allow for-profit companies to be approved as education assistance organizations administering the billion-dollar voucher program. Senators also approved a Creighton amendment that requires education service providers to be registered to do business in Texas and be physically located in Texas.
Homeschool students under the bill would be eligible for up to $2,000. Senators amended SB 2 to provide an additional $500 to homeschool students with a disability for a total of $2,500.
Senators capped the amount allowed to accrue in a student’s account at $20,000 and clarified that parents can’t transfer funds from the education savings account (ESA) to a private bank account or be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Senators amended the bill to prohibit education assistance organizations from charging a fee per transaction.
After roughly seven hours of debate, Creighton used his last speech on the bill before its final passage to launch into a lengthy harangue of teachers and public education supporters, elected and otherwise, who oppose vouchers, including a tangent implying that teachers are rubes who are being duped and misrepresented by their own professional organizations. In doing so, he dangled a thinly veiled threat to outlaw payroll deduction. Of course, ATPE members, via the member-adopted ATPE Legislative Program, are the driving force behind the association's advocacy, including our positions on vouchers and payroll deduction.
The bill will now go to the Texas House, where representatives under the leadership of new Speaker Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock) will determine its fate. The House has yet to announce committee assignments and chairs, which must happen for committees to begin hearing bills.
CONVERSATION
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
03/14/2025
Teach the Vote’s Week in Review: March 14, 2025
A Texas House committee debated vouchers in a marathon hearing, and the U.S. Dept. of Education announced a massive RIF. Plus, learn how to stay in the loop and take action as the legislative session marches on.
03/14/2025
Senate Education K-16 Committee meets to quickly advance more bills
During Thursday’s relatively short meeting, the committee advanced a number of its pending bills to the full Senate.
03/12/2025
House committee hearing on vouchers lasts nearly 24 hours
ATPE testified at the House Public Education Committee’s hearing on House Bill 3, which began Tuesday morning and ended Wednesday morning.
It appears that our senators do not listen to the people they represent. Rather, they are choosing to do what will benefit certain groups. It is also a slap in the face that lawmakers don''t want to recognize counselors, administrators, paras, nurses, bus drivers, or other essential employees. We are just as important as teachers. We are REQUIRED to have a master''s degree to even hold a counseling position but not even held as high as teachers. If we didn''t come to school for a few days, the schools would be in utter chaos. My oh my, what would the schools do? Someone needs to stand up for all educational stakeholders!
The voucher program willfully diminishes our already lacking public school system in Texas. It would be far better to work to make Texas a leader in education excellence. Texans do not want the voucher system. It should be placed on the ballot for Texans to actually vote on this.
We definitely need to let Texans vote, most do not want them! As a teacher, parent and retired veteran, I see nothing good coming from these. We need to think of the majority affected (public school teachers/students) who will be caused to deal with less, in an already strained education system. We are nowhere near the world leader in education anymore, due to so many things that need to be fixed, from the bottom up. This is stealing more from an already broken system that desperately needs help! This is literally our FUTURE we are destroying.
While I have no school-age children any longer, I weep for the families whose only recourse is attending public schools which their state has abandoned.
So let me get this straight. My annually increasing property taxes are going to pay for these vouchers??? What if I have a "religious objection" like Christians do with same sex wedding cakes?
I am extremely proud that I was to have a career as a public educator that I loved for 41 plus years. Students/children should ALWAYS come first in an educator''s mind and in our elected officials'' minds. Moneys should be spent to support and benefit Texas educators and the children we teach. A school is considered private because the majority do not want the restrictions of Texas Education laws. I am all for fully educating our children and giving all of them the best education they can receive, but I am against giving out money that seems to be able to entice the wrong ideas and uses. Let''s support what is best for all students and quit thinking that vouchers are the only way. Our legislators are supposed to be intelligent. Keep informing them of that.
I cannot believe anyone with common sense thinks this is a good idea. People can''t afford to basic necessities and yet you think they have an extra 10k to match the voucher to pay for the 20k private school. Oh and that is just the tuition and low in private school cost. What about foster families. They don''t get enough government subsidies to pay for this. This is for the rich only. You all know the low income families can''t afford the out of pocket extra, so your are going to then open it up to the rich. Shame on you. So disappointed in our Texas government right now.
How can senators, especially rural Texas areas vote for something that is going to cripple our public schools? We the people do not want vouchers. In case you have forgotten, you represent us or at least you’re supposed to.
I think they are a joke and should NOT be able to get that. If they want to do something help out the real TEACHERS that got a real degree to teach. HELP the actual schools in Texas besides hurting the public education with vouchers. Public school have to follow certain rules by the State, minutes, test, a structure is what they have. Private and homeschooling does Not have to follow any guidelines, the teachers could possibly Not have any degree, no real eduction in teaching. Everyone just hears the word, "We are giving you this voucher to you." I think you should come try to teach a class and se what the actual real Teacher does for a living, they work before work to get things ready, they work while at work teaching, they work after school for hrs to grade and extra activities for the school. The State of Texas needs real teachers that have been in the classroom for years to be on TEA board and make the real decisions. Congress needs to realize that teachers do put in time and effort to help kids. Some kids feel that a public school is there safe place because of there home environment. The true EDUCATORS make the difference in these kids lives, they push them to be the best and support them. The State of Texas is going to punish the real people and students to line there pockets. WE DO NOT WANT VOUCHERS!!!! END OF STORY!!!
It seems like the members are wanting their way and only their way. I wish they would be more reasonable and respectful that the entire state has many more rural schools that will be hurt by the vouchers than helped.
The legislators did not listen to the thousand of people that called them and were opposed to vouchers. This is our Texas government pandering to our Governor! We, the people, do NOT want vouchers, which will cripple our public schools!
My only concern with letting the public vote is that the present legislators and senators WERE voted in by the public. Where were the other Senators? Seems like 18 were missing? How dare they malign educators!
The people of Texas need to vote on vouchers. We do not want them.