The Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives seem to be at odds again as the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 8 that would provide school vouchers. However, the Texas House of Representatives passed an amendment in their proposed biennium budget not to use state funds for school vouchers or other similar initiatives. 

House Bill 1 is the Texas House’s passage of the Biennium Budget. Inside is an amendment that would prohibit the use of state funds for school vouchers and similar programs. The vote for the amendment was a bipartisan 86 compared to 52 votes against it. “These are public funds for public schools as is outlined and stated specifically in the Texas Constitution,” said State Representative Abel Herrero against school choice. “And for that, members, please stick with our public school teachers, our neighborhood schools, and our public charter schools and vote for this amendment.”

Some advocates for school vouchers believe that the amendment did not receive a high majority of support, meaning that there is a chance state representatives might have a change of heart as the weeks debating the budget go by between the House and the Senate.

The Texas House of Representatives passed a $302 billion budget with multiple line items for the next two years. They include many initiatives and reforms such as state employee pay raises, 17 billion towards property tax relief, border security, restricting funds from universities with DEI policies, and more. 

Senate Bill 8, passed by the Senate and now on to the House, pushes parental rights in education and school choice. “Parents are the single most important factor to the success of their child in education, followed by a teacher,” said Lt. Governor Dan Patrick in a statement after Senate Bill 8 was passed by the Senate. “Republicans, Independents and Democrats all support school choice because Texans agree that families must have choice in education so every child has the best chance of success.”

For school vouchers, Senate Bill 8 would allocate $8,000 towards families wanting to pull their students out of public school into private schools. There are some requirements such as a student having to either begin their education journey or at least spent 90% of one year in public school. Additionally, the Texas Comptroller’s Office will oversee the use of the funds. There’s a promise to public schools with less than 20,000 students who lost a pupil to a private school. They would receive $10,000 per lost student from the state to make up for that loss of funding only for the next two years. 

Furthermore, Senate Bill 8 prohibits the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. Other add-ons are parents having full access in regards to a school’s information on their child’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being, timely grievance procedures for parents to address things against schools, and no-cost student transfers.

“Educating the next generation of Texans is the most fundamental responsibility we have, and I authored Senate Bill 8 to place parents, not government, squarely in the center of the decisions for their children. Giving parents the power to determine the best school for their child will encourage competition and innovation, ensuring that each Texas student has the opportunity to succeed”, said Senator Brandon Creighton, author of Senate Bill 8.

However, this opposition from the Texas House of Representatives might curb the heavily touted bill pushed by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Governor Greg Abbott, who has traveled the state promoting school choice reform in Texas.

The budget is not final and still has to go through the Senate where they will probably adjust the budget back and forth with the Texas House of Representatives in the next few weeks. Some advocates for school vouchers believe that the amendment did not receive a high majority of support, meaning that there is a chance state representatives might have a change of heart as the weeks debating the bill go by.