Texas House defeats school vouchers again

Rural Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives joined Democrats in defeating a plan to use tax dollars to support private education, including religious schools.

In the fourth special session of the Texas Legislature this year, the House voted 84-63 to approve an amendment by Rep. John Raney, R-College Station, that stripped educational savings accounts—essentially school vouchers—from HB1. The $7 billion omnibus education bill included funding for public schools and more money for teachers.

House members debated the amendment about three hours before voting—once again—to reject any effort to divert public funds to private schools. The Texas House repeatedly has rejected school voucher-type programs for more than two decades.

Religious liberty concerns voiced

“It was encouraging to hear, on more than one occasion, that legislators shared the concerns of many about how a proposed education savings account might affect religious liberty and what may happen if the state government began to involve itself in the affairs of private religious schools,” said John Litzler, public policy director for Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission.

A bipartisan coalition that included 21 Republicans along with all the House Democrats voted to strip the education savings accounts from the bill, in spite of seven months of lobbying by Gov. Greg Abbott to pass legislation granting parents “school choice.”

“I will continue advancing school choice in the Texas Legislature and at the ballot box, and will maintain the fight for parent empowerment until all parents can choose the best education path for their child. I am in it to win it,” Abbott posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

‘Morally centered bipartisan coalition’

Charles Foster Johnson, executive director of Pastors for Texas Children, particularly praised the Republicans in the House who stood against vouchers, even after the governor pledged to support the primary opponents of any representatives who opposed the education savings accounts proposal.

“A strong, clear, morally centered bipartisan coalition of urban Democrats and rural Republicans once again saved Texas public education by staving off a voucher program—as they have done so many times before,” Johnson said. “But, the heroes are our Republican friends in the House who are paying a heavy political price for their courageous stand for our children.”

Johnson also commended several Texas Baptist pastors who “made critical calls at a strategic time” to encourage their representatives to stand firm in their opposition to vouchers.

Texas lawmakers still have the opportunity to provide much-needed funds for public education, Litzler observed.

“The fourth special session is not over. It continues through Dec. 7. There is still time for our elected officials to pass legislation that would increase school funding, provide retention bonuses for teachers, revise the A-F rating and STAAR accountability system, and create a school security grant that would fund security officers on campus, security cameras, fencing and more,” he said.

“The Texas Baptists Christian Life Commission will continue to advocate for the Texas legislature to fully fund public education in our state throughout the remainder of the special session.”