Texas Senate

01/28/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/28/2025 21:06

Senators Consider School Choice Legislation

January 28, 2025
(512) 463-0300

SENATORS CONSIDER SCHOOL CHOICE LEGISLATION

(AUSTIN) - Members of the Education K-16 Committee on Tuesday heard testimony on the Senate's plan to create savings accounts that could provide parents up to $11,500 yearly to pay for non-public education costs. It is unusual for key legislation to have a hearing this early in the session, reflecting the high priority placed on it by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who called it his top priority for the 89th session. The bill considered Tuesday, SB 2 by committee Chair and Conroe Senator Brandon Creighton, is similar to legislation passed multiple times by the Senate last session, but couldn't receive enough votes in the House. Creighton told members that the state must recognize the diverse needs among the state's six million students. "We know that a one-size-fits-all education does not work for many of our students in Texas," he said.

Conroe Senator Brandon Creighton unveiled SB 2, his plan to implement a school choice program in Texas, on Tuesday.

Compared to last session's legislation, SB 2 would double the amount of money appropriated for, and the number of students eligible for, education savings accounts, setting aside $1 billion for nearly 100,000 students. ESAs would start at a base of $2,000, and could go up to $10,000 if the student is enrolled in an accredited private school. Students with disabilities attending private schools would get $11,500 in their accounts. This money could be used for education-related expenses, including tuition and fees at private schools, purchase of instructional materials, tutoring, transportation, and educational therapy programs.

Should the number of applicants exceed available slots, eligibility will be determined by need. Eighty percent of funds would be set aside for students with disabilities or who live in households with incomes less than 500 percent of the federal poverty level, about $160,000 for a family of four. Slots would then be assigned by lottery. "The most vulnerable Texans will have these opportunities way before anyone else," said Creighton. "It will be very clear where the Texas Legislature stands on who we're really working the hardest to help here."

Creighton emphasized that parents would never actually lay hands on the money, rather, these funds would be disbursed through the Office of the Comptroller to eligible education providers. This separates the program, he said, from what are often called "voucher" programs in other states, where parents receive the money directly. "This money doesn't go to the parents like a voucher," he said. "You can't go to Rooms-to-Go and buy furniture if you have a thousand bucks left over. This is an education savings account with the strongest anti-fraud provisions in the country."

The Office of the Comptroller would be responsible for many of these anti-fraud protections. In addition to creating a degree of separation between recipients and the savings accounts, the state comptroller would also create a list of requirements for providers that are eligible to receive ESA funds. The comptroller would be required to conduct annual audits of participating providers, and those who fail in their responsibility to continue to meet these standards would lose their eligibility.

Though Texas would be the 33rd state to enact a school choice program, Creighton said that SB 2 would be the biggest outlay for the first year of such a program in the nation. "To lead on school choice, and to have the best program available, we have to launch an initial framework, and then show success," said Creighton. "And we're going to."

Session video and all other Senate webcast recordings can be accessed from the Senate website's Audio/Video Archive.

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