TCTA - Texas Classroom Teachers Association
04/03/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/04/2025 10:13
House Public Education Committee passes school finance, school voucher bills
The House Public Education Committee conducted a formal meeting on April 4th to vote on bills left pending in previous meetings, including HB 2 (school finance) and HB 3/SB 2 (vouchers). Typically, these meetings are procedural, do not involve any debate, and are sparsely attended, but given the controversial nature of the agenda, Chair Brad Buckley (R-Salado) opted to hold the meeting in the usual hearing room so more members of the public and media could attend. However, the hearing was not broadcast on the typical Capitol livestream.
Before the first bill was considered, Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) grilled Buckley on his decision not to broadcast the meeting online. Buckley repeatedly responded that the House rules do not require formal meetings to be broadcast, but Talarico was undeterred, asking him if he could broadcast the meeting if he desired. Buckley never gave him a straight answer, saying that news coverage would suffice. CBS Texas streamed the meeting on YouTube, and others in attendance also recorded the meeting.
Discussion on both the school finance and voucher bills was lengthy. A new version of the school finance bill includes a small increase in the basic allotment, raising it to $6,500 (from the current $6,160). School district representatives have told lawmakers that a total increase of around $1,400 would be needed just to keep up with inflation since the last increase in state funding. The House bill does not include a specific teacher pay raise, but retains (and revises) existing language tying salary increases to funding increases. Estimates have not been publicized but the small increase in the basic allotment is not expected to provide a significant improvement in salaries.
The committee substituted its version of vouchers into the Senate's SB 3, so that bill is now the vehicle moving forward in the House. The committee vote on the voucher legislation was 9-6, and the bill will advance to the Calendars Committee for possible scheduling for House floor debate.