AUSTIN, Texas — As students go back to class, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Texas House is making their voices heard. Many still don’t want a school choice program to pass.

“I just don’t see a path forward for it in the House,” said Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston. 

VanDeaver says he’s historically opposed a voucher program, but he’s open to debate it again this fall. 

“I’m looking forward to being a part of that conversation,” he said. “Whether I vote for it or not, the votes in the House are going to be very tough to come by for anything that is very large, very robust.” 

Rep. VanDeaver is among several House members who were tapped to study education policy this summer. In a report released earlier this month, the special committee wrote that if the legislature passes a school choice program, it should prioritize high-need students and ensure fiscal accountability. 

Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, says he won’t support the program until Texas gives more money to public schools.

“I think if we’re not going to fully fund public education, and honor Article 7 of the Constitution, giving free money away without accountability is fiscally irresponsible, and I’m going to continue to have that belief,” he said. “If we get to the place that we fully fund public schools, and we’re doing all we can to give schools like I represent, the communities I represent, an equal educational opportunity, as they have in places like Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, once that’s done, I can vote to give away all the free money the Gov. wants to. But until we take care of our students [and] our teachers... I think those things have to be corrected before you start sending taxpayer money into the private sector without accountability.” 

The program, which is a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott, would allow parents to use public school dollars to send their child to private school. The Texas House has repeatedly rejected vouchers, with rural Republicans joining Democrats to fight against any program that would take money away from public schools. But Gov. Abbott has said he’ll call another special session in the fall to pass the program. 

“I don’t see why we even need to come back for a special session when the governor has the power to fully fund our schools,” said Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin. “I mean, we can keep banging our head against the wall if that’s what the governor wants, but the House does not support vouchers.” 

Rep. Hinojosa says the legislature needs to get back to the basics by increasing funding and teacher pay. 

“It’s so aggravating because we are a rich state,” she said. “We have $30 billion plus in the treasury that we have not touched in the state of Texas. That’s money that our kids need and that we have been unwilling to use.” 

The report also says there’s a need to increase funding for special education.

“At the end of not the last legislative session, but the one prior, we learned from the committee report that the special education program in the state of Texas is under funded to the tune of about $2 billion annually. And that means it is the most under funded program that we have in public education in the state of Texas,” Rep. Hinojosa said. “I’ve heard from countless parents about their inability to access what is their right under federal law to access for their children. But you can’t pay for things with money you don’t have. And in the state of Texas, the state decides how much money we get to spend on our kids in our schools. So what we know is happening is that school districts are pulling from other programs just to provide the bare minimum that they are deciding our kids in special education need under federal law. And that is unacceptable.”

Reps. Hinojosa and King also support switching from an attendance-based funding mechanism to one that relies on enrollment. That would make it so schools don’t lose money when a student has to miss class.

“Texas is one of a few states that punishes our schools when kids are absent,” Rep. Hinojosa said. 

Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, championed school choice legislation during the regular session. In the Senate, a school choice program was tied to teacher raises, meaning one could not pass without the other. 

“That’s holding our children hostage for political reasons, and I was offended by it. I still am,” said Rep. King.  

After the report was released, a group of Democrats in the House created their own committee. They’re hoping to go into the expected special session with a united message of opposing a school choice program. 

“Vouchers is a no-go in Texas,” said Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, who’s on the new committee of Democrats. “We should be putting money into our public schools because we have seen that when we invest in our public schools, there is an immediate return on investment for the teachers that we can bring in, our support to students that can happen, as well as our ability to provide the education that Texans right now deserve.” 

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