Texas Senate holds public hearing on school vouchers
AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Senate took the first step to getting school vouchers on the Senate floor Thursday.
The new proposal would provide funding for 100,000 students statewide to leave public school and attend private school.
What we know:
Republican senators filed Senate Bill 2 Friday.
Like previous bills from past sessions, the bill would create "education savings accounts" that incentivize pulling students from public school to attend private schools.
The bill would create education savings accounts from taxpayer money for families who are interested in private education over public with up to $10,000 per year per student.
Students with disabilities could get up to $11,500.
The bill would have a lottery system where 80 percent of the funds would be allocated to students who have special needs or are in low-income households.
The remaining 20 percent would be open to any student based on lottery selection.
What will it cost?

The Senate Committee on Education K-16 meets on Jan. 28, 2025.
Texas lawmakers have set aside $4.8 billion in new funding for public education.
Of that money, $1.2 billion is intended for the school vouchers program.
Both the Texas House and Senate proposed setting aside about $1 billion to fund the program with higher priorities for lower-income households and kids with special needs.
What we don't know:
Just how far Republicans get with this version of the bill remains to be seen.
During the last session, the bill failed to pass after Republicans in rural districts sided with Democrats in the House to block the passing.
The bill passed in the Senate.
What they're saying:
Sen. Royce West, one of two Democrats on the committee, raised his concerns about getting the bill right before anyone testified Tuesday.
"I want us to make certain we listen to the people of Texas because America's eyes are on us with vouchers," West said.
West also pushed committee chair and the bill's author, Sen. Brandon Creighton on access to the audit data for the program.
Creighton said the data would be available as long as student identities were protected.
The issue was again brought up by a panelist later, who was concerned about protection for private schools.
Creighton said the only data available would be what was collected through the education savings account audits.
Creighton was also pressed by the other Democrat on the committee, Sen. Jose Menendez.
"You know, I would be more than happy to support something as innovative as this is, after we support our public schools," Menendez said.
His comments were met with applause from the crowd.
"Help us with expectations if its full formulas and enrollment growth and a multiple X factor on what we've ever provided public schools as new money before, if those are the requirements because those are historic and that's not good enough," Creighton said. "Please get me the rest of the framework because we keep setting records here, and we just can't quite impress you enough."
Pro-voucher advocates from around the country were invited to testify before the committee.
"More than half the kids are not testing at grade level and some parents don't have the luxury of waiting around for schools to figure it out," Russell Withers, policy director for the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute, said.
Jennifer Allmon, the executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, says the bill needs to prioritize the needs of poorer families. The conference wants to see help for lower-income families.
The bill sets the income threshold to be considered lower income at 500 percent of the national poverty line, meaning a family of four making $160,000 per year would qualify.
Allmon said she felt that number was fine because of the "working poor" that are trying to put their children through private schools.
Fort Worth Pastor Kyev Tatum said the plan was better than having no plan.
"When you're drowning, you're looking for a life vest to get you out of that situation. It doesn't matter where that life vest comes from as long as you can get that life vest," Tatum said. "That's the condition of inner-city schools. We're not getting the life vests from the public schools. Sure, I would love for the public schools to do well. But the reality is those schools in my community and 76104, they're not getting the same as the West side in the public schools."
Live Updates
5:32 p.m. - It seems some people may have left before they were called.
5:07 p.m. - Rachel Barlow has two special-needs children. She says they were not getting the help or resources they needed.
5:04 p.m. - James Dickey, arguing in support of the bill, says he moved from Dallas to Flower Mound. Then he again moved to Austin but says his child was bullied, and they paid thousands to home school her. He's in support, so others can afford to move schools.
5:00 p.m. - The members are concerned about demographic reporting and if the program will truly benefit lower-income families.
4:58 p.m. - Members from the Texas Education Policy Institute say the data isn't there to pass the bill.
4:54 p.m. - We've made it to public comments
4:05 p.m. - Allmon, when asked, says they believe the 500% above poverty does not hurt prioritization of lower income.
3:59 p.m. - Jennifer Allmon of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops says the bill needs to prioritize the needs of poorer families. Wants to see help for lower-income families.
Another issue for them is accreditation.
3:42 p.m. - Second panel is coming up now.
3:30 p.m. - Inlow says he doesn't think school choice hinders the growth of private choices through government overreach.
3:17 p.m. - "I think school choice is a moral imperative." - Cunneen
3:14 p.m. - The panelists all say $10,000 is well above the average when compared to other states.
3:12 p.m. - West questions if $10,000 per child is enough.
3 p.m. - Cunneen says he helped in Iowa and South Carolina when they were moving to school choice. Says this is the best bill he's seen.
2:57 p.m. - Nathan Cunneen is the Texas State Director at the American Federation of Children, a school choice advocacy group. He said he used school choice in Florida.
2:55 p.m. - Inlow is pointing at research that school choice improves test scores at public schools.
2:53 p.m. - Microphone is fixed.
2:51 p.m. - Robert Inlow is from EdChoice, he's the first to testify. The microphones on the floor are having issues.
2:44 p.m. - "You know, I would be more than happy to support something innovated as this is after we support our public schools." - Menendez
His comments were met with applause from the crowd.
"Help up with expectations if its full formulas and enrollment growth and a multiple X factor on what we've ever provided public schools as new money before, if those are the requirements because those are historic and that's not good enough. Please get me the rest of the framework because we keep setting records here, and we just can't quite impress you enough." - Creighton
2:36 p.m. - Hagenbuch expresses concern that private and home school data would be public records. Creighton says he believes only things related to the ESA program would be available.
2:28 p.m. - West and Creighton are having a spirited debate over access to audit data.

Sens. Brandon Creighton and Royce West
West asks if the committee will get to see the comptroller's audit. Creighton says the data will be available. West asks about the actual audit and if it would be subject to public records request.
Creighton said yes, as long as identities are protected.
2:24 p.m. - When asked about the bill's high threshold, Creighton says families have different problems.
West asks why the bill doesn't prioritize things like low-income or poor-performing schools.
2:17 p.m. - If you're curious: Plyler v. Doe (1982)
2:09 p.m. - No provision requiring citizenship. Creighton points to an ESA bill in Alabama that has that as a clause requiring citizenship. Creighton believes that bill may be thrown out if challenged in court. He said the Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe refuses education restrictions based on citizenship.
Creighton says he would put a trigger amendment that would trigger if that decision was overturned.
2:02 p.m. - The plan would require the use of preapproved schools and vendors.
1:55 p.m. - $200 million of the $1 billion funding would be available to anyone. The other $800 million for "most vulnerable kids"
1:44 p.m. - Using those guidelines, a family of three would qualify as low income, making $133,250.
$160, 750 for a family of four.
188,250 for a family of five.
1:37 p.m. - Menendez asks about "low-income households" being at 500% or less than the federal poverty guidelines. Creighton says the threshold would allow a family who works as a "teacher and a firefighter" with multiple kids to qualify.
Menendez says the high limit to getting a lottery chance doesn't make it an incentive for the lottery.
1:29 p.m. - Creighton says the money will not go to parents, it will be directed through the Comptroller's Office.
1:26 p.m. - "The funds for the education savings account, they don't come from public education." - Creighton
1:23 p.m. - "We've got an incredible framework to support those families once and if they're approved." - Creighton
1:20 p.m. - "At the end of the day, many of our Texas students need options and variations on their learning environment." - Creighton
1:18 p.m. - A look at the crowd in attendance for the hearing as Creighton outlines the bill:

A large crowd is gathered for the Senate committee on education hearing on Jan. 28, 2025.
1:16 p.m. - Committee rules change for this session: higher education is no longer a subcommittee.
1:14 p.m. - Bettencourt says a debate over school choice sharpens the entire education system.
1:12 p.m. - "It's pretty simple, this is about empowering parents." - Middleton
1:07 p.m. - "I want us to make certain that we listen to the people of Texas because America's eyes are on us as we discuss issues concerning vouchers" - West
1:02 p.m. - We're introducing staff members before we dig into SB2.

The Senate Committee on Education K-16 meets on Jan. 28, 2025.
12:58 p.m. - All members are present.
12:55 p.m. - Committee on Education K-16 members: Chair - Sen. Creighton(R- Conroe), Vice-Chair Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels); members: Sens. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), Brent Hagenbuch (R), Adam Hinojosa (R), Phil King (R-Weatherford), Jose Menendez (D- San Antonio), Mayes Middleton (R- Galveston), Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound), Angela Paxton (R-McKinney), Royce West (D-Dallas).
12:53 p.m. - Members are still on their way to the hearing. Committee Chair Sen. Brandon Creighton says they are still waiting for a few members before roll call.
12:42 p.m. - The scheduled start to the meeting was delayed after the full Senate passed a lot of resolutions.
The backstory:
When the plan entered the Texas House during the last legislative session, many Republicans from rural districts sided with Democrats to vote down the issue, fearing the bill's passage would take money from public schools in their district.
Abbott made it a priority during the election season to find primary opponents for those representatives and all the Abbott-backed Republicans in the general election won their elections, seemingly giving enough votes to pass the bill.
Abbott has previously said he would not sign a school funding bill that didn't have vouchers attached.
Abbott has said the program would not take funding from public schools.
Opponents, however, said that the bill hurts rural districts where there are no private schools for parents to use the program and fear the program would divert money from public schools through decreased enrollment in public schools or through long-term impacts of the state committing more funding to the program.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said the bill will be a top priority in the Senate, where the lieutenant governor serves as the leader of the chamber.
Patrick said he would ask the governor to make the bill an "emergency item" and allow its passage early.
Under the Texas Constitution, lawmakers are only allowed to file bills in the first 60 days of a session unless it is declared an emergency item by the governor.
Typically, bills filed at the beginning of the session aren't heard until March, when they go to committees that determine if they are heard by the full chamber. Bills in the full chamber are considered to have passed the first reading.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Texas Senate and previous Fox 7 reporting.