Brad Buckley, a Central Republican in Texas, has pondered whether to set up a school voucher program that will allow state legislatures to use taxpayer dollars to pay for private schools and homeschooling. As he is there, he will again direct the House Public Education Committee.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced the committee allocation for the 89th Legislative Session on Thursday. Buckley, one of the 30 Republican chairs in the session, also replied with Vice-Chair Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio), who also served as vice-chairman, to Burrows during the race of debate serving as chair. I supported it.
“Assigning members to committees is one of the speakers’ most important and complicated responsibilities. This requires thoughtful consideration and a delicate balance of many factors,” Burrows said in a statement. It’s there.
Buckley, whose district covers half of Bell County, served as chairman of the committee at the 2023 legislative meeting. He led the efforts that year to obtain a school voucher bill that was approved by the House in both regular and special sessions of Congress. This is a push that ultimately failed after a coalition of rural Republicans and Democrats repeatedly blocked proposals.
As Kera previously reported, Buckley hopes to cross the session with one of Governor Greg Abbott’s emergency items, the School Voucher Act, to the finish line. Buckley, who attends Killeen ISD school and whose wife is the district’s aide, also said she supports increased funding for public schools. Kut contacted Buckley to comment on the appointment of the committee, but has not responded yet.
Speaker Burrows told the Texas newsroom this week that he believes he has the vote to establish a “universal school selection program” in the session.
“This issue is ready to lead this issue and, importantly, by ensuring meaningful investments for public education and teacher pay raises,” Burrows said. I said it in an email. “This commitment is clear in the House’s Basic Budget, which provides $1 billion to establish new public education funds, education savings accounts, and $400 million to improve school safety. it is clear.”
This comes just after the Senate quick movement last week, just like in previous sessions, to approve a version of the school’s voucher bill.
Renee Dominguez
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KUT News
“This is the sixth time the Texas Senate has passed a school selection, and all previous bills have died in Texas homes,” Senate Speaker Lt. Gen. Dan Patrick said in a statement. “The Senate will repeat school choices over and over until the House passes this bill. The days of limiting millions of Texan students to a first-class approach are over.”
The Senate-Passed Act will set Senate Bill 2 aside $1 billion and create an Educational Savings Account (ESA) that will provide families with $10,000 per student to suit private school tuition fees. Students with disabilities will receive an additional $1,500 in funding. SB 2’s fiscal notes estimate that by 2030, programs like voucher will cost more than $3.7 billion.
Buckley has expressed his support in establishing a school’s voucher program, but other Central Texans on the House Public Education Board are solid opponents. Burrows has reappointed two Austin-area Democrats to the panel: State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, former president of the Austin ISD Board of Education, and former teacher, State Rep. James Tarico.
Talarico told Kut via email that Abbott “created an emergency that funded the school,” and that the voucher program would make the situation worse.
“Greg Abbott and his billionaire mega donor are doing everything they can to refund public schools in our neighborhood for private school voucher scams,” he said. “It’s time for the state government to step up and serve Texas’ 5.5 million public school students.”
The school’s voucher is Marquee, but the House Public Education Committee is working on this legislative meeting, while Abbott has appointed Teacher Pay as an emergency item. Public education advocates are also driving an increase in the basic level of funding per student in Texas, known as the basic allocation. The last time Congress increased, its allocation was in 2019, when lawmakers raised it from $5,140 to $6,160.
