(The Center Square) – An education package was filed in the Texas House on Thursday by state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, which includes a school choice bill that is expected to pass.
Buckley’s education package includes HB 2, which relates to public education and public-school finance; HB 3, which would create Texas’ first Education Savings Account; and HB 4, which relates to public school assessment, accountability and proceedings challenging the operations of a public school system.
The package was filed after House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, identified expanding public school funding and creating the state’s first ESA as legislative priorities. Public education and creating Texas’ first ESA were also identified as emergency legislative items by Gov. Greg Abbot. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick listed school choice as a legislative priority in the Texas Senate.
The Texas Senate and House both filed budgets allocating $1 billion for the state’s first ESA program that will be available to 100,000 students, The Center Square reported.
The Texas Senate passed its school choice bill on Feb. 5, which allocates $10,000 per student per year; $11,500 for students with disabilities; $2,000 for homeschool students.
The Texas House is expected to pass its school choice bill, Burrows has said more than once.
At a recent school choice event in San Antonio, Burrows introduced Abbott and Abbott thanked him for “making Texas history.”
“In the long legacy of the Lone Star State, there’s been countless achievements that we’ve been able to rack up. Texas truly is the biggest and boldest state and yet now, tonight, is the first time ever in the history of our great state, that we’ve had a speaker of the Texas House of Representatives raise his hand and say, ‘Yes, we will pass school choice in the state of Texas,’” Abbott said.
At a Texas Public Policy Foundation event on Wednesday, Abbott also said public schools will be fully funded and the new ESA program won’t take funding away from public schools. He said per-student public school education funding is at an all-time high of more than $15,000 and parents who homeschool their children have control over the curriculum they use.
“The reality is that those who are entrenched in the status quo do not believe in school choice because it disrupts the monopoly that they have on education,” Abbott said to a crowd of more than 500 legislative and policy leaders in Austin. “Those anti-school choice, they’re going to fight to the very end to discourage members to vote in favor of school choice. But you can tell that we are winning. You can tell that the fight is over because there is a process that shows you the end is near. That is when your opponents have nothing else to resort to other than lying about the facts. Our goal must be to take the actions needed to put Texas on a pathway to having the best education for the kids of our state. Texas must rank No. 1 in educating our kids, and school choice is the path to achieving that goal.”
HB 3 includes similar provisions to the Senate’s bill. It will be managed and administered by the state comptroller’s office. ESAs will be approved through a lottery system to eligible applicants.
Positions will be filled by prioritizing 1) children with disabilities who are members of a household with a total annual income that is at or below 500% of the federal poverty guidelines; 2) children who are members of a household with a total annual income that is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines; 3) children who are members of a household with a total annual income that is above 200% of the federal poverty guidelines and below 500% of the federal poverty guidelines; 4) children who are members of a household with a total annual income that is at or above 500% of the federal poverty guidelines, according to the bill language.
The state comptroller’s office would oversee the application process, eligibility of applicable educational organizations, maintain a waiting list, approve education service providers and eligible expenses allowed under the ESA, among other measures, according to the bill language.
Approved ESA expenses incurred by a participating child at a preapproved education service provider or vendor include tuition and fees for a private school, higher education provider, online educational course or program, or program that provides training for an industry-based credential. It also includes textbooks, other instructional materials or uniforms required by private schools or higher education providers. It includes fees for classes provided by public schools and charter schools; costs for academic assessments; fees for private tutors or teaching services; for education therapies or services; costs for computer hardware or software and other technological devices; costs for breakfast and lunch provided to a child during the school day by a private school; among other provisions.
The bill also would allocate $2,000 to home-schooled children per school year.
Buckley, the chairman of the House Public Education Committee, is a former Killeen ISD school board member; his wife is an assistant principal for Secondary Schools in Killeen ISD. He represents central Texas in HD 54, which includes half of Bell County, where he practices veterinary medicine, operates a cow-calf operation and trains western performance horses.