BREAKING: School Vouchers Experience "Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly" on House Floor
A coalition of Democrats and rural Republicans once again doomed a voucher proposal in the Texas House of Representatives. What now?
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Saturday, November 18, 2023, 9:00 a.m.
Like the SpaceX rocket that blew up this morning, Greg Abbott’s hopes for a voucher bill this session experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” when the House voted 84-63 to strip vouchers from the education bill, HB 1. (The vote tally is here.) Every Democrat voted to remove the voucher provision, along with 21 of the chamber’s 87 Republicans.
(The Texas House in session.)
House Education Chair Brad Buckley (R-Salado), then asked the House to send the bill back to his committee. In addition to vouchers, the bill included provisions to increase per-pupil funding and also to strengthen school safety resources.
Anti-voucher members suggested that’s the end of vouchers for this session, whether in the House bill or in Senate bills awaiting action in the House:
Austin Democratic Rep. James Talarico, a staunch opponent of vouchers, said members had assurances from Speaker Dade Phelan that Buckley’s bill won’t be revived in the current special session.
Asked if two Senate-passed bills on ESAs and school funding would hit the House floor, Talarico replied, “I don’t see that happening. I think we’re done.”
Governor Abbott vented his pique at the House in a statement, saying, “The vast majority of Texans — and Republicans in the Texas House — support school choice. The small minority of pro-union Republicans in the Texas House who voted with Democrats will not derail the outcome that their voters demand.”
My take: There’s still two weeks left in the session, and Buckley may try to negotiate with his recalcitrant GOP comrades, either by moderating the voucher provisions or by sweetening the other provisions. But let’s face it: next Thursday is Thanksgiving and the legislators have been trapped in the Capitol for the better part of eleven months now. They may not be interested in further pressure tactics from Abbott and the Senate.
...pro-union Republicans, or pro-Union Republicans (i.e., anti-confederate Republicans)? Oh that clever Abbott.
I’m giving up, it keeps knocking me off, I refuse to believe it’s because I never understood the concept of “Less is More”🤪
Briefly I’m delighted that the vouchers did not move forward! The biggest roadblock to these vouchers has been the dollars amount and how much above that parents of Public School Students will need to pay, on top of the voucher, on top of paying taxes to fund public schools!
It a boon for the wealthy who can afford to send their children to Private Schools, as it’s cash in hand!but
Not the same for Public Schools parents receiving these vouchers!
Finally , Private School do not have the same accountability as public Schools, but that is a much longer story.