A public hearing over whether families can use public school dollars on a private or home school education that started early Tuesday morning continues in Austin. NBC 5 political reporter Phil Prazan reports the author of the bill faced some tough questions earlier in the day.
A lengthy public hearing continued late into the evening Tuesday night in Austin. The Texas House Committee on Public Education debated a proposal for school choice vouchers and whether families should be able to use public school dollars on private and home schools.
A key question brought up is which families should be able to use these vouchers. The Republican plan prioritizes low-income and special needs students but does not have any specific caps on income. That brought criticism from Democrats who argue many wealthy families may use them to pay for their students already in private schools.
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WATCH HEREIn the all-day hearing, private school leaders and their advocates supported the current proposal, arguing every family should have some access to public school dollars to use how they see fit.
"There’s not one way to educate a child and it is our highest obligation as a society to make sure every child gets the education they need, want, and deserve," said Laura Colangelo from the Texas Private Schools Association.
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SIGN UP “These families make great sacrifices to send their children to private schools and it is important that this bill is available to them to eliminate financial pressures," said Jennifer Almond from the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops.
Dallas Democratic Rep. John Bryant asked, "So I’ll be able as a private parent to send my kids to Catholic school pretty much for free right?"
"Perhaps," said Almond.
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According to documents from state capitol analysts, known as the fiscal note, they expect the program to grow from $1 billion to just under $5 billion by 2030. They wrote they expected 50% of current private school students to apply for the program in the first year and then have a five percent increase every year.
The House version of the bill sets aside 85% of the per-student public school funding average for the choice voucher amount, known specifically as an Education Savings Account. That would mean the amount available for families could be more than $10,000 for a student and nearly $30,000 for a special needs student.
Democrats argued the program should at least be capped so the money is all set aside for low-income or special needs students.
“Couldn’t we in this bill cap the income meaning millionaires and billionaires couldn’t take advantage of this program? We could do that right?" asked Austin Democratic Rep. James Talarico.
“We can do whatever we want to do. But the reality is we need a universal program that gives access, that’s prioritized in a way that meets the needs of the most vulnerable," said Salado Republican Rep. Brad Buckley, author of HB 3, the choice voucher program.
This debate will continue this Spring. The Senate version of the program is a bit different and has twenty percent of the $1 billion program set aside without income limits.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott says he has the votes to pass a school choice voucher plan this year unlike two years ago when the Texas House rejected the idea.
