Texas House passes $1B private school voucher bill

The Texas House made history early this morning when lawmakers approved a private school voucher program. 

It is the first time the school-choice measure has made it through the chamber.

The House and Senate will have to hammer out the differences in Senate Bill 2, but the biggest hurdle has been cleared.

Passing of school vouchers

What we know:

Democrats had no tools to stop the vote and Governor Greg Abbott just got his top priority across the finish line.

Texas Democrats delayed the inevitable, but on Thursday at 2 am, House Republicans checked off a major box by passing education savings accounts, also known as school vouchers. 

The pitch from Republicans is to provide choice for parents.

Senate bill 2 sets aside one billion dollars for savings' accounts that allow eligible students to pay costs associated with private schools.

Gov. Abbott has applied a lot of pressure on Republicans to fall in line this session. 

Hours before the debate started, President Trump spoke to lawmakers by phone. 

Critics complain the bill undermines state support for public schools even with a separate school funding bill that also passed the house on Wednesday.

What they're saying:

Many representatives on both sides have voiced their discernment with the passing of the school vouchers.

"This bill is everything that is wrong with politics. It's the interest of big money over everyday Texans," said Democratic representative Gina Hinojosa.

SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson talks about the vote and what happened next. 

"They want to be able to say that school choice is not the enemy of public education. That we can both invest appropriate resources into public education, as we just did, they'll say, by putting eight billion additional dollars there, and also provide families with these private school options," said Wilson.

Wilson said it’s unlikely Republicans who supported the legislation will get heat at the polls a year from now. 

 "I think the only way that this could end up hurting Republicans is if it somehow creates chaos in the public school system, or if there ends up being bitterness about who gets to take advantage of these programs if the demand greatly exceeds the supply," said Wilson.

The goal of Republicans is to prioritize low-income and special needs students.

"Too many of our students, especially low-income and minority students, are trapped in schools that are failing them," said Republican representative Ellen Troxclair. 

The threshold for "low income" in the house version is a household bringing in about $162,000. 

Wilson said a year or two from now, there could be criticism if the allocation does not serve a certain population.

What's next:

President Trump and other leaders praised the work done by Republicans in the house. Democrats continue to say this is a plan to allow wealthy families to get a taxpayer-funded scholarship for their kids who are already in private school.