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The House Republican leading efforts on ”school choice” legislation submitted his version of a voucher proposal Thursday night, calling for boosts to public education in exchange for implementing a capped savings account program.
House Bill 1 laid out a different approach than the Senate’s version, which was approved last week, that would award families $8,000 to use for private education.
The bill from Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, would give parents 75% of the state’s basic allotment per student, which is currently $6,160 and has not increased since 2019.
For the first year, school districts would receive a minor increase in the basic allotment, raising it to $6,190. Parents participating in the voucher program would receive roughly $4,600 to spend on private schooling. In the second year, the allotment would increase by $310.
To address calls to improve teacher compensation, educators would receive a one-time $4,000 bonus. Additionally, school districts would be required to spend 50% of the additional state funding, stemming from the allotment increases, on salaries for full-time employees, excluding administrators.
For the first year of Buckley’s educational savings account program, only 25,000 Texas students would be eligible in the 2024-25 school year. That number would increase by 25,000 students each successive year, until 2027 when the cap would be removed.
Students with disabilities from low-income families would be prioritized in Buckley’s legislation, though no specific limits were imposed on how many students from each income bracket can participate in the program — unlike the Senate’s version.
HB 1 includes funding for home-schoolers, though it is limited to $1,000.
Last Thursday, the Senate approved a bill by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, that would allow families to access nearly twice the amount of taxpayer money proposed in the House to pay for private schools and other educational expenses such as uniforms, textbooks, tutoring or transportation.
Supporters of school voucher programs say public schools are not meeting the educational needs of some students. They say the state needs to step in to provide financial assistance to parents who want to pursue private and home schooling.
Critics say that when students leave public schools, districts lose money because state funding is tied to student attendance. They argue the money for educational savings accounts should be invested in public schools.
The House is home to more critics of education savings accounts. During the regular session, the Senate’s voucher bill — nearly identical to the version that passed the Senate on a largely party-line vote on Oct. 12 — died in the House, where Democrats and rural Republicans have historically opposed any form of vouchers.
HB 1 signals the beginning of negotiations between the two chambers on the subject, which remains a daunting task given the widening political gulf between the House and Senate.
As recently as last week, some House members said they planned to oppose legislation to create educational savings accounts, even if it comes at the cost of not sending more money to public schools or raising teacher salaries, another priority of public education advocates.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune