Lawmakers in the Texas House on Thursday approved a bill creating a $1 billion private school voucher program, described as GOP Gov. Greg Abbott's top legislative priority.
"This is an extraordinary victory for the thousands of parents who have advocated for more choices when it comes to the education of their children," Abbott said in a statement, adding that he would "swiftly sign this bill into law," reports The Texas Tribune.
The lower chamber signed off on the voucher proposal by a vote of 85-63, with all Democrats present and two Republicans voting against the measure.
In previous sessions, bipartisan coalitions blocked proposals that would have allowed Texas families to use taxpayer money for private schools.
The vote early Thursday came more than 10 hours after the House gave preliminary approval to a $7.7 billion school funding package that gives pay raises to teachers while allowing local districts more money for students.
The funding measure, House Bill 2, passed on a near-unanimous vote of 144-4. It will also allocate funding for special education services based on the individual needs of children with disabilities.
Initially, Democrats argued that the $7.7 billion was not enough for districts to recover from budget deficits or to cover growing costs for education after several years of inflation.
The House still needs to cast a final vote to approve the voucher and spending bills before sending the measures to the Senate where lawmakers from both chambers will work to reconcile the legislation before forwarding it to Abbott for his signature.
Democrats tried to stop the voucher bill with an amendment putting the issue for a statewide vote in November, but only one Republican, Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont, supported that plan.
The House's landmark vote is the first time since 1957 that it approved legislation to make state money available for private schools.
During last year's primary election, Abbott pushed to build a pro-voucher majority in the House by targeting Republicans who blocked his proposal in 2023. The state House and Senate have not yet finalized their plan on the legislation to forward to him for signing.
According to the House plan, $1 billion will be used to create education savings accounts that will allow vouchers for families to use for private schooling and other expenses, such as textbooks or transportation.
The bill ties the program's per-student money to public education funding, meaning the amount available to participating students will increase when public school funding goes up and drop when it declines.
The legislation also has a provision so that if public demand exceeds the voucher program's capacity, low-income families and students with disabilities will be prioritized, but not guaranteed, admission to any private school.
The major differences between the chambers' bills center on how much money students should receive, who takes priority, and how the program will accommodate students with disabilities.
The House bill requires private schools to have been open for at least two years before qualifying, grants the state auditor power to review organizations administering the program, and requires an annual report that includes dropout, expulsion, and graduation data on participating students with disabilities.