Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed bills into law that will create a censorship system and statewide ratings for school libraries and centralize school curricula on a state level, while continuing to push for legislation to allow state funding for education vouchers.
House Bill 900, which the Republican governor praised Monday as getting "that trash out of our schools," will ban books with sexual content from school libraries, while the curriculum measure, House Bill 1605, offers extra funding for school districts that adopt lesson plans approved by the state, reported The San Antonio Express-News.
Abbott also Monday signed measures allowing grants of $1,500 for families with children in special education programs, as well as to give parents further authority in decisions on holding their children back from progressing in grades.
Opponents of the rating bill are warning that it's in place to target the LGBTQ audience, and small independent bookstores claim the new law could damage their businesses.
The curriculum bill, meanwhile, also includes requirements that parents will be able to view lesson plans while overhauling how the State Board of Education vets textbooks and classroom instructional materials.
However, some teachers have said the measure will be used to tighten the state's control over how they do their jobs.
Abbott lauded the House and Senate for the work in providing "transformative changes in education" in the state, but also said, "We're not done yet."
"We all know that in addition to the changes I'm about to send into law, we need to deliver on the promise to parents that parents will have the ability to choose education pathways best for their child," he said.
Abbott has made school vouchers — education savings accounts to put state dollars toward private school tuition — a priority this year, but has faced opposition from the Republican-led state House.
Last month, the state Senate attempted to add vouchers to a House finance bill that would have also allowed pay raises for teachers, increased funds for schools, and replaced the state's standardized testing system, leading to the measure being rejected.
Abbott said vouchers are "far closer than what people know" to becoming state law, but no voucher bills have gotten a vote in the Texas House this year, continuing opposition that has been going on among Democrats and some Republicans since 2005.
Abbott on Monday repeated a pledge for a special session to push harder for school choice.
Opponents to the voucher program say they would lead to students leaving public schools, which would deprive the schools of per-student funding, but supporters say the policy is needed so all children have an opportunity to attend private schools.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on Monday, after Abbott signed the bills, said a group from his chamber will work this summer to get ready for the "all but certain" special session.
"The select committee will begin working immediately to closely examine this subject matter and develop a workable road map for legislation in the House," Phelan said in a statement.
The group will include 10 Republicans and 5 Democrats. Nine of the committee's members opposed private school voucher legislation in this year's regular congressional session.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.