Learn
With the House Public Education Committee starting to hold meetings, now is a great time to learn everything you need to know about vouchers. The Texas Tribune has done a great job of pulling together a lot of information into one place. Check it out.
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SPILLING THE CAPITOL TEA
House
The House unveiled HB 2, the House version of the school finance bill, HB 3, the House version of the school voucher bill, and HB 4, an accountability reform bill.
HB 2
House Bill 2 would increase the basic allotment from $6,160 per student to $6,380 per student, an increase of just $220. Our schools need closer to $1300 increase, to more than $7500 per student just to keep up with inflation and get us back to 2019 funding levels.
HB 3
House Bill 3 is the largest and most expensive private school voucher bill ever proposed in the Texas House. HB 3 will divert taxpayer dollars out of our public schools and into unaccountable private schools that can discriminate against our students.
Eligibility: Universal eligibility for every school-aged child and PreK-eligible child. HB 3 does not include an income cap, meaning millionaires and billionaires are eligible for voucher money.
Voucher Amount: The voucher can be used for private school expenses OR high-quality PreK, though the PreK eligibility remains unclear in the bill text.
All students: Eligible to receive 85% of the estimated statewide average state and local funding per student in ADA — $10,198 in 2026 and nearly $10,500 in 2027.
Homeschoolers: Eligible to receive $2,000.
Special Education Students: Eligible to receive their full public school entitlement amount, up to $30,000.
Prioritization: Despite voucher proponents’ rhetoric, HB 3 does not prioritize students who are currently in public schools. Students who are already in private schools are equally eligible for this money. The bill includes a series of prioritization criteria, but if low-income students and students with disabilities (categories 1-3 below) do not apply for a voucher — or apply and are not granted admission into a private school — most of the voucher seats will go to wealthier families with kids already in private schools (category 4).
Students with a disability AND who are members of a household at or below 500% of the federal poverty line (FPL)
Students who are part of a household below 200% of the FPL
Students who are part of a household above 200% and below 500% of the FPL
Students who are part of a household at or above 500% of the FPL
If a child ceases to use a voucher, then they are moved to the bottom of the waitlist if they wish to use a voucher again
For reference, currently, 500% of the FPL for a single parent with one child is $105,750 and 500% of the federal poverty line for a family of 6 is $215,750.
Accountability: Participating students would be required to take either the state-required assessment or a nationally norm-referenced exam.
HB 4
House Bill 4 would instruct the Texas Education Agency to modify the STAAR test, reducing its length and prioritizing post-secondary preparation.
House Committee meetings this week
Monday, February 24, 2025
House Appropriations Committee
10am, Room E2.026
The Subcommittee on Article III will meet to hear testimony on House budget recommendations for Texas Permanent School Fund Corporation and Teacher Retirement System.
Public testimony will be taken and may be limited to three minutes.
Texas residents who wish to electronically submit comments related to agenda items on this notice without testifying in person can do so until the hearing is adjourned by visiting: https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c012
CALL TO ACTION!
More information and a call to action can be found here.
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2025
House Pub Ed Committee
10am, in Room JHR 140, (Reagan Office Building)
The Committee will meet to hear invited testimony only from state agencies concerning updates regarding The state of public education with invited testimony only from the Texas Education Agency.
Texas residents who wish to electronically submit comments related to agenda items on this notice without testifying in person can do so until the hearing is adjourned by visiting: https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c400
CALL TO ACTION!
More information and a call to action can be found here.
Senate
SB 26
The Senate K-16 Education Committee voted to send SB 26 to the full chamber after a hearing on Thursday. It would establish yearly pay raises for teachers with at least three years of experience, with additional increase for instructors who teach for at least five years. It also expands a state program that offers raises to instructors based on student performance and allow educators to enroll their children in pre-K free of charge. It does not include pay increase for non-classroom school workers, like counselors, nurses, aids, and the other people who support our students and schools.
Senate Committee meetings this week
No relevant committee meetings for us this week.
Last Week's Events
Our House Open House
Last week we hosted our first annual OUR HOUSE Open House and it was a huge success. We had over 100 students and families who delivered hundreds of postcards to dozens of policymakers. We played our School Funding Cornhole game, which gave poeple a real sense of the additional challenges our children face competing against children you come from better-resourced schools. Thank you to everyone who joined us and everyone who helped put this amazing event on. Our reps are still buzzing with excitment from the energy we shared with them.
Save Our Schools Rally
The weather pushed the Rally inside but there were still almost 2,000 attendees between two different churches near the Capitol. Speakers included Congressman Lloyd Doggett, fierce Pub Ed reps, Gina Hinojosa and James Talarico, and our own school board member, Lynn Boswell. After a lot of great speeches, the crowd marched to the Capitol to hear from students and teachers. It was a great day to be a public education supporter in Texas.
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