The House Public Education Committee met March 11-12, 2025, to hear public testimony on HB 3, which creates a $1 billion Education Savings Account (ESA) program to be administered and regulated by the Texas Comptroller’s Office beginning with the 2026-27 school year. See a summary of HB 3 as filed.
The hearing began at 8 a.m. Tuesday and did not end until 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, with 396 people registered to testify (308 of them registered “against” the bill). TASA President Martha Salazar-Zamora, superintendent of Tomball ISD, was finally called to testify at about 1 a.m.
Salazar-Zamora’s testimony, given on behalf of TASA, centered around three points:
- Any school that accepts tax dollars should have to accept all children, including those with special needs and behavior issues. “Otherwise, this is not about parent choice; it is about a private school’s choice to pick which kids it is willing to educate,” she said.
- Any school accepting public money should follow the same accountability standards as public schools.
- Any school accepting tax dollars should follow the same transparency laws that all ISDs follow.
See video of Salazar-Zamora’s full testimony, along with a transcript.
Retired Lufkin ISD Superintendent Roy Knight provided lively testimony and exchanged greetings with House Public Education Committee member Rep. Trent Ashby, who served on the Lufkin ISD Board of Trustees during Knight’s tenure as superintendent. See video of his testimony, along with a transcript.
Also providing testimony was Alejos Salazar, superintendent of Lasara ISD, who will begin a two-year term on the TASA Executive Committee representing TASA members in Region 1 starting June 1. He offered very personal testimony that told the story of his own son’s experience in public school. See video of his testimony, along with a transcript.
Key Points from the Nearly 24-hour Hearing
Public education supporters testified that HB 3 would divert necessary funds from public schools, which are already underfunded, to private schools. They expressed concerns about the lack of accountability and transparency in private schools and the potential negative impact on public education.
Supporters of ESAs argued that HB 3 would provide diverse education options, including public, charter, private, and home schools, and empower parents to choose the best educational setting for their children. They believe it would improve educational outcomes by fostering competition among schools.
There were discussions about the implications of HB 3 on special education. It was noted that while public schools are required to provide special education services, private schools receiving funds through ESAs are not obligated to provide such services.
The financial implications of the bill were debated, with concerns that the funding for ESAs would reduce the budget available for public education. The estimated cost of the ESA program was projected to be significant, potentially impacting the funding of public schools.
Remarks were also made about the political pressure and influence surrounding the bill, with some committee members stating that the push for ESAs is not aligned with the needs of their constituents.
HB 3 was left pending.
Nearly 3,000 pages of public comments on HB 3 have been submitted to the committee. View the comments.
