On Tuesday, April 11, the House Public Education Committee heard a full day (and night) of testimony on several House bills related to education savings account/voucher bills. Due to the high number of people registered to testify, Chairman Brad Buckley limited testimony to two minutes per witness and closed registration to testify at 2:30 p.m.
The committee began the meeting by voting out two bills, which will now go to the full House for consideration:
- CSHB 100 (Ken King) relates to the compensation of public school educators and to the public school finance system, including enrollment-based funding for certain allotments under the Foundation School Program. Testimony on the bill was heard in the committee April 4 (TASA testified in support). Rep. King laid out the substitute bill that he had mentioned was coming in the bill’s original hearing. The substitute contains many changes, including increasing some weights in the school finance system and shifting many allotments to be enrollment-based rather than ADA-based, but keeps the basic allotment ADA-based. The bill raises the minimum salary schedule for teachers, and King explained that a floor amendment will add an adjustment for inflation that will be effective with the 2026-27 school year.
- CSHB 114 (Thompson) relates to possession of e-cigarettes on public school property or at certain school events. Testimony on the bill was heard in the committee April 4. Rep. Thompson laid out a committee substitute bill that replaces “shall” with “may” regarding expulsion for possession of marijuana, etc. He said the goal of the bill is for fewer students to be removed from the classroom for vaping offenses.
The committee then began hearing testimony on the bills on the agenda:
- HB 4340 (Frank) relating to the establishment of the Education Savings Account Program to allow certain children to use public money to pursue educational alternatives to public schools and an insurance premium tax credit for contributions made for purposes of that program.
- HB 619 (Shaheen) relating to an insurance premium tax credit for contributions made to certain educational assistance organizations. Read more about this bill, which is considered a voucher bill by the Coalition for Public Schools.
- HB 3781 (Jetton) relating to special education in public schools, including the special education allotment under the Foundation School Program, an education savings account program for certain children with disabilities, and a grant program to reimburse public schools for the cost of certain employer contributions for retirees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas employed to teach special education. Read more about this bill, which is considered a voucher bill by the Coalition for Public Schools.
- Read more about this bill, which is considered a voucher bill by the Coalition for Public Schools.
- HB 4807 (Harrison) relating to the establishment of the Texas Parental Empowerment Program and an insurance premium tax credit for contributions made for purposes of that program. Read more about this bill, which is considered a voucher bill by the Coalition for Public Schools.
- HB 4969 (Schaefer) relating to a parent-directed supplemental services and instructional materials program for public school students. Read more about this (not a voucher) bill.
- HJR 182 (Harris) proposing a constitutional amendment regarding public free schools and prohibiting certain state regulation regarding private educational settings. Read more about this (not a voucher) bill.
The first hours of the hearing featured testimony by those in support of ESAs/vouchers, while the latter portion featured those in opposition. Several members of the committee continually asked detailed questions of those testifying, resulting in robust discussion on all the usual points and counterpoints related to ESA/voucher programs.
The following TASA leaders and members traveled to Austin to testify and/or to register opposition to the ESA/voucher bills on the hearing agenda:
- TASA Executive Director Kevin Brown (testified for TASA)
- Lockhart ISD Superintendent Mark Estrada
- Corsicana ISD Superintendent Diane Frost
- Aldine ISD Superintendent LaTonya Goffney
- Hearne ISD Superintendent Adrain Johnson
- Frenship ISD Superintendent Michelle McCord
- Whitehouse ISD Superintendent Chris Moran (testified for TASA)
- Pewitt CISD Superintendent Melissa Reid
- Lackland ISD Superintendent Burnie Roper
- Los Fresnos CISD Superintendent Gonzalo Salazar
- Tomball ISD Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora
- Ponder ISD Superintendent Jeremy Thompson
- Northside ISD Superintendent Brian Woods
Prior to the hearing on Monday, TASA and 12 other education organizations submitted this letter in opposition to ESAs/vouchers to members of the House Public Education Committee.
