Central Texas Republican Brad Buckley will once again helm the House Public Education Committee as the state Legislature contemplates whether to establish a school voucher program that would allow families to use taxpayer dollars to pay for private schools and homeschooling.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced committee assignments for the 89th legislative session Thursday. Buckley, who is one of 30 Republican chairs this session, had backed Burrows during the contentious race for speaker, as did state Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio), who is serving as vice chair.
“Assigning members to committees is among the most significant and intricate responsibilities of the Speaker—one that demands thoughtful consideration and a delicate balance of many factors,” Burrows said in a statement.
Buckley, whose district covers half of Bell County, chaired the committee during the 2023 legislative session. He spearheaded efforts that year to get a school voucher bill approved in the House during both the Legislature's regular and special sessions — a push that ultimately failed after a coalition of rural Republicans and Democrats repeatedly blocked the proposal.
As previously reported by KERA, Buckley expects school voucher legislation, which is one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency items, to get across the finish line this session. Buckley, who attended Killeen ISD schools and whose wife is an assistant superintendent for that district, has also said he supports increasing public school funding. KUT reached out to Buckley for comment about the committee appointment but has not yet heard back.
Speaker Burrows, for his part, told the Texas Newsroom this week that he believes the House has the votes to establish “a universal school choice program” this session.
“The House is prepared to lead on this issue and, importantly, on securing meaningful investments for public education and teacher pay raises,” Burrows said in an emailed statement. “This commitment is evident in the House’s base budget, which provides $4.85 billion in new funding in public education, $1 billion to establish educational savings accounts, as well as $400 million for school-safety improvements.”
This comes on the heels of the Senate's quick movement last week to approve its version of a school voucher bill, as it has in previous sessions.
“This is the sixth time the Texas Senate has passed school choice, with every previous bill dying in the Texas House,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, said in a statement. “The Senate will pass school choice over and over again until the House passes this bill. The days of limiting millions of Texas students to a one-size-fits-all approach are over.”
The legislation passed by the Senate, Senate Bill 2, sets aside $1 billion to create education savings accounts (ESAs) that would provide families with $10,000 per student toward the cost of private school tuition. Students with disabilities would receive an additional $1,500 in funding. SB 2’s fiscal note estimates that, by 2030, the voucher-like program would cost more than $3.7 billion.
While Buckley has expressed support for establishing a school voucher program, other Central Texans on the House Public Education Committee are staunch opponents. Burrows reappointed two Austin-area Democrats to the panel: state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a former president of the Austin ISD school board, and state Rep. James Talarico, a former teacher.
Talarico told KUT in an emailed statement that Abbott "has created a school funding emergency" and that a voucher program would make the situation worse.
"Greg Abbott and his billionaire mega-donors are doing everything they can to defund our neighborhood public schools with a private school voucher scam," he said. "It’s time for our state government to step up and serve the 5.5 million public school students in Texas."
While school vouchers are a marquee issue the House Public Education Committee will be working on this legislative session, Abbott also named teacher pay as an emergency item. Public education advocates have also been pushing for an increase in the base level of funding per student in Texas, known as the basic allotment. The last time the Legislature increased that allotment was in 2019, when lawmakers raised it from $5,140 to $6,160.
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