Texas lawmakers to vote on school choice program

(NewsNation) — The school choice battle in Texas could soon come to an end.

After nearly a year of debate, the Texas State House is set to vote Friday on a bill that would allow taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition.

This has been one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s main priorities for his third term, and Texas is not alone in this fight.

At least 19 states have expanded school choice programs this year, according to the National School Choice Awareness Foundation

Abbott has called four special sessions and put a lot of pressure on lawmakers to get this done.

The bill would create educational savings accounts, ESAs, that would give students who qualify more than $10,000 to go toward private school or other educational expenses.

Opponents of the bill say taxpayer dollars should stay in public schools, while supporters say it empowers parents to decide what’s best for their students.

“They deserve more opportunities to have a high-quality education. That’s not to say that public schools are bad, but is to say that we need more opportunities,” Denisha Allen, who supports school choice, said.

Texas public schools rank 28 out of all 50 states, according to a recent study from Wallet Hub.

“Fund our public schools so our teachers can teach and not have to worry about it and let’s debate the ESA issue on its own merit. Don’t confuse the term hostage, but we’re using public school funding as a hostage,” HD Chambers with the Texas School Alliance said.

The bill would also increase teacher pay, bump up the per-student funding and add more money for school safety.

But it’s the farthest this bill has gotten.

Rural school districts have expressed a lot of concerns about this, saying it will drain their funding. Coaches have even spoken out, claiming the bill could potentially impact recruitment for athletics.