Abbott says he’s reached an agreement on vouchers; Texas lawmakers say otherwise

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday issued a statement saying he and House Speaker Dade Phelan have reached a deal on education vouchers by expanding the current special session agenda to include teacher pay raises and more school funding.

However, lawmakers at the Texas Capitol are light on details, and at least one state representative is calling bullshit on Abbott’s announcement.

Abbott made vouchers his top priority for a special session he called of the Texas Legislature after the proposal he originally backed died in the Texas House. Vouchers also have seemed DOA during the special session because of continued resistance from Democrats and rural Republicans in the lower chamber.

On Tuesday, Abbott gave a vague description of a deal that he and Phelan reached. That proposal involves giving families of all K-12 students $10,400 in school vouchers if they opt out of public school and enroll in private or charter schools. The agreement also includes “billions more in public education funding,” some of which would go toward teacher pay raises, according to Abbott’s statement.

“This is the next step in the legislative process to deliver school choice to Texas parents and students who deserve the freedom to choose the education that best fits their learning needs,” the Republican governor said.

However, Phelan’s spokesperson Cassi Pollock offered a far more reserved comment when asked by the Texas Tribune whether Abbott’s announcement was the real deal.

“Speaker Phelan … looks forward to having robust discussions on school funding, teacher pay and other critical education issues with his House colleagues,” Pollock told the Tribune.

Republican State Rep. Ernest Bailes, a staunch voucher opponent, told the Tribune that Abbott’s proclamation was “nothing more than political theater.”

“To my knowledge, there’s no deal,” Bailes said. “If public education teachers, and our kids’ safety was truly important, that would have been added on the Call on Day Zero,” Bailes told the publication.

Abbott’s big announcement comes eight days before the special session he called earlier this month is set to expire. Although the Senate passed a voucher bill, there’s virtually been no movement on a similar proposal in the House, which would have allocated $8,000 to families who pull their kids from public school.

Abbott has threatened to call a fourth special session if he can’t reach an agreement on the issue with House holdouts. If that fails, the governor has threatened to primary anti-voucher Republicans, the Tribune reports.

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This article appears in Oct 18-30, 2023.