Abbott’s voucher hopes fade as Texas House recesses until next week

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s hopes of passing school voucher legislation during the current legislative special session are fading fast.

The Texas House recessed for a long weekend, meaning it’s highly unlikely anything will get done before the session Abbott called comes to an end on Tuesday, Nov. 7. A voucher proposal has already passed the Senate but faced an uphill battle in the lower chamber, where Democrats and rural Republicans have said they have no interest in taking up the matter.

On Tuesday, Abbott said he and House Speaker Dade Phelan reached an agreement on vouchers. Although light on details, the Republican governor said K-12 students whose parents opt out of public education to enroll in private schools would receive $10,400 annually to cover the cost. He also said the deal would include “billions more in public education funding.”

However, that same day, Phelan’s spokesperson told the Texas Tribune downplayed the idea that there was a compromise. Republican State Rep. Ernest Bailes, a staunch voucher opponent, told the Tribune Abbott’s proclamation was “nothing more than political theater.”

Even so, the governor reiterated his hopes of a voucher victory during a Wednesday morning press conference, telling reporters “we are on track to ensure there will not be another session,” the Tribune reports. Further, he said a “bill will be coming out of the House later on today.”

But no such bill appeared.

Despite House members briefly meeting Wednesday, they have taken no action on vouchers, and won’t reconvene until Monday or Tuesday, according to the Tribune. That would leave little time to debate and pass such a proposal.

Indeed, with the House in recess and Abbott in Israel to reaffirm Texas’ support in that nation’s war against Hamas, it’s becoming increasingly clear a voucher deal won’t happen this session.

Abbott has said he’s prepared to call another special session to force the matter. If that doesn’t work, the governor has threatened to primary anti-voucher Republicans.

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This article appears in Nov 1-14, 2023.