School voucher hearing cancelled after Texas House and Senate unveil major bill revisions

A highly anticipated meeting of Texas lawmakers to discuss the school voucher legislation now being debated in the state legislature has been pushed back after the House and Senate unveiled updated versions of their individual voucher bills on Monday.

Originally scheduled to meet Tuesday, the Texas House of Representatives’ Public Education Committee will now discuss the new versions of House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2 at its Thursday meeting, Chairman Brad Buckley, R-Salado, tweeted Monday night. The amended versions of both bills weren’t released until late Monday, giving lawmakers limited time to review the changes before the scheduled hearing.

The updated version of HB 2 would increase the state’s allotment for each student to $6,555, with 40% of that sum going to teacher salaries. The revised version of the proposal also would automatically increase that allotment every two years by tying it to growth in property values.

Meanwhile, the updated version of SB 2 would cap the voucher program at $1 billion for its first two years. Additionally, the amended measure would require that only U.S. citizens and foreigners legally residing in the country be eligible to receive vouchers.

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This article appears in Mar 19 – Apr 1, 2025.