Texas House kills school vouchers – again

An amendment filed Friday morning to remove school vouchers from the Texas House’s $7 billion education bill passed during the afternoon on a bipartisan 84-63 vote.

The amendment’s approval means Gov. Greg Abbot’s ambition of bringing “school choice” to the Lone Star State has once again been crushed.

House members debated the amendment introduced by Rep. John Raney, a Republican from College Station, for about three hours before taking a vote.

As reported earlier this afternoon, House Democrats only needed 10 Republicans to sign the amendment to strip vouchers from House Bill 1. In the end, 21 GOP lawmakers opted not to allow taxpayer money to subsidize private school tuition.

It’s unclear what Abbott’s next move will be.

The Republican governor has threatened to primary those from his own party who vote against vouchers. He’s also previously said he’ll put the issue to voters if legislation doesn’t pass during the current special session — the fourth he’s called since the regular session ended this summer.

Stay tuned.

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This article appears in Nov 15-28, 2023.