On the heels of an election that solidified Republican dominance in the Texas Legislature, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said offering families state money for private school costs will be at the top of his agenda when the session begins in January.
“Many Texas schools are striving to be great, and are great, and most are good,” Patrick said Friday in a statement. “Unfortunately, no matter their effort, some schools struggle to meet the unique educational needs that some students require. Parents should be empowered to place their child in the best learning environment, whether that is a public or private school.”
School choice is among the most divisive issues in the Legislature, with a coalition of rural Republicans and urban Democrats able to block school voucher proposals in the Texas House over worries about potential harm to public education.
Patrick said he will make school choice legislation the single most important task of the session aside from the state budget – the only thing lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass during each biennial session of the Legislature.
“Since 2015, the Senate has passed school choice five times. It died in a Republican-controlled House each time. That is unacceptable and inexcusable,” Patrick said. “With an expanded Republican majority in the Texas House, there is no reason Texas students should be left behind.”
Gov. Greg Abbott made school choice a top priority in 2023, but a group of mostly rural House Republicans helped block a voucherlike proposal favored by a majority of the House GOP.
Abbott responded by targeting voucher opponents in the 2024 primaries, endorsing challengers and spending heavily with $10 million provided by Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, a school choice advocate.
After many of the Abbott-backed primary candidates won, the governor said he had enough votes to pass school choice. His position grew stronger in Tuesday’s election when Republican supporters of school choice flipped two House Democratic seats.
The day after the election, Abbott celebrated outside a private Christian school in Tyler to announce that he counted 79 “hardcore” votes in favor of school choice, three more than needed.
“Texas will deliver school choice,” he vowed. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, was blamed by Patrick and grassroots Republicans for allowing the House to kill school choice legislation last session. During more than a year of debate on the issue, Phelan expressed interest and support for some type of voucher program but said there were several possibilities for how it might look in Texas. A House bill in October 2023 would have capped enrollment, as opposed to the Senate bill, which could have cost upward of $1 billion with full participation.
In August, Phelan outlined policy priorities that included collaborating with Abbott and Senate and House leadership on improving education “with a strong focus on school choice and education funding.”
Staff writer Talia Richman contributed to this story.
