Texas House approves school voucher bill, effectively ending legislative battle

AUSTIN, Texas — In a historic vote following hours of debate, the Texas House of Representatives has given initial approval to legislation that would allocate taxpayer money toward private education, effectively ending a legislative policy battle years in the making and delivering a victory to Governor Greg Abbott.

The House voted 85-63 in the early hours of Thursday morning, more than 16 hours after initially convening. House Speaker Dustin Burrows cast a rare vote in support of the bill. Democrats offered nearly four dozen amendments to the legislation in an effort to move it toward their vision; none were successful. The legislation still needs one more in the House before moving forward.

As it’s written, Senate Bill 2 would match 85% of the average amount of money going toward a public school student and allocate it toward private school students. It also includes a $1 billion spending cap for the first biennium only.

“I’ve come to believe two things: public education is at the heart of so many communities in Texas, an institution charged with the development of our future,” Chairman Brad Buckley, R-Salado, the bill’s sponsor, said on the House floor, “and that despite our best efforts and investments, not every student is best served at their local public school.”

“For the first time in Texas history, our state has passed a universal school choice bill out of both chambers in the Texas Legislature,” Governor Abbott said in a statement following the House vote. “This is an extraordinary victory for the thousands of parents who have advocated for more choices when it comes to the education of their children... When it reaches my desk, I will swiftly sign this bill into law, creating the largest day-one school choice program in the nation and putting Texas on a pathway to becoming the best state in America for educating our kids.”

Early Wednesday evening, House Democrats were dealt a blow when a key strategy was rejected by a House vote of 86-62 which would have put the provisions of Senate Bill 2 on the November ballot. In the hours leading up to Wednesday’s floor debate, reports of a bipartisan coalition behind that prospect prompted pushback from Governor Greg Abbott and other school choice supporters.

Representative James Talarico, D-Austin, ultimately carried the amendment himself, alleging a Republican had originally planned to do so, but Governor Abbott called House members individually with threats of primary opponents and vetoed legislation.

“This is absolutely not true,” Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for the Governor, said in a statement to CBS Austin. “Governor Abbott has been speaking with members encouraging them to vote for school choice.”

Ahead of Thursday morning’s crucial vote, Democrats rallied in opposition to the legislation, alongside several public school advocates.

“People know that this means our local schools are going to close,” Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, said. “People know that if the education system shuts down, that is the end of the middle class."

Dozens of demonstrators chanted in the Texas Capitol, criticizing the vote on SB 2 later that day. At one point, the demonstrators were loud enough to draw the attention of a Department of Public Safety trooper, who warned them to lower their voices, as House Democrats joined them.

Meanwhile, the House Republican caucus convened behind closed doors with Governor Greg Abbott, who urged the caucus to pass SB 2. Abbott has directly involved himself in the school choice debate, more so than virtually any other legislative battle.

“It's hard to think of as public a fight that the Governor has involved himself in as the battle over voucher,” Joshua Blank, research director at the Texas Politics Project, said. “But I think what we've seen with this Governor over the years of his time in office is that he adapts. And while vouchers didn't pass that last time, it would be surprising to see him not make adjustments going into this session, even on top of all the efforts he's already put into trying to pass this bill.”

In that caucus meeting, Governor Abbott phoned in President Donald Trump, who, himself, praised Texas Republicans for supporting him at the federal level. He called on them to pass SB 2.

“I just think it's a really forward-thinking vote, there's nothing complex about it,” President Trump said over the phone, according to video shared by Governor Abbott. “You're not going to get hurt by it. Actually, it's really the opposite: people really want it."

Regardless of Wednesday’s vote, this isn’t the end of the road for the legislation. Senate Bill 2 was heavily amended by the House, so either the Senate must agree to the changes, or both the House and Senate will convene a conference committee to work out their differences between the two packages. From there, each chamber must vote, once again, on the conference committee’s negotiated package.

The Thursday morning vote effectively caps a legislative battle several years in the making. Governor Abbott, himself, directly involved in the House’s approach to school vouchers. After the Texas House indicated it was opposed to school choice in the 2023 session, Abbott directly campaigned to replace members of his own party with pro-voucher Republicans. The morning after the 2024 election, Abbott claimed to have enough votes to pass such a plan, which ultimately came to pass on Thursday.