The Texas Senate crosses a bill, creating a school voucher program – 88.9 KETR

After seven hours of debate yesterday, the Texas Senate adopted legislation, creating a program that resembles a school program for Texas. If adopted, the Senate Bill 2 will create savings accounts for education that allow the use of public funds to educate private schools. This is a key priority for Governor Greg Abbot from the last session, in 2023, when the proposal failed. But the legislation senators have just passed last night, have some key differences compared to what the Chamber approved two years ago … As exactly who will give priority to the program and how much money will start. The Texas news halls Blaise Gaini explains.

The last time in 2023, the Senate’s proposal canceled most ESAs for students who were in failing public schools. But during yesterday’s debate, Senator Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, said that this year’s version of the bill no longer did. “In the past, you have formulated that the priority should be for children who are in low -content schools and impaired communities.” The way the bill is now written, 80 percent of the ESA will be reserved for families under a certain income threshold – About $ 160,000 a year for a family of four – Cap West, criticized as too tall. Senator Brandon Creeton, a Republican of Conro, is one of the authors of the bill. He told West – this change was made because Texas Democrats voted in 2023. “You voted against the bill that limited it to D and F schools, so I accepted it as a signal that it was not important to you. “The bill is now heading for the Texas House.