SAN ANTONIO – Gov. Greg Abbott and Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows assured private school parents on Monday that the Texas Legislature will pass school vouchers.
Abbott and Burrows were among the politicians in attendance at San Antonio Christian School’s Parent Empowerment Night on Monday to discuss the Education Spending Account Program.
“We will pass school choice in the state of Texas,” Abbott said.
>> WATCH: Gov. Greg Abbott addresses school vouchers during San Antonio visit
The program, also known as school vouchers, passed in the state Senate earlier this month and will head to the House floor next.
“I’m proud to say the votes are there to do this in the Texas House,” Speaker Burrows said about the bill.
Families could receive $10,000 a year per student in public taxpayer dollars under Senate Bill 2, according to the Texas Tribune. The legislation would provide $11,500 per student for children with disabilities.
The funds can be used for children’s tuition at an accredited private school as well as other expenses, including textbooks, transportation and therapy.
Abbott declared school vouchers an emergency during his State of the State address on Feb. 2.
‘It’s not fair’
School vouchers have been a controversial topic in Texas for years.
State Rep. Ray Lopez, of San Antonio, said the program as written would not help a majority of students in need.
“That would only address a very small number of students, around 60,000,” Lopez said. “The money would evaporate. That would leave the 1.5 million students that are still in the public school system underfunded.”
Lopez said he wants Abbott to speak with not only private school parents, but public school parents as well.
“He’s going into an area where he knows he’s going to be well received, for folks that are already going to that private school, are already investing money,” Lopez said. “And they see it, I believe, as a subsidy for them to be able to lower their tuition cost going into that private school. That is not, I believe, what Texas wants.”
Protestors echoed Lopez’s sentiments as they chanted across the street from Abbott’s speech on Monday.
“It’s not fair for the million kids in public education that should be getting their education funded, according to the Texas Constitution,” said protest organizer Tricia Gronnevik.
A battle over the school vouchers bill is guaranteed in the House, but Burrows still spoke confidently about the bill’s future, affirming the “votes are there” to pass.
“The Texas House will introduce a priority comprehensive education package that not only makes critical investments in our public schools but also ensures a robust universal school choice initiative that moves forward to the governor’s desk,” Burrows said.
A school voucher bill has failed in the Texas Legislature before. Lopez said the bill failed because Democrats and even some Republicans voted against it.
Lopez said rural Republican lawmakers told him they voted against the bill in the past because their constituents would not see the benefit of school vouchers, as there aren’t private schools close enough to their area.
“We know that rural kids don’t even have access to private schools,” Gronnevik said. “We know that low-income kids aren’t going to be able to afford the private schools anyway. It’s completely disingenuous.”
One woman who opposed the bill was escorted off the school campus toward the end of Monday’s event for being disruptive.
“Access and affordability are not the same thing,” the woman told KSAT as she was leaving.
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