Good afternoon,

We want to thank you for your willingness to join us on this marathon advocating for students, families, and teachers in public schools. Collectively, we generated over 7,000 emails, calls, and social media posts, once again demonstrating our thunderous voice! And, collectively we can celebrate a victory, although it is bittersweet.

As you know, the Texas House convened to consider House Bill 1 (HB 1), House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR 1), and House Bill 2 (HB 2).

HB1 could have eventually diverted nearly unlimited public tax dollars to exclusive private schools through Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), a voucher program, and offered limited funding to public schools. Fairly early in the HB 1 debate, Representative John Raney, Bryan/College Station, proposed an amendment to strip ESAs out of the bill.

“Our public school system is our town.”  “I believe in my heart that using taxpayer dollars to fund an entitlement program is not conservative, and it’s bad public policy,” Raney, who is not seeking reelection, said on the House floor. “Expanding government-defined choice programs for a few without accountability… undermines our constitutional and moral duty to educate the children of Texas.” 

After a point of order, some confusing parliamentary motions, and enthusiastic debate, Raney’s amendment passed and ESAs were defeated for now.  In response, Chairman Buckley sent HB 1 back to committee effectively killing the bill. Bittersweet is the fact that public education funding relief was also defeated because HB1 forced the two issues to be considered as one.

The 84 House members supporting children, families, and teachers in public education by voting for the Raney amendment included 21 Republicans and 63 Democrats. We appreciate this bipartisan effort.

The Governor responded on social media and signaled his position and plans for dissenting party members. 

As for the other House bills considered on Friday, HB 2 and HJR 1 passed and will now go to the Senate for consideration. 

If you did not have the opportunity to listen live, you can view the chamber archive video here.

Up Next: The House may consider Senate Bills 1 (the Senate version of ESAs) and 2 (the Senate version of school funding). The House is unlikely to hear SB 1. Even if the House passed SB 2 without amendments, the bill would require the Governor’s signature. As we understand, the Governor is unlikely to sign a school finance bill without vouchers. So, your voice will likely be needed again soon.

We are thankful for YOU and your continued advocacy efforts. Wishing each of you the very best Thanksgiving break.

Join us in using the image above as your profile picture, follow us on social media (below), and help share our posts to add your voice to the chorus of support for Texas schoolchildren.

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