Controversial Education Finance Package Passes

The Texas House passed a sweeping education finance package this week that includes House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2. The bills have been championed by Republicans, but they have received criticism from Democrats as a “voucher scam” that benefits the wealthy at the expense of public schools.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) celebrated the legislation's passage, describing it as a historic move for education.

“Today marks a historic chapter for education in our state, with the Texas House passing its landmark ‘Texas Two Step’ proposals to deliver more education opportunities for students alongside the largest-ever increase in public school funding,” Speaker Burrows wrote in an X post.

HB 2 directs $7.76 billion in additional funding to Texas public schools, while SB 2 includes a school voucher-like program that provides education savings accounts (ESA) for parents of children with unique learning needs. The ESAs would help families pay for private school tuition or other educational resources.

“House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2 work together to meaningfully improve the overall education ecosystem in Texas,” Speaker Burrows added. “I appreciate the hard work of Chairman Buckley to ensure every Texas student has access to a better education.”

In contrast, Democrats quickly to denounce the measure. Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder (D) issued a scathing statement, accusing Governor Greg Abbott (R) and Republican lawmakers of pushing through policy that is unpopular and donor-driven.

“The vast majority of Texas students will not benefit from this legislation – more than 150 counties in Texas have ZERO private school options,” Chairman Scudder commented. “This bill is welfare for the rich, plain and simple. Working families are going to be the ones who will foot the bill for this voucher scam.”

The chairman also pointed to political maneuvering to force the bill through, arguing that “Greg Abbott knows this voucher bill is unpopular – if it weren’t, he wouldn’t have targeted 14 of his own Republicans to force it through.”