Day 22: Voucher Victory For Senate Republicans, But House Showdown Awaits

Dan Patrick’s voucher scheme crusade advances, but House obstacles remain.

It shouldn’t surprise you that the voucher scheme passed in the Senate last night after an eight-hour debate. As Lt. Governor Dan Patrick pointed out, this was the sixth time vouchers have made it out of the Senate.

The bill, SB2, as it stands, is awful. Senator Brandon Creighton (R-SD04) refused to take any Democratic amendments to the bill that would have given it more transparency and fairness. Listen to Senator Sarah Eckhardt’s (D-SD14) closing statement pointing out how SB2 primarily benefits white, wealthier families and exacerbates segregation in education and how private schools receiving public funds will not be held to the same standards as public schools.

Knowing they were outnumbered and couldn’t stop the bill, Senate Democrats genuinely tried to soften it and make it less harmful to Texas families. For example, Senator José Menéndez (D-SD26) introduced an amendment to provide accommodations for students with disabilities. Republicans voted against it straight down party lines:

Or when Senator Chuy Hinojosa (D-SD20) attempted to add an amendment to ensure that private schools adhere to the same safety and accountability standards as public schools regarding sexual misconduct and educator discipline. Once again, Republicans voted against it.

One of the biggest problems Democrats had with this bill yesterday was its lack of transparency and oversight.

This is only the first Senate Debate of the session, but if this is your first time following along in the Legislature with me, you’ll see it’s a recurring theme with Republicans (and I’ll make sure to point it out every single time). Session after session, Republicans ram through shady bills with no transparency, and every time Democrats attempt to add transparency measures to legislation, their GOP counterparts will vote against it.

Even though SB2 passed the Senate, we don’t need to panic just yet.

Senate Republicans, compared to House Republicans, have a track record of being more extreme and deeply tied to the billionaire donors and special interests pushing for school vouchers. That’s why vouchers seem to breeze through the Senate time after time but always hit a wall in the House.

The House Republicans, while still very conservative, tend to represent a broader and more politically diverse range of districts. Many of these districts, especially rural ones, have much to lose with a voucher program like SB2. Rural areas typically don’t have private schools so that vouchers won’t help their constituents. House members know this, and they’ve historically been much more skeptical of voucher schemes, often killing or watering them down to protect public education. Even with the number of pro-voucher Republicans in the House increasing this year, the bill faces serious hurdles.

SB2 is likely to undergo significant changes in the House. They’ll see how flawed it is and attempt to pass a different version, one that might give the appearance of being less harmful while still diverting taxpayer money away from public schools. But here’s the thing: House Democrats are ready for this fight. They will do everything they can to block, stall, and dismantle any voucher plan that crosses their path. Even though they are outnumbered, they’ve consistently outmaneuvered Republicans on this issue, and there’s no reason to think this time will be any different.

Democrats know the stakes. Public education is on the line, and with the support of rural Republicans and public school advocates, they have a real chance to stop this bill or at least cripple it beyond recognition. So, for now, stay calm. The Senate may have passed this monstrosity, but the House is a different battleground.

The next step is that SB2 will either be heard in a House committee hearing or they’ll hear a different voucher bill. As of right now, House members still do not have committee assignments. So, we wait.

Day 22 - Senate Finance Committee, Budget Hearings - Day Seven.

The Senate Committee on Finance heard testimony about higher education funding, including programs to improve workforce training and financial aid access. The Coordinating Board requested $364.5 million to serve 70% of eligible students across significant financial aid programs. Senator Royce West (D-SD23) pressed the agency for details on whether the remaining 30% of students would receive any aid, but the board failed to provide clear answers.

Concerns about funding misuse also dominated discussions. Senator Chuy Hinojosa (D-SD20) criticized for-profit hospitals for taking $28 million in Graduate Medical Education (GME) grants while cutting ties with state medical schools. “They’re making billions in profit while taking public dollars meant to train Texas doctors,” Hinojosa said, referencing a $1.27 billion quarterly profit reported by Hospital Corporation of America.

The pattern is familiar: millions in taxpayer dollars are spent without transparency or oversight. Whether it’s school vouchers or higher education grants, Republicans reject measures ensuring accountability, leaving Democrats to fight for safeguards session after session.

Other tidbits from yesterday’s budget hearing:

• Republicans emphasized accountability measures without offering significant increases in funding for underserved students. For example, Senator Campbell (R-SD25) suggested focusing on top-performing students rather than expanding eligibility for all.

• Despite recognizing the need for more Texas-trained physicians, there is inadequate policy to prioritize funding for Texas residents or those in primary care roles. Instead, hospitals are reportedly filling slots with foreign residents, many of whom leave the state.

The Senate Finance Committee hearing was short yesterday due to the Senators’ eight-hour debate on SB2. Today and Monday, there will be other budget hearings on Higher Education.

The Brianworm Brigade was quiet in the Texas House.

Yes, I said, “Brianworm Brigade.” The final poll results (it was close):

Yesterday was the first day in this Legislative Session that Brian Harrison (R-HD10) and crew didn’t make a stand at the front or back mic and make a fool out of himself. Surprising, right?

Nothing interesting or noteworthy happened in the House yesterday. On Tuesday night, the House members held their annual member football game. The game was between the freshmen and the seasoned members, and the freshmen won. Yesterday, the House mostly talked and joked about their game from the previous night.

Briscoe Cain (R-HD128) apparently broke his head during the flag football game. You can see the mark on the left side of the forehead:

First Lois Kolkhorst’s (R-SD18) broken nose, now Cain’s broken head. At this rate, Republicans will need as much patchwork as their terrible legislation.

So, where does that leave us today?

The Senate Finance Committee is meeting again to discuss higher education funding, but after that, they won’t reconvene until Monday. Meanwhile, the House has already gaveled out and won’t return until Tuesday. Governor Abbott is off to Washington, DC, presumably to kiss the orange one’s ring (and whatever else). Who knows what kind of chaos will come out of that visit?

And in some juicy insider gossip last night, Scott Braddock floated the possibility that this may be Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s final session. Could he finally be planning to retire? It’s speculation, but stranger things have happened under the dome. As with all things in Texas politics, we’ll have to wait and see.

• February 7: Left In Texas Podcast w/ Representative Vikki Goodwin

• March 14: The last day Legislators can file bills.

• June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.

• Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.

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