The Texas House Committee on Public Education hearing lasted nearly 24 hours, stretching over two days, as hundreds of members of the public provided testimony on the lower chamber’s school choice proposal.
House Bill (HB) 3 is just one half of the “Texas Two Step” education plan from Public Education Committee Chair Brad Buckley (R-Salado). The school choice proposal would create a “universal” option for Texas families through a $1 billion funding provision in the general revenue fund by offering education savings accounts (ESA) to any child qualified to attend a public school, including those enrolled in public pre-K programs and families with children in private schools.
"House Bill 3 creates an educational savings account program to be administered and regulated by the Texas comptroller's office,” Buckley explained to open the hearing Tuesday morning.
“Utilizing state funds, ESAs will allow participating Texas families to pay for a range of educational expenses outside the traditional public school system — empowering parents to choose the educational path that best fits their child's needs."
The bill’s fiscal note states that an ESA’s amount is set at ...
