Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) was filed Jan. 24 in the Senate. The bill creates a voucher/education savings account program.
Brief & Initial highlights:
- Creates an Education Savings Account (ESA) program within the Comptroller’s Office to pay for education related expenses of approved families
- Allows approved parents to submit a request for payment to an educational service
- Eligible students: any child who is eligible to enroll in public school, including Pre-K
- ESA funding allows:
- $ 2,000 for participants not enrolled in a private school (home school)
- $10,000 for participants enrolled in a private school
- $11,500 for participants with a disability enrolled in a private school
- If the number of applications for an ESA exceed the amount appropriated, ESAs will be distributed based on a lottery that: 80% of students must have been enrolled in a public school for at least 90% of the year and are from a low-income household or have a disability.
Governor Abbott will give his State of the State address on Sunday, Feb. 2. He is expected to list “emergency items” he wants the legislature to address immediately, and vouchers/ESAs is expected to be one of those items.
Legislative Corner will be published periodically throughout the 89th legislative session. For more information about RISD’s legislative involvement, please visit the legislative page here. Other resources include Texas Legislature Online (TLO) – find legislation (bills), committee hearings, legislative member info, and more; The Quorum Report – sign-up for “Daily Buzz” or a listing of political news articles; Texas Tribune – online daily news, also a data dashboard for education.
