House committee considering a cap on school voucher spending, increases to public school funding

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The Texas House Public Education Committee could propose a $1 billion spending cap for the first two years of a potential school voucher program and increase by $395 the base amount of money public school districts receive for each student.

The potential changes were unveiled Monday when the committee released two rewritten versions of legislation. The committee was slated to discuss the two bills Tuesday, but hours after proposed new versions were released, the panel's scheduled meeting was canceled. If the changes are adopted and advanced, it could draw into focus key issues the House and Senate will have to resolve before sending priority school funding and school voucher proposals to the governor.

The potential $1 billion spending cap on education savings accounts could be added to Senate Bill 2, the upper chamber’s priority voucher legislation. The proposed cap comes after critics have raised concerns that lawmakers are downplaying what the state could spend on vouchers during the initial rollout. A budget analysis shows costs reaching nearly $5 billion by 2030. Lawmakers also proposed a change to the bill that would allow only U.S. citizens or people lawfully in the country to receive vouchers.

House Bill 2, the school funding measure, currently increases the money districts receive to educate each student by $220. The potential update would increase that amount, referred to as the basic allotment, by $395. The proposed update released Monday would also automatically increase the basic allotment every two years by tying it to property value growth, according to the committee’s summary of the potential changes.

Current state budget proposals only set aside $1 billion for vouchers, which would allow parents to use taxpayer dollars to fund their children’s private school tuition. But if legislation creating vouchers includes a $1 billion cap, the state could not spend more money on the program even if more is available.

If demand for vouchers exceeds the money available, the new proposal would also limit funding for students without disabilities or from wealthier households — a family of four making about $156,000 or greater — to only 20% of the program’s total budget until after the 2026-27 school year. It would also prioritize students who exit public schools over those who are already enrolled in private schools.

Those possible changes, however, still would not require private schools to accept certain students, which has raised concerns among public education advocates. In other states, voucher programs like the one Texas is proposing primarily benefit wealthier families who had already enrolled their children in private schools.

Meanwhile, HB 2’s potential changes could increase the state’s basic allotment to $6,555 for each student, with 40% directed to salaries for school staff. Higher salary increases would go to teachers with more than a decade of classroom experience. The base funding per student has been at $6,160 since 2019.

School districts say raising that amount offers them flexibility to address the unique needs of their campuses, as opposed to money they can only use for specific purposes. The bulk of it flows toward salaries for educators and support staff. Districts also use the money to pay for essential services and goods, like electricity, insurance and water. Leftover money may fund other necessities like school supplies and building maintenance.

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