The Texas Senate voted on Thursday to send legislation creating a statewide private school voucher program to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law, all but concluding an ugly intraparty battle that has dominated state politics for much of the last two years.  Abbott has already said that he plans to sign Senate Bill 2, a $1 billion proposal allowing families to use taxpayer dollars to fund their children’s private school education. Similar legislation has historically run into opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans. But that changed last week, when the Texas House gave its stamp of approval to SB 2, a vote that included support from Republicans who opposed similar legislation in 2023.  Upon Abbott’s signature, the program will officially launch at the start of the 2026-27 school year.SB 2 would initially put $1 billion over a two-year period in taxpayer dollars toward education savings accounts that families could use for private school tuition and other school-related expenses, like textbooks, transportation and therapy. Notably, up to 20% of the program could go to wealthier families who earn 500% or more of the poverty rate, which would be about $160,000 or more for a family of four. view article

Lawmakers discussed a bill Tuesday that would create new rules for school districts that want to split into smaller entities, months after a controversial, now-abandoned plan to break up Keller ISD raised questions about whether the district could do so without voters’ input. House Bill 5089, authored by Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, would set rules for how a school district could split off from an existing one. Under the bill, 20% of registered voters in each of the proposed new districts would have to sign a petition. If that threshold is met, an election would be held, and voters would decide whether to approve the split. The State Board of Education would oversee the election. view article

Stalled legislation would recognize June 24—the day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe—as a state holiday. view article

A resolution to honor Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood, was pulled from the Texas House floor Thursday following fierce backlash from a coalition of conservative lawmakers.  Richards led Planned Parenthood from 2006 to 2018, during which time the organization performed millions of abortions nationwide. She was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Joe Biden and remained a fixture in left-wing political organizing until her death earlier this year. view article

The Texas House gave final approval Thursday to a bill that would create a $1 billion private school voucher program, crossing a historic milestone and bringing Gov. Greg Abbott’s top legislative priority closer than ever to reaching his desk.The lower chamber signed off on its voucher proposal, Senate Bill 2, on an 86-61 vote. Every present Democrat voted against the bill. They were joined by two Republicans — far short of the bipartisan coalitions that in previous legislative sessions consistently blocked proposals to let Texans use taxpayer money to pay for their children’s private schooling. “This is an extraordinary victory for the thousands of parents who have advocated for more choices when it comes to the education of their children,” Abbott said in a statement, vowing that he would “swiftly sign this bill into law” when it reached his desk. view article

In another marathon effort that ended early Thursday, the Texas House debated and approved Senate Bill 2, which would create a $1 billion private school voucher program, one of the marquee education proposals this legislative session.  The House vote was the voucher bill’s biggest hurdle, and marked the first official test of whether Gov. Greg Abbott and his allies built enough support in the lower chamber for it since a coalition of House Democrats and rural Republicans sank the previous voucher proposal in 2023. view article

The budget for the Texas Lottery Commission, which brings about $2 billion a year to the state treasury, has been reduced to zero in the 2026-27 spending plan the Texas House approved last week. And the chamber on April 15 signaled it was serious about ending the 34-year-old agency.  The decision to defund the lottery, which for the much of this year has been a magnet for criticism in the Legislature on multiple fronts, was seen as legislative gamesmanship when the House in the wee hours of April 11 passed its version of the state budget.  That’s because several amendments were filed by some House Republicans that would have tapped into the lottery’s budget to fund other projects. Rather than opening the door to potentially protracted debates on those projects, budget managers quietly cut the lottery’s funding and transferred it to a special fund that is managed by the governor’s office, which was also eyed as a funding source for some members. view article

The vote will be the proposal’s biggest test yet and will show whether Gov. Greg Abbott has built enough support since a similar bill died in the lower chamber in 2023.  The Texas House is expected to vote Wednesday on bills to create a $1 billion private school voucher program and give public schools more funding per student, setting up what could be a dramatic floor showdown over the two marquee education proposals of the session.  The House vote is the voucher bill’s biggest hurdle, and it will mark the first official test of whether Gov. Greg Abbott and his allies have built enough support in the lower chamber since a coalition of House Democrats and rural Republicans sank the previous voucher proposal in 2023. view article

ODESSA — Texas is growing. People are moving to the state in droves. Companies want to build their facilities here. Sustaining the growth will require nearly double the electricity the grid deploys today. The state’s grid operator can meet the moment, Pablo Vegas, president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, told a panel of lawmakers last week.So long as politics don't interfere.  “I think the market as structured today is very well suited to support the growth trajectories that we're seeing,” Vegas said. “And it's not just the government support functions. It's the fact that we have a very light regulatory environment that enables businesses to put their capital to work here with reasonable restrictions and reasonable requirements.” view article

A teenager is facing an aggravated assault mass shooting charge in connection with a shooting Tuesday afternoon at Wilmer-Hutchins High School.  Tracy Haynes, 17, was booked into Dallas County jail at 9:32 p.m. after turning himself in. His bail is set for $600,000 and it’s not immediately clear if he has an attorney. The arrest came hours after an on-campus shooting, which injured four students. view article

In this week’s episode of Big Country Politics, the superintendents of Wiley ISD, Joey Light, and Abilene ISD, Dr. John Kuhn, discussed the potential impact of school vouchers in Texas, focusing on financial stability, accountability, and economic barriers. view article

Texas Democrats hope to retake a state House seat in the Rio Grande Valley by attacking the incumbent Republican — a first-term legislator — over her support for a private school voucher system. Jonathan Gracia, an attorney and former Cameron County justice of the peace, is running to reclaim state House District 37, which is currently held by state Rep. Janie Lopez, a San Benito Republican, by positioning himself staunchly against school vouchers. view article

Coppell ISD officials want Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against the district thrown out saying it is “political fodder” against public schools based on a manipulated hidden-video recording, according to court filings. Officials allege in their counterclaim filed Tuesday that efforts to discredit Coppell and other public schools’ educators are being made to influence debates over school choice. view article

A bipartisan bill to create a $350 million grant program for safer railroad crossings is heading to the Texas House after passing unanimously through the Senate this week. Senate Bill 1555 was filed after the death of Sergio Rodriguez — a 15-year-old Houston ISD student who was struck by a train while walking to Milby High School. The fatal crash occurred on the morning of Dec. 9 at 2000 Broadway St., near the East End campus. view article

In her recap of events at a special board meeting on March 10, Bottom said CISD representatives held 30 legislative meetings, which included sessions with members and chairs of the public education committee, as well as freshmen legislators and state senators and representatives. view article

House Bill 3, a bill that would allow public school children to enroll in private or home schooling with the help of taxpayer money, rests in the hands of the Texas House Committee. The committee recently heard testimony from educators and others on school vouchers, former Lufkin ISD superintendent, Roy Knight spoke against the bill. view article

Former Lufkin ISD superintendent Roy Knight did not mince words in his testimony before the House Public Education Committee in Austin early Wednesday morning. Knight was one of 734 Texans who registered at the hearing, which began at 8 a.m. Tuesday and continued until about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. 213 were in favor of House Bill 3, the House’s controversial school choice voucher bill, with 502 opposed to the measure. Nineteen registrants were neutral. view article

Former Lufkin ISD Superintendent Roy Knight spoke in front of a Texas House committee Wednesday, opposing the school voucher bill. The House Committee on Public Education heard testimony on House Bill 3 starting Tuesday morning and into Wednesday. "I’m too old and too tired to waste many words here," Knight said. “This bill is a skunk that we’re trying to pass off as a kitty cat.” Knight said the bill was being wrongly justified on two fallacies, the first being that private schools are needed to create competition between public schools. view article

On Tuesday, the Texas House Public Education Committee will hear from supporters and opponents of taxpayer-funded education savings accounts. view article

A multitude of factors are pushing Fort Worth ISD to close schools. None are related to the Texas Legislature’s proposal for a voucher program. The biggest factor? Declining enrollment. Another contributor? Fort Worth ISD’s dollars and staff are spread too thin to adequately meet the educational needs of students, according to district officials. view article

The Center ISD School Board has voted to adopt a 4-day school week for the 2025-2026 school year. The district announce the news Thursday night after the school board meeting. They noted that a copy of the official school calendar will be posted at a later date. view article

This week, students in the Dallas Independent School District are on spring break while one of the district's largest teachers' unions is heading to Austin to appeal directly to state lawmakers about school vouchers. NEA-Dallas, the National Education Association-Dallas, plans to bus a group of educators to the Texas Capitol to join hundreds of others in rallying against school choice vouchers. view article

Most of us think we know the definition. Poor means, as Woody Guthrie sang, "you ain’t got the do re mi." It means struggling to afford necessities: food, shelter, clothing. But how poor is poor enough to get a hand from the government? It depends what you're asking for. view article

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is on the cusp of enacting a $1 billion school voucher program that will provide tens of thousands of students with taxpayer dollars to pay for private school tuition, providing a massive boost to the conservative school choice movement. But to finally achieve his long-sought policy goal, Abbott needs to hold together a precarious coalition of conservative and moderate Republicans in the Legislature — which he played a heavy hand in reshaping in order to usher through what would likely be the largest voucher program in the country. view article

In public hearings, during Capitol floor debates and in rooms packed with their constituents, Texas lawmakers have pitched school vouchers as a tool that will primarily benefit low-income students — and not just, as their critics argue, offer taxpayer dollars to families already sending their children to private schools. “These are parents living paycheck by paycheck,” said Gov. Greg Abbott at a recent private school event in San Antonio. Families supporting his top legislative priority, he added, do “everything they can” to provide the best educational pathway for their children. view article

The Texas Senate Committee on Education discussed two bills that could bring religious materials into public school classrooms. Senate Bill 10 would require all public schools to display a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The text specified in the bill is the same as the text on the Ten Commandments Monument behind the Texas Capitol. view article

Texas senators are a step closer to bringing the Ten Commandments and designated prayer time to Texas public schools. In a committee hearing on Tuesday, senators advanced Senate Bill 10 and Senate Bill 11, which would require public elementary and secondary schools to display the ten commandments in classrooms and dedicate time for prayer and the reading of religious texts. The bills have now passed out of committee and are headed to the Texas Senate for further consideration. view article

Earlier this year, bills were filed in both the Texas Senate (SB 2) and House (HB 3) that would establish a form of school choice, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), in Texas for the first time. One major difference between the bills revolves around which Texans would be eligible to receive the accounts, known as ESAs. While access to ESAs under HB 3 would be largely restricted to Texas families in the lowest two income quintiles, SB 2 would be open to about twice as many Texas families. view article

A new proposal in the Texas Legislature is causing significant concern among free speech advocates and legal experts. view article

The League of Women Voters has consistently opposed election security laws, including voter ID requirements.   view article

THSC is warning that the Texas Ethics Commission’s actions could severely limit the ability of parents and advocacy groups to engage in the political process. view article

Sen. Mayes Middleton is taking aim at local taxing entities' long-standing ability to hire lobbyists to help them navigate the Texas Legislature. view article

The Senate also approved Senate Bill 2, which would infuse $5.2 billion to school districts to help them with teacher raises and rising costs. Gov. Greg Abbott said he would add those items to the special session’s agenda once lawmakers approve a voucher program. view article

Texas House lawmakers unveiled a business-friendly package of property tax cuts Monday, setting up a fight with the Senate over how to bring down the state’s high property taxes. view article

The measure follows faculty senate clashes with both lawmakers and a university’s board of regents.   view article