A sweeping public education bill that would enable parents to use taxpayer money to send their children to private schools and prohibit classroom lessons on sexual orientation received initial approval Tuesday and will now proceed before the Senate for a full vote.
A Sweeping Public Education Bill That Allows Families To Use Taxpayer Money To Send Their Children To Private Schools (PHOTO: KVUE)
A Bill That Would Give Parents State Funds To Pay For Private Schools
Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe headed the Senate education committee which approved Senate Bill 8 and voted 10-2. Republican lawmakers supported the Sweeping Public Education bill and Democrats José Menéndez of San Antonio and Morgan LaMantia of South Padre Island voted against it in the part-line vote.
Moreover, the committee also voted unanimously for an accompanying piece of legislation, Senate Bill 9, that provides an increase to teachers and to provide more funds for classrooms, among other measures. The Sweeping Public Education bill will also go to the Senate floor for a vote and the bill would give parents who plan out of the public school system access to a savings account with up to $8,000 in taxpayer money, per student, which could be used to fund a child’s private schooling and other educational expenses, such as textbooks or tutoring.
A priority for Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the bill would also prohibit teacher guidance about sexual orientation and gender identity in both public and charted schools up to the 12th grade. The Sweeping Public Education bill is one of several pieces of legislation under consideration that could affect the lives of gay and transgender Texans, adding one that would restrict the type of health care transgender children can receive.
Banning Certain Types Of Lessons
The Sweeping Public Education bill’s language prohibiting certain kinds of lessons is similar to a highly controversial law in Florida. Those who support the bill stated that parents are best equipped to negligent children about issues regarding gender identity and sexual orientation. Historically, rural Republicans have opposed programs likely to vouchers because they believed it could take away money from their local school districts, which are usually large employers with precarious finances. SB 8, however, looks to address those fear by protecting school districts with lesser than 20,000 students from any financial losses caused by the savings account program.
Schools in Texas are largely funded based on student enrollment numbers. Those fewer districts would obtain $10,000 for two years for every student who enrolls in the savings account program and leaves their district.
READ ALSO:
Car Tax Deduction 2023: Here’s How To Claim Your Vehicle Sales Tax Deduction
Apple Crime Blotter: Two New York City Attacks And Pencil Squeezing
